Reviews & Ratings

2016 Calder Red Blends or Varietals "Carignane - Mendocino"

Winery: Calder

Vintage: 2016

Wine Name/Vineyard: "Carignane - Mendocino"

Wine Category: Red Blends or Varietals

Grape blend: 100% Carignane

Bottle size: 750 ml

Region: Mendocino

State or country: CA

Price: $28

Cases produced: 492

KWG Score: 92 (based on 1 review)

Ken's Wine Rating: Very Good+ (92)

Review date: September 4, 2020

Wine Review: This slightly opaque and dark ruby colored Carignane from Calder is a terrific wine. It opens with an inviting smoky oak and boysenberry bouquet with a hint of Good n’ Plenty. On the palate, this wine is medium bodied, slightly acidic and quite juicy. The flavor profile is a very tasty Bazooka bubble gum and red cherry blend with notes of blueberry, cinnamon and cedar plank with hints of wild strawberry. This wine closes with its flavors and mild managed tannins drifting away nicely. You can certainly enjoy this wine on its own. With food, I would pair it with a Thanksgiving leftovers sandwich. Enjoy – Ken

Winemaker Notes: The resultant wine features vivacious blackberry and raspberry aromas inflected with an iron-like mineral complexity. Carignane has an intensely savory edge to its fruit: stones, smoke, and celery seeds, evoking the wild herbs and rocks of its homeland in the Priorat of Spain. I work to soften the edges of Carignane's texture (which can be pretty austere) with gentle extraction, giving the wine smooth lines.

Buy it: Use 1000 Corks to find stores that sell Calder 2016 Carignane.