Harrington Lover's Lane Carignan 2015
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Harrington Wines is a small producer hell bent on bringing to light the obscure, forgotten grapes of California as well as producing clean, stable wines made without sulfites.
The winery was started in 2002 to produce California Pinot Noir. Over the years, a great deal of energy has been spent researching, locating and working with some of California's long-forgotten Pinot Noir vineyards. Ultimately, the vineyard sites chosen are challenging viticulturally, either because of age, climate or terrain. Of these three criteria, older vineyards have become most valued as they have adapted to and been changed by their environs and produce subtle wines more deeply imbued with Pinot's characteristic flavors and aromatics.
Over the past decade, this search for older Pinot Noir vineyards has brought a keen awareness of the forgotten viticultural treasures of California. There are vineyards full of history and potential scattered throughout California and wonderful wines can be made from the rare grape varieties coming from locations other than Napa and Sonoma. So in 2008, the Pinot-only regimen was stretched to include a Nebbiolo from two vineyards located on the limestone ridges of westside Paso Robles.
Responsible for some of the most stunning old vine red wine on the planet, Carignan has an amazing capacity to survive dry, arid climates and still produce lovely, mouthwatering wine. In Spain it goes by the name of Mazuelo or Cariñena and while it may have originated there in the province of Aragón, its popularity lies elsewhere, particularly in Languedoc-Roussillon. Somm Secret—Historically Carignan did not enjoy the respect that it does today. In the mid 20th century, Carignan covered nearly 140,000 ha in Algeria, where it was made into low quality bulk and blending wine to supply mass-market demand.
A large and diverse appellation within California’s North Coast AVA, Mendocino is home to several smaller sub-regions—most notably the Anderson Valley. This scenic region, with rolling hills covered in redwood forests as well as vineyards, is one of the world’s top producers of certified organically-grown grapes. Due to wide geographical and climatic variation, a vast array of wine styles can be found here.