Koehler Winery Santa Ynez Valley Mourvedre 2016
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Estate grown Mourvedre shows its stand-alone quality year after year. The fruit from this wine was sourced from our 3 acre Mourvedre block in the Casa Blanca Vineyard. This limited production wine shows aromatic notes of spicy clove, fragrant raspberries, and baking spices. An elegant balance of earth and fruit showcases black pepper, wild bramble, and red meat. The lengthy, lush finish is complimented by structured, yet subtle tannins.
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Aromas of plum candy, mulberry and mulling spices show on the nose of this bottling from a vineyard near the town of Los Olivos. There is a snappy plum flavor to the palate, where tangy fruit skin tones meet with exotic purple flowers.
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2014-
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Full of ripe fruit, and robust, earthy goodness, Mourvèdre is actually of Spanish provenance, where it still goes by the name Monastrell or Mataro. It is better associated however, with the Red Blends of the Rhône, namely Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Mourvèdre shines on its own in Bandol and is popular both as a single varietal wine in blends in the New World regions of Australia, California and Washington. Somm Secret—While Mourvèdre has been in California for many years, it didn’t gain momentum until the 1980s when a group of California winemakers inspired by the wines of the Rhône Valley finally began to renew a focus on it.
Ranging from cool and foggy in the west to warm and dry in the east, the Santa Ynez Valley is a climatically diverse growing area. The most expansive AVA within the larger Santa Barbara County region, Santa Ynez is also home to a wide variety of soil types and geographical features. The appellation is further divided into four distinct sub-AVAs—Sta. Rita Hills, Ballard Canyon, Los Olivos District and Happy Canyon—each with its own defining characteristics.
A wide selection of grapes is planted here—more than sixty different varieties, and counting. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir dominate in the chilly west, while Zinfandel, Rhône blends, and Bordeaux blends rule the arid east. Syrah is successful at both ends of the valley, with a lean and peppery, Old-World sensibility closer to the coast and lush berry fruit further inland.