Sea Pines Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

Tasting notes & discussion 12

Typically $32/bottle from Vinum Cellars
Vintage 2020 from Mendocino County
Available for AZ; CA; CO; FL; GA; ID; IL; KS; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MT; NC; ND; NE; NH; NM; NV; NY; OH; OR; PA; TN; TX; VA; VT; WA; WI; WY
Sold by participating winery or licensee, fulfilled by Wine Country Connect

About Vinum Cellars: “Our basic winemaking philosophy is to work with great grape growers to develop the best fruit in the vineyard. We pick the grapes at optimal ripeness and gently process the fruit. We are very experimental with yeast strains and use different cultures for each variety. Our whites are barrel fermented slowly and aged Sur Lies in small French Oak barrels. With our reds, skin contact is optimized by the use of small open top fermentors, hand punch downs and extended maceration before pressing. Our belief in the use of older French Oak barrels allows the varietal fruit of our wines to be expressed. We are committed to experimenting and learning new winemaking methods while preserving an old world approach.”

The Sea Pines

TASTING NOTES:
“…excellent viscosity that coats the glass with long legs indicating the high level of extraction. The nose is very intense with cherry vanilla and ripe blackberry notes which carry into the palate by way of additional blue fruit. The palate is mouth coating and rich with intense huckleberry and blueberry notes with subtle spice and toasted vanilla. The finish is complete with solid blue fruit notes and silky texture as well as mouth filling tannins from both the Cabernet fruit and the extended time in barrel.” (AbV 14.1%, pH 3.46, TA 6.0 g/L, Dry)

BARRELS: 18 months in French oak.

TANGENTIALLY RELATED FACT to help you make conversation over this wine:
Make sure you specify sea pine tree if you ever want to learn about them, unless you’re interested in hotels/resorts. Anyway, the sea pine or Pinus pinaster is a, who could’ve seen it coming, pine tree that has also been known as a maritime pine. This is because it tends to grow along the southern Atlantic coast of Europe and around the Mediterranean Sea. You may be thinking, wait, why would this wine from Mendocino be named after a native European tree? Granted, many wine names seem to have little relation to what they’re named after on the surface. While there have been some Pinus pinaster brought across the sea, they aren’t exactly prominent. Instead, the name may be a reference to one of several other pines from the Northern California coastline. In particular, the Pinus muricata or bishop pine. Why? Well, it can be found in Mendocino near the ocean, which is where the namesake vineyard happens to be. It’s not the only type around there, but it can have a rather unique look. On the coast, the branches grow contorted, sometimes almost bonsai-like. They’ve also got dark blue-green needles on the variety that grows around Mendocino upward. Weirdly, the tree can have bright green needles or those blue-green ones whether it originates above or below the Mendocino and Sonoma County line, and the two types can’t be hybridized.

PAIRS WITH (winery recommended): Salt and pepper grilled New York steak with rosemary roasted fingerling potatoes and mesclun greens.

OR (really-going-with-the-theme-option): A carved sea pine “glass.”

Who's buying this?

How are you buying your bottles?

Do you ever just eat a salad on its own, not as an appetizer or side?

Frequently

Frequently
Occasionally

Occasionally
Rarely

Rarely
Nope

Nope

54 votes