March 22, 2024 - Quick decant. Nose of red fruits and sawdust. Juicy palate delivers a melange of right cherry, tart plum, orange marmalade with a slight tingly lift. Medium tannins, earth, fresh sage, and bay leaf on the finish.
January 20, 2024 - Great Carignan. Bright fruit, nice complexity, and good body.
November 14, 2023 - A vibrant deep purple exploding with a vigorous grapey plum and blackberry nose. Those aromas follow through in the taste joined by a rich earthiness and rich mouthfeel. Medium tannins but a rich acidity. A fun one to serve to guests who have never had a Carignan.
August 10, 2023 - Medium intensity purple. On the nose medium intensity aromas of earth, black currant, cherry yogurt, cigar box. On the palate the wine is dry with high acidity, medium plus fine ripe tannins, medium plus body. Flavor intensity is medium plus with earth, black currant, cherry yogurt, cigar box, slaty minerality. Finish lingers with earth and black fruit. A very pleasing wine and could go some years still.
July 16, 2023 - PnP. Iridescent purple with big legs. Nose shows big grapey purple fruits, alcohol, and oak. Mineral-drenched purple fruits with blueberry pie, baked raspberries, touch of blood orange, and a wall of acidity. Prickly tannins clamp down on the finish, adding tart black fruit, chicory, fresh oregano, rosemary stems, and chalky earth. Interesting wine.
January 20, 2023 - My first time trying this grape, what a great alternative to other reds. Great wine for the price, I’m happy I have more and will definitely load up next vintage at these prices
November 4, 2022 - Very tasty, fluctuating in the black & dark-red fruited realm, with tones of dried baking spices and earth showing on occasion. Drinkable on its own, but there's a spine that could also work well with food. Many years left to its life.
July 15, 2022 - Pretty good wine with lots of dimensions. On the tongue I get an initial hit of dried--but unsweet--dark fruit. Then, some salinity. A very interesting "thick" mouthfeel. Nice acid brightness. Noticeable tannin, A subtle rear palate herbal sensation suggesting anise. Winner, winner with my burger dinner.
May 27, 2022 - This is a real crowd pleaser. The fruity acidity makes this a bright expression of Carignan in a uniquely pleasing way. I agree with other reviewers that it somewhat resembles Zin at first, but quickly comes into its own. We did not decant, but should have done so to let the flavors develop more quickly. This has many years left on it.
February 23, 2022 - PNP, followed over several hours. Still primary, red fruit, raspberry, cherry, with a bit of baking spice. Ripe, almost candied, but balanced with medium+ acidity. Started off almost zin like, but with some air this got both brighter and more tart. I could see this getting more integrated and complex in a few more years, but tonight it was a tasty weekday drink.