2003 Porter Creek Carignane, Angeli Vineyard

Region: Alexander Valley, California, US

Composition: 100% Carignane

Background: I got this mostly because I don't like Carignane. Which is weird, but I have a habit of buying wines made from grapes or in ways I don't like until I find one I do like. Or just to try to determine what it is about said grape/method I don't like. I can't say I hate all Carignane, but I often find that wines with Carignane in them have something I mentally refer to as a "stop sign" finish... they are slightly acrid at the finish and stop short and abruptly. There is a burnt rubber rigidity I don't like. Again, not all the time, but it is often there. In any case, I am trying to like Carignane more. Or make peace with it. Something made me decide buying a bottle of Carignane, no other grapes to mess with it, was a good idea.

I had been eyeing this one for a while and finally picked it up (I am thinking I should have also gotten the Wild Hog Carignane and compared the two, since I have had the Wild Hog before. Oh, hindsight). It's made by Alex Davis, who took over winemaking at Porter Creek in 1997 (his father George bought land and started the winery in the late 1970's and was winemaker until 1997). Alex worked at the winery on and off as a kid, then went and got his BS in enology, working in Burgundy for a while (under Marcel Gugial, Bernard Michelot and Christophe Roumier) before coming back to Porter Creek.

The winery is certified organic and working towards biodynamic certification, and they focus on making wines from grapes found in Burgundy and Rhone (to date it looks like they make Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Viognier, and Syrah as well as this Carignane). They are small and only make about 2,000 cases of wine a year. I haven't been to the winery but might check it out when I am up in the area next month (I ended up finding this okay, and anyone who can make Carignane okay for me is worth checking out).

Notes: This is a pretty, deep, cherry red in the glass with pink edges. It has a slightly hard to discern nose- nothing jumps out at me- but there is red fruit (cherry, raspberry), violet, and some dust and spice in there (a woody spice smell, like dried leaves). On the palate it has a good amount of cherry fruit and you can also taste some oak (more of that dried-leaf woodiness). The tannins are very very soft, chalky at most. It has some nice bright acid in the mid-palate and the finish is not unpleasant-- slightly spicy, even though I get a hint of that rubbery harshness. Only a hint, though, and it isn't unpleasant or overpowering. The wine is a lot like a Pinot Noir in style (light, with soft tannins), but has different flavors. We drank it with some pizza I made with roasted tomatoes, garlic, and rapini, and it was nice (it fared slightly less better with the asparagus, cherry tomato, and feta pizza, but that's asparagus for you).

Overall, it did not blow me away, but I have yet to meet a Carignane that does. It might be that the grape can only do so much.... there is a reason it is not a noble grape, I guess. But the fact that I didn't make a face at it and open something else is something to consider.

Cost: $15

Overall: B

Comments

[Bob Condon]

Sorry to learn that you don't like Carignane and that it gives you headaches. The headaches are due to histamine release from wood congeners arising from the aging barrels. Take a Claritin an hour before drinking. And, try the Pellegrini Old Vines Carignane. it might change your mind.