Produced from old benchland vines grown in the heart of Mendocino County, this Carignane combines the deep, savory flavors classic to the variety with a balanced structure featuring bright acidity and moderate alcohol. Primary fruit aromas of black cherry and ripe plum take center stage, with meaty notes and spice providing aromatic depth. The flavors are rich and ripe, but fresh acidity and moderate tannins frame the wine with good structure and ensure good pairings with food.

Vineyard: Planted in 1942 and tended since the early 1970s by the Colombini family, these head-trained Carignane vines produce low yields and deeply colored grapes. The Carignane variety is native to the Roussillon in southern France, and while the grape is widespread in California, it is only infrequently seen as a varietal wine. These vines, sitting at 900 feet of elevation and with deep, long-lived roots, generate a tremendous amount of flavor and retain their acidity throughout the growing season, helping to build a wine with balance and complexity.

Winemaking: Three tons were destemmed without crushing and
fermented in small ¾-ton T-bins. The bins were allowed to use their native
yeasts to carry out fermentation, which lasted for 2 weeks. Each bin was given
two punch-downs every day in order to gently extract flavor and color, pressed,
and matured for 8 months in oak barrels. One new American oak barrel (11% of
the total) was used during aging, with the rest of the wine sitting in neutral
oak. The 2012 Carignane was bottled on July 15th, 2013 and was
neither fined nor filtered prior to bottling.