Colvin Vineyards Carmenere 03
winery: Colvin
An unusual grape varietal, usually blended into Bordeaux style wines. This rare Bordeaux varietal reveals elegant vanilla and sweet herb aromas with flavors of black pepper, cinnamon, ripe fruit and milk chocolate. Winemaker Mark Colvin calls it his "300-pound linebacker that eats sushi and loves opera".
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Wine Press NW says: "This rare Bordeaux variety shows why it was so revered more than a century ago and why Mark Colvin is reviving it in the Walla Walla Valley. It reveals elegant vanilla and sweet herb aromas with flavors of ripe huckleberries and creamy milk chocolate across the palate."
Colvin is known for their introduction of the Carmenere, or Grand Vidure grape, to the Walla Walla Valley. Hundreds of years ago, it was well-known as a terrific blending grape. For years, winemaker Mark Colvin had been looking for this Bordeaux varietal, thought to be extinct following the in the mid-1800s destruction of French vineyards by phylloxera.
Seven years ago, however, the grape was rediscovered in Chile. Mark had been searching for it for ten years, and finally tracked plants down in California. Colvin Vineyards is a pioneer in planting Carmenere grapes in the Walla Walla Valley.
