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Wine Details
Price:
$20.00 per bottle
Description:
This, our flagship red wine, is a Southern Rhone style blend of 69% Syrah, 18% Mourvedre, 13% Grenache. The Syrah fruit came from Rustic Ridge Vineyard (36% of the blend), Ciel Du Cheval Vineyard (23%), and Naches Heights Vineyard (10%). The Grenache and Mourvedre are from Elephant Mountain Vineyard. Note the inky, concentrated, glass coating black-red color that leads you to its intensely aromatic nose of dark berry and cassis aromatics that are highlighted by tobacco-pouch, leather, peppered bacon, olive and freshly chopped tarragon spice. In the mouth there’s copious red fruit, mocha-chocolate, dried herb, spicy French oak and lush crème de cassis flavors along with a glycerin-infused full body and a lively natural acid and fine tannin structure. It finishes into ripe dark cherry and plum fruit, sweet tannins, toasty oak, and hints of coffee and orange spice. Drinking well now for its lush fruit, but this well-endowed red should age beautifully for 8 years or more beyond vintage. This food-friendly large-scale red matches well with strong cheeses and rich-hearty dishes. Try with a thick grilled steak topped with caramelized onions, scallions, crumbled bacon and peppercorns.
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Varietal Definition
Syrah:
Syrah is the eight hundred pound gorilla of Rhone grapes! In the vineyard and the winery, Syrah is typically an easy grape to work with - healthy, early ripening, resistant to mildew and rot; suitable for winemaking in a variety of styles. The wines from Syrah are tannic without being harsh. The wines will have a taste and smell of dark blue fruit like blackberries and blackcurrant, with a strong spicy side where one can find freshly ground pepper and other spices. Syrah is famous for its part in the French blends, such as Côtes du Rhone and Châteauneuf du Pape.
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Grenache:
Grenache Noir is the world’s most widely planted grape used to make red wine, sometimes made into a stand-alone varietal, frequently as a Rosé, but most often as a backbone of red blends. Its strength is its ability to grow in arid and windy conditions. It’s particularly suited to warm coastal regions of California, Spain and France. Grenache-based wines tend to be high in alcohol, with attractive fruit qualities in youth and a sweet berry character.Used as a component in some Northern Rhône reds, nearly exclusively for Rhône Rosés and as the primary component in nearly all Southern Rhône red blends, Grenache is probably most notable as the base varietal for Chateauneuf du Pape, Cotes du Rhône and Gigondas. In spite of its fame coming from French wines, Spain is most likely this grape’s origin.
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Mourvedre:
As long as the weather is warm, Mourvedre ably tolerates a wide variety of soils. It is popular across the south of France, especially in Provence, where it is responsible for the greatness of Bandol, and many a fine red Cotes-du-Rhone. It is often blended in Chateauneuf-du-Pape; Languedoc makes it as a varietal. Spain uses it in many areas, including Valencia. In the United States, Mourvedre remains a minor factor for now, pursued by a few wineries that specialize in Rhone-style wines. The wine it produces can be quite pleasing, with medium weight, spicy cherry and berry flavors and moderate tannins. It ages well.
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