Whether the soils/climate are different from other places in MendoCnty is not important, Mike. But I would argue that the terroir there is
different. The wines from there are, to my taste, dramatically different from any I’ve had from either the UkiahVlly or the AndersonVlly. Maybe, just maybe,
some similarity to some from the MendoRidge, perhaps. But that’s about it. I’m sure you could find some soils on Stu’s property that
are near identical to some in other parts of MendoCnty. But that, to me, doesn’t trump what I taste in the wines from AS.
Tom
I think we agree more then disagree on this, there is something distinct to Alder Springs. When a block is picked at proper ripeness and put in the hands of a skilled winemaker you can get a wine that speaks of Alder Springs and nowhere else.
I am revealing my ignorance here, but which producer is drawing Carignan from the Alder Springs Vineyard?
My point had more to do with the winemaker putting his or her ‘stamp’ on the variety more than the variety standing up front and center . . . Tom, I will defer to you . . .
Cheers
I can’t think of many situations where the winemaking style doesn’t trump the site/variety/whatever. I guess it’s just part of the game (for better or worse!).
Well . . .
- I think if you use a ton of new oak, that oftentimes ‘overpowers’ the fruit.
- I think if you pick too ripe, that leads to a style that may not show off the variety best.
- I think if you pick too early, the same can happen on the opposite end.
- I think if you use stems and don’t allow them to ‘integrate’ well in barrel, you end up with something that is ‘out of balance’.
- I think if you feel it’s necessary to blend small amounts of other varieties to ensure that the ‘main variety’ makes a ‘more complete wine’, you are apt to mask the varietal character.
So many others that can be stated here - and no, I am not ‘holier than thou’ and yes, my wines are ‘far from perfect’.
It’s just fun to bring up these conversations and see what others have to say . . .
Cheers.
Larry, I might have misrepresented my intentions in my last post. Briefly put, I agree.
I don’t think any do. Stu has a massive variety of stuff up there, but not sure I’ve seen or heard of any Carignan at AS (unless just in experimental blocks).
Mendocino Carignan has been an elusive beast for so many years. There are many vineyards around our inland area. The Calpela bench, areas of Ukiah and Talmage all have old plantings of the stuff. The Testa folks have been successful at promoting it as a premium product recently.
There’s a vineyard in Talmage that I have watched for decades. 2 of the past 4 years it wasn’t even picked. Some of those vines are so big (head trained) that you could climb in them. The Talmage folks keep removing some blocks and have planted Petite Sirah and other things.
The main problem is the old timers who grow this stuff are still living in the 70’s. They think more crop is better for a good paycheck. Lots of them don’t even drink or know what good wine is. They think 23 brix is pretty racy shit. Every now and then a small winery buys a few tons and when the crop is in check and the winemaker holds the growers hand to get it ripe, great things can happen. It KILLS them to see the crop held back at 4-5 tons/acre.
Carignan is also very sensitive to powdery mildew. Add to that they usually grow quite a canopy, its hard to keep the fruit clean. Then if a guy wants to go organic you better get ready for lots of sulfur (dust and wettable) to be applied during the growing season. This can also make the winemaking problematic.
As some of these old birds die off the next generation sees that Cabernet is easier to grow and can be picked with a machine. The big wineries are also sweet talking them into long term deals. Its a shame, but its nice to make a living sometimes.
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Drew, thanks for sharing my story in the AVA. That was one of my more researched articles and I spent an evening at Bob Klindt’s house in July 2012 (before they sold it) recording him speak about Redwood Valley. He shared some great older bottles that evening too, the best being field blends that had Carignane in them.
I’m sure plenty of people on the board would second this, but the best California Carignane I’ve tried was from Sandlands. I know there are a few bottlings of Carignane from Tegan, but the Mendocino version was delicious. Sometimes the more rustic Redwood Valley Carignane productions that I’ve tried along the way have medicinal, aspirin bottle-like nose to it that I can never get past. Great to see people actively buying Redwood Valley fruit nowadays. As the story got into, it was slow-going up there for fruit sales after the Rosenblum sale.
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Darren, I thank YOU for your great article!! 
Here’s a little tidbit I found/lost/rediscovered of the vineyards of Mendocino County via Google Maps*:
Mendocino Vineyards
- Full warning - the mapped vineyards and their corresponding owners dates back to 2009, so who knows what is still correct.
By the way, I believe that Tegan of Sandlands and Rory Williams of Calder have used fruit from the Cemetery Vineyard. Also, Rory, like his father, has included Carignan fruit from the Ricetti (Bench) Vineyard for a Rose.
Pretty cool map Drew. I tried Calder 2014 Carignane at The Chapel and Dirty Water in SF last week. The darkness of his rendition makes me think some of his Petite Sirah from Napa makes it into the mix, but either way, great wine and I signed up for the list.
Just had the Vinca Minor Carignan from 2015 side by side with a barrel sample of the 2016, set for release later this summer, at a wine dinner hosted at Spencer, a great little farm to table restaurant in Ann Arbor both where lovely and worth trying if you can find them.
I’d mentioned Martha Stoumen’s new label back in mid-April (Debut tasting of Martha Stoumen wines in Oakland), but it’s worth noting her wines again here since most of her fruit sources are from Mendocino County: Martha Stoumen Wines
Yes, well worth checking out (if she has any of this left). Full reviews should be out in a couple weeks. Very interesting old vine sites. https://marthastoumen.com/wines/#/2015-carignan/.
Here’s an older article on Carignan from John Bonné (2010) that includes a little bit of talk on Mendocino Carignan:
Sigh Okay, here goes nothing…
I am going to attempt to compile some semblance of a comprehensive list of Mendocino County vineyards that grow/produce Carignane (there, Americans, are you happy with the spelling now? 
).
I most graciously welcome any and all offers of help, be they corrections, updates, anecdotes, etc.
Redwood Valley
• Alvin Tollini - Niemi Vineyard
• Maria Testa Martinson - Gusto Vineyard
• Pete Johnson - Hawkeye Ranch
• Randy Dorn - Redwood Valley Juice Co.
Ukiah
• Tim Norgard - Holliday Ranch
• Venturi - I-Road, Cemetery Vineyard
• Tia Satterwhite - Rosewood
• John Chiarito - Lover’s Lane
• Maria Testa Martinson - Testa Ranch
• Wendy Fetzer - Feliz Creek
• Bartolomei Brother - Bartolomei
• Dennis Patton - DnA
…to be continued.
I’m a fan of Lioco’s Carignan and glad to see Darren’s article talk about them. I’m always a bit surprised they get so little mention here.
Agreed! Had it on Saturday with some non-wine geeks and we all really enjoyed it. Tasty red fruits with enough going on to keep it interesting