Do a self evaluation of your wine journey. Are you stuck in a rut? Always buying that same old buttery Chardonnay or smack-you-in-the-face Cabernet Sauvignon? Ultimately, if you enjoy it, then it doesn’t matter. But if you are at all curious and open to new experiences, then the world of wine has so much more to offer. Region, climate, weather, soil, slope, aspect, and technique can affect the wine so that the same varietal can have very different expressions.
Take Syrah, for example. For the most part, this Northern Rhône grape yields a wine featuring dark fruits, black pepper, and high tannins. In a warmer climate, like Paso Robles, that black pepper may turn to licorice. It’s a big, bold wine.
But it doesn’t have to be. Enter carbonic maceration and our May wine of the month, the Coquelicot* Estate Vineyard Carbonic Syrah Los Olivos District.
Carbonic maceration is a winemaking technique in which whole clusters of grapes are placed inside a sealed container that is filled with carbon dioxide. In this oxygen-free environment the grapes ferment from the inside (intracellular fermentation) until they crush under their own weight and release the juice so that the ambient yeast can finish the job. The result is a juicier wine with bright acidity and low tannins. Perhaps the most famous example of this style is Beaujolais Nouveau, made from Gamay and released every November around Thanksgiving.
Coquelicot’s winemaker, Mike Roth, has employed this technique to make a wonderfully bright Syrah with fresh candied flavors where the red fruit is more prominent than the black. Think jolly rancher, kirsch, and bubble gum, with violet on the nose as well. There is a hint of tannin to provide some texture and structure, but it’s not brooding as in a typical Syrah. This is a wine meant to be drunk young to take advantage of its freshness. A completely different, and still enjoyable, Syrah experience.
Also notable is the appearance. Mike wisely chose a clear glass bottle to highlight the color, which would technically be classified as a medium purple but we would call medium magenta (red wines are professionally described as either ruby, purple, garnet, or tawny). It’s beautiful.
Next time you’re in Los Olivos make a point to visit Coquelicot for a tasting. Try their Carbonic Syrah, our May wine of the month. You’ll be hooked. At $35 it’s a great value, and since this wine is meant to be drunk now, you can push back your buttery Chards and big Cabs for a while. You may even decide on your next wine adventure.
Learn more about Coquelicot, book your appointment, and purchase their wine here:
https://www.coquelicotwines.com
@coquelicot_wines
*(ko-klee-ko)