2020 Comanche Cellars Maverick, Arroyo Seco, San Benito County
Tasting Notes
Beginning with its gorgeous deep ruby color, this blend of Syrah and Sangiovese is aptly named for one of Michael’s first loves — his pup, Maverick. This wine will soon hold a special place in your heart too with its non-stop layers of juicy red plum, black tea, and nutmeg held together by zingy acids and a smooth finish.
Specs
Vintage: 2020
Varietals: 58% Syrah, 40% Sangiovese, 2% Graciano
Appellation: Arroyo Seco, San Benito County
Aging: 24 months in 25% new French Oak
Harvest Date: 10/1/20
Bottle Date: 09/25/2022
Alcohol: 12.1%
Case production: 59
2020 Dog & Pony La Vaquera, California
Tasting Notes
La Vaquera, our favorite cowgirl, continues the tradition of being sassy, spicy, and fruity. Medium-bodied with pleasing acidity, this wine works well with all palates.
My name is Michael Simons, and what started as a love affair with wine has turned into a passion for producing small lots of very handcrafted wines from neighboring vineyards. Our tiny (1,800 cases) winery is named after Comanche, my horse when I was ten years old. He was an important part of a young life, and I use his name as a loving tribute to this old friend. These days, I ride a bicycle, and since this love affair with wine turned into a full-blown obsession, finding time for riding anything can be tough. But I still think of Comanche often, and am proud that his name and shoes are on every bottle of my wine. Maybe those horseshoes will bring you some good luck!
Comanche Cellars is on California’s Monterey Peninsula, where we take advantage of the incredible wealth of vineyards that can be found in almost every direction. All throughout the Santa Lucia Highlands, Arroyo Seco, San Antonio Valley and Santa Cruz Mountains AVA’s, there are winegrowers and winemakers producing incredibly beautiful wines that, we think, can and will rival the best the world has to offer. We’re happy to be in the sweet spot right now, as Wine Enthusiast recently named Monterey as one of the Top 5 winegrowing regions worldwide!
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Good evening! I was lucky to get a lab rat opportunity for the Dog & Pony La Vaquera by Comanche Cellars. This wine opens with a nice deep ruby color with slow forming legs. The initial smell is pleasant, if subtle. Notes of plum, dried herbs, mushroom, lightly smoked meat, and cedar. This red blend has a nice medium body with medium+ acidity. Tannins are present and well-integrated. Wine is bone dry. After opening the spice notes prominent and with more open time backed off and balanced better with the other flavors. Prominent flavors were plum, tart raspberry, and leather with more subtle notes of strawberry in the mid pallet and undertones cedar and tobacco. Everything is well integrated and, to me, represent the 60% Tempranillo/20% Grenache/20% Carignan blend well. Each varietal adds complexity and representative flavors to a cohesive wine.
This California red blend more than held its own against a garlic crusted steak and would have shined with braised lamb shank. The eclectic dinner has chipotle dusted corn on the cob which was OK, mostly amplifying the spice notes of both. This wine’s balance of complex flavors, integrated tannins, and a good acidity backbone make for an adept sipper that would gets better with a charcuterie plate or rich meal. Additionally, this wine should age well and is pleasant in its youth.
This wine is a nice value in the $30ish retail price range and the case price is a great value.
Cheers!
thank you for your review. This is one of our most popular blends with 2016 being the first vintage. It has sold out every year since. Old World meets New World. Easy drinking but never boring
We had the opportunity to rat the 2020 Maverick from Comanche Cellars. This wine was dark ruby in the glass with some purple highlights at the meniscus. I had never had a combination of Syrah and Sangiovese before, but the color combination makes sense with both of those juices. The first whiff was of alcohol, but there were some hints of leather and coffee. In later tastings, bright berry aromas took center stage.
This wine, in some ways, was very similar to Pedroncelli’s Sonoma Classico, a standby in our house. Like that wine, it is very sharply acidic, especially in the first two glasses, and my feeling was that it was akin to the tart cherry juice I used to make hard cider this winter: sweet with a sharp tang. It was also a very dry wine, and the tannins took a grip simultaneous to the tang.
