2006 Wild Horse Negrette Calleri Vineyard

Community Tasting Notes (1) Avg Score: 86 points

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  3/25/2010 - DaveZack wrote: 86 Points

  Bought this bottle at the winery's tasting room a couple of years ago for $24 and drank with steamed corned beef with cabbage and carrots (the winery suggests drinking this wine with prime rib and we thought corned beef with spicy mustard was pretty close). This varietal is a fairly rare wine outside of Southwest France in the Cotes du Frontannais appellation and is quite interesting. I would describe this red as a cross between Petite Sirah, Syrah, Cab Sav, and a little bit of Zinfandel. The bouquet is smoky, spicy, plumy, and earthy. The flavor profile has the spice of Syrah and Zin, the firm tannic structure of Petite Sirah and Cab Sav (perhaps a bit more astringent than most Cab Savs and Petites), with a nicely dark-fruited plumminess to the wine's fruit. The finish is fairly lingering, where the tannins really show-up. Needless to say, this wine is very interesting and different. We had never heard of this varietal until we tasted this at Wild Horse's tasting room and were delightfully surprised at how interesting and different it was from all the "usual suspects." This wine is a nice alternative to most other reds and would go well with grilled steaks. Can't wait to try the bottle of Blaufrankisch that we also bought at Wild Horse during the same visit (another red varietal we had never heard of and bought after tasting).

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