WineSmith Cellars Mixed Reds

Tasting notes & discussion 112

Typically $35-40 from WineSmith
Vintage 2013 Meritage (Lake County), Vintage 2014 Grenache (Santa Cruz Mountains), Vintage 2017 Norton (Yolo County)
Available for AZ; CA; CO; CT; DC; FL; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MT; NC; ND; NE; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OH; OR; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY
Sold by WineSmith Cellars, fulfilled by Wine Country Connect

About WineSmith Cellars
Founded in 1993 by Clark Smith, WineSmith Cellars has been focused on exploring Eurocentric wines in ways outside the mainstream. Preferring to create long-term relationships with many different vineyards, WineSmith sources from committed growers rather than run its own vineyard. Clark Smith is an expert in Cabernet Franc, with over 20 vintages from multiple locations. Some of the most notable aspects of Smith’s wines are their longevity, balance, and “understated soulfulness.” In addition, the wines are often aged prior to being released. His book, Postmodern Winemaking, contains four decades of insight and reflection on wine’s true nature.

Seabasstopol

TASTING NOTES:
Grenache - “One expects from your basic Grenache a simple strawberry aroma, but here we have in support of its bright fruitiness an intriguing collection of melon, droughty “garrigue” herbs, saddle leather and Asian spice. The mouth is medium-bodied with fine tannins and energetic minerality.” (AbV 12.9%, pH 3.73, 6.7 g/L, 20.7˚ Brix)

Norton - “…full ripe flavors and softening [Norton’s] considerable acidity. Its deep purple color, rich blueberry flavor and dense yet incredibly soft tannins have great curb appeal. This is Clark’s wife RuthE.’s favorite WineSmith offering. Its dense, soft body owes to a high degree of unfermentable polysaccharides similar to the unfermentable starches in microbrew beer.” (AbV 12.9%, pH 3.78, TA 7.1 g/L, 24.6˚ Brix)

Meritage - “…a complex mixture of bright red fruit aromas: grenadine, white cherry and black raspberry… Droughty herbs that surround the site impart “air-oir” – sage and bay laurel elements which are apparent in the nose. The volcanic soil imparts a racy mineral energy to the palate and gives the wine a prolonged aging trajectory.” (AbV 14.5%, pH 3.80, 81% Merlot 19% Cabernet Franc, 24.3˚ Brix)

BARRELS:
Grenache spent 27 months in neutral French oak. Norton spent 18 months in 20-year old neutral French oak. Meritage spent 51 months in 20-year old neutral French oak.

TANGENTIALLY RELATED FACT to help you make conversation over this wine:
Sea bass refers not to a single fish, but several different species. These species include, but are not limited to:
The Butterfly Perch
The Potato Cod
The Dusky Grouper
The Toadstool Groper
The Patagonian Toothfish

PAIRS WITH (winery recommended):
Each has a different recommended pairing. Check in the full specifications for more details.

OR (really-going-with-the-theme-option):
The toadstool groper.

Who's buying this?

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Best of the bass named above?

The Butterfly Perch

The Butterfly Perch
The Potato Cod

The Potato Cod
The Dusky Grouper

The Dusky Grouper
The Toadstool Groper

The Toadstool Groper
The Patagonian Toothfish

The Patagonian Toothfish

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