After an initial glass, my wife and I had another with our meal, a chicken burrito bowl. Just like the Sonoma Classico, it is a food wine, and it stood up well to the taco seasoning and the starchiness of the rice. Later in the evening, it also complemented a sharp cheddar, although by that time the acid was more muted. While the label stated that the ABV was 12.1%, it felt much higher.
We enjoyed what this bottle had to offer, but we didn’t feel that the wine was complex or deep. This is most valuable as a solid enhancement to a meal. Thank you to Alice, Wine David, and WCC for the chance to share our thoughts!
I’ve been having a really tough week, but I felt like the Universe took pity on me Wednesday night when a bottle of Comanche Cellars 2020 Maverick Red arrived at my door from blessed Alice. Unfortunately, it was pretty late and the bottle had gotten warm in the UPS truck. I decided to let it rest, and open it the next day.
The Maverick is a blend of Syrah, Sangiovese, and a touch of Graciano. The first pour got me excited to try the wine. The color is very inviting. A deep, dark garnet with a slight purple hue on the edges. Gentle swirling revealed thick, slow legs.
The nose was a little disappointing for me. I didn’t get any alcohol burn, but it was hard for me to differentiate notes in the nose. I didn’t get a lot of fruit, maybe a little cherry. More prominent was cedar, green herby notes, and a hint of funk, like a stinky soft cheese. I like cedar and funky cheese, so this wasn’t a turn off, though I’d prefer more fruit and leather notes.
I let the wine breathe in the glass for 20 minutes. My first taste was surprisingly tannic. It was much more dry than I expected, with red plums and tart cherries on the front, astringency like juniper or rosemary in the middle, turning into a spicy dry finish with notes of Chinese 5 spice and juniper on the end. After an hour, it hadn’t softened much, so I decided to try it with some aged brie and Castelvetrano olives.
This is definitely a food wine! It was especially good with the fatty, stinky brie. It became softer, less dry and tannic, and the red fruit became more prominent. The finish remained full of warming spices. The olives amplified the green, herby notes of the wine.
I’d recommend this wine as a pairing with rich food. I can imagine it cleansing the palate during a dish of hearty Boeuf Bourguignon or Fettuccine Alfredo.
Thank you for your review. This wine will soften as it breathes. Monterey County is a cooler climate and lends itself to Old World style wines with pleasant acidity
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations).
2020 Comanche Cellars Mixed Red Blends - $45 = 19.99%
2020 Comanche Cellars Maverick, Arroyo Seco, San Benito County
Tasting Notes
Specs
2020 Dog & Pony La Vaquera, California
Tasting Notes
Specs
What’s Included
4-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
$396.00/Case for 6x 2020 Comanche Cellars Maverick, Arroyo Seco, San Benito County + 6x 2020 Dog & Pony La Vaquera, California at Comanche Cellars
About The Winery
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Monday, May 15 - Tuesday, May 16
Comanche Cellars Mixed Red Blends
4 bottles for $74.99 $18.75/bottle + $2/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $179.99 $15/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
2020 Maverick
2020 La Vaquera
2020 Dog & Pony La Vaquera
Good evening! I was lucky to get a lab rat opportunity for the Dog & Pony La Vaquera by Comanche Cellars. This wine opens with a nice deep ruby color with slow forming legs. The initial smell is pleasant, if subtle. Notes of plum, dried herbs, mushroom, lightly smoked meat, and cedar. This red blend has a nice medium body with medium+ acidity. Tannins are present and well-integrated. Wine is bone dry. After opening the spice notes prominent and with more open time backed off and balanced better with the other flavors. Prominent flavors were plum, tart raspberry, and leather with more subtle notes of strawberry in the mid pallet and undertones cedar and tobacco. Everything is well integrated and, to me, represent the 60% Tempranillo/20% Grenache/20% Carignan blend well. Each varietal adds complexity and representative flavors to a cohesive wine.
