Cuvée Juveniles

Grenache is widely planted throughout the world but some of the best expressions come from the southern Rhone, and in Spain’s Priorat. Grenache has small berries with thick grape skins resulting in dark, tannic wine in its youth combined with an almost ripe sweetness and elevated alcohol. Often part of a blend, Grenache offers a lot of fruit, spice, with floral and herbal notes.

Mataro, also known as Mourvèdre, is a red grape variety widely grown in Spain and France. It produces dark, tannic wines with high acidity and flavors of blackberries, spices, and earthy notes. Mataro is often used in blends to add structure, depth, and complexity.

In the past, Carignan was responsible for a lot of bulk wine because of its high yielding potential, but in the right hands it can make quality with intense red fruit, spice, and structure. Often blended with other grape varietals, old vine Carignan can yield rich red fruit driven wines at bang for your buck price levels.

Counoise is a red grape variety from the Rhône Valley in France. It contributes bright acidity, light tannins, and spicy red fruit flavors to blends. Counoise is commonly used in Châteauneuf-du-Pape and other southern Rhône wines to add freshness and complexity.

Syrah is widely planted throughout the world, but that was not so until the late twentieth century when Syrah was principally grown in the Rhone Valley and, as Shiraz, in Australia. Stylistically, the Palate Character of Syrah can vary depending on ripeness from a rich Round & Fleshy, Tone & Backbone, to a Powerful & Extracted. The flavors and aromas can also vary with a dark, sometimes sweet, fruit character, varying amount of spice, floral, and earth, and smoke, and meaty aromas and flavors.