Mendocino

• Anderson Valley
• Yorkville Highlands

This winery is no longer in business and the vineyard has been sold (Pax Wines).  Purple in color with ruby swirls, opaque and bright.  The nose has black raspberries, black olives, char and spice.  Full bodied.  Good acidity.  On the palate, this is a big wine.  It is cooler climate Syrah in style.  Flavors of black raspberries, black pepper and char.  Long finish.  This is still on the younger side but drinking well.  It should go another ten to fifteen years. Great on its own, this would be nice with roasted root veggies.  

With vineyards in both Santa Cruz and Mendocino counties, Rhys can pull from a variety of sources to make a variety of Pinot Noir. With Bearwallow, their vineyard in the Anderson Valley, there is a delicate and quite lovely feel to this – something as smooth as silk. The softness texturally belies its layered complexity. Yes there is the requisite black cherry, boysenberry, loganberry and light strawberry, but there is also black tea leaf, light resin and sandalwood.

Cole Ranch AVA is the smallest AVA in the United States.  It is west of Ukiah in Mendocino County.  The vineyard was planted in 1973.  It is a very interesting take on Riesling and certainly one of the better ones tasted from California (yes, that is a bit of a back handed compliment).  Light golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose has peach, some ginger and plenty of minerality.  Medium bodied.  Good acidity.  On the palate, this is dry.  Minerality dominates but also some ginger and slight peach.  Good finish.  It is nice on its own, but really, better with good.  It was perfect with

What a great wine.  Now that this winery is no longer in business, I wonder who gets these grapes?  This was Halcon's last year I believe.  Inky purple in color, opaque and shimmering bright.  The nose has boysenberries, gravel, and spice.

From Mendocino County, Saracina’s Rosé of Grenache is grown on sustainably farmed vineyards that are home to 140-year-old olive trees, vegetable gardens, beehives, and local birds and wildlife. This offers black cherry, strawberry, blood orange and rhubarb notes, with both red and green apple in the mix. Interestingly there is a light sweetness that is counterbalanced by a light tartness. The bright acidity allows this to work well with a variety of different foods. ORIGIN: Mendocino County. ALCOHOL: 12.5%