This California red blend more than held its own against a garlic crusted steak and would have shined with braised lamb shank. The eclectic dinner has chipotle dusted corn on the cob which was OK, mostly amplifying the spice notes of both. This wine’s balance of complex flavors, integrated tannins, and a good acidity backbone make for an adept sipper that would gets better with a charcuterie plate or rich meal. Additionally, this wine should age well and is pleasant in its youth.
This wine is a nice value in the $30ish retail price range and the case price is a great value.
Cheers!
@mtnzj
thank you for your review. This is one of our most popular blends with 2016 being the first vintage. It has sold out every year since. Old World meets New World. Easy drinking but never boring
2020 Comanche Maverick
We had the opportunity to rat the 2020 Maverick from Comanche Cellars. This wine was dark ruby in the glass with some purple highlights at the meniscus. I had never had a combination of Syrah and Sangiovese before, but the color combination makes sense with both of those juices. The first whiff was of alcohol, but there were some hints of leather and coffee. In later tastings, bright berry aromas took center stage.
This wine, in some ways, was very similar to Pedroncelli’s Sonoma Classico, a standby in our house. Like that wine, it is very sharply acidic, especially in the first two glasses, and my feeling was that it was akin to the tart cherry juice I used to make hard cider this winter: sweet with a sharp tang. It was also a very dry wine, and the tannins took a grip simultaneous to the tang.
After an initial glass, my wife and I had another with our meal, a chicken burrito bowl. Just like the Sonoma Classico, it is a food wine, and it stood up well to the taco seasoning and the starchiness of the rice. Later in the evening, it also complemented a sharp cheddar, although by that time the acid was more muted. While the label stated that the ABV was 12.1%, it felt much higher.
We enjoyed what this bottle had to offer, but we didn’t feel that the wine was complex or deep. This is most valuable as a solid enhancement to a meal. Thank you to Alice, Wine David, and WCC for the chance to share our thoughts!
Comanche Cellars 2020 Maverick Red Blend
I’ve been having a really tough week, but I felt like the Universe took pity on me Wednesday night when a bottle of Comanche Cellars 2020 Maverick Red arrived at my door from blessed Alice. Unfortunately, it was pretty late and the bottle had gotten warm in the UPS truck. I decided to let it rest, and open it the next day.
The Maverick is a blend of Syrah, Sangiovese, and a touch of Graciano. The first pour got me excited to try the wine. The color is very inviting. A deep, dark garnet with a slight purple hue on the edges. Gentle swirling revealed thick, slow legs.
The nose was a little disappointing for me. I didn’t get any alcohol burn, but it was hard for me to differentiate notes in the nose. I didn’t get a lot of fruit, maybe a little cherry. More prominent was cedar, green herby notes, and a hint of funk, like a stinky soft cheese. I like cedar and funky cheese, so this wasn’t a turn off, though I’d prefer more fruit and leather notes.
I let the wine breathe in the glass for 20 minutes. My first taste was surprisingly tannic. It was much more dry than I expected, with red plums and tart cherries on the front, astringency like juniper or rosemary in the middle, turning into a spicy dry finish with notes of Chinese 5 spice and juniper on the end. After an hour, it hadn’t softened much, so I decided to try it with some aged brie and Castelvetrano olives.
This is definitely a food wine! It was especially good with the fatty, stinky brie. It became softer, less dry and tannic, and the red fruit became more prominent. The finish remained full of warming spices. The olives amplified the green, herby notes of the wine.
I’d recommend this wine as a pairing with rich food. I can imagine it cleansing the palate during a dish of hearty Boeuf Bourguignon or Fettuccine Alfredo.
Thank you for your review. This wine will soften as it breathes. Monterey County is a cooler climate and lends itself to Old World style wines with pleasant acidity
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations).
2020 Comanche Cellars Mixed Red Blends - $45 = 19.99%