|
|
 |
 |
|
blueberry skin, violets, pine needle.
blue fruits, spice box, cedar.
braised short ribs, asian-marinade flank steak.
VINIFICATION
a blend of old-vine carignan (87%) and petite sirah (13%). the fruit was hand harvested and sorted on november 1. it was co-fermented using a wild yeast and aged in older barrels for 10-months. bottling was done without fining or filtration.
SITE
a selection of benchland vineyards in mendocino’s cool redwood valley compose this wine. the goal is to clearly express the unique varietal character of this old-vine fruit which was for years blended into obscurity. the combination of vine age, an extended growing season, and tougher, rocky soil conspire to produce complex, intense wines.
indica was perhaps an inevitable diversion from our pinot noir program. the wine was inspired by the egalitarian “everyday wines” of rural europe—especially those found along the mediterranean coastal regions of spain and france. we love those medium weight, fruit-driven reds that make just about any plate of food taste better. indica is just this type of wine.
some of california’s oldest vines are planted in mendocino county—in some cases more than a century ago. these immigrant farmers planted the hearty vines that thrived in low country europe—things like mourvedre, alicante bouchet, and carignan. modern tastes and the almost non-existent market for these varieties spelled eventual demise for these old vines. but in alvin tollini’s vineyard, carignan vines remain. this vineyard, planted in 1965 by alvin’s grandfather ray, will likely evade the plow indefinitely. story goes—when ray’s health was faltering, he called alvin to his side. he told alvin that after his passing, the vineyard would be left to him under one condition: that the carignan, which ray himself had planted, would never be ripped out. alvin consented, ray later passed on, and the vines endure!
| kevin kelley |
1860 |
 |
| now through 2010+ |
view | | |
