"They may call this "Potty-Mouth Red", but it's really another beauty of a wine made from Calaveras County fruit. This soft Rhone-style red blend contains grenache, syrah, and mourvedre. Blueberries, black plum and alluring floral aromas are followed by black and blue fruit flavors that are bright and will pair well with food. Very good QPR." - Dr. Debs on Good Wine Under $20

"Bright, deep ruby red color. Wildly aromatic with scents of tarragon, lavender and allspice accenting the core of ultra-ripe berries. Rich and ripe on the palate with flavors of blueberry and raspberry supported by complimentary notes of earth and brown spice. Tremendously balanced and wonderfully styled offering more depth and Old World charm than most of its peers." - BevX

Food Pairing: Pairs and rhymes with Duck! Also BBQ pork and spicy Asian foods.

"This wine appeals to me as a classic California-style Rhone blend with just the right amount of oak to round out its luscious berry, cherry, and tobacco and cola flavors, voluptuous texture, and lingering finish. Excuse me while I pour a little more!" - winehiker on WineQ

"I recently enjoyed this New World styled wine slightly chilled at the Saratoga Race Track in update NY. This wine performed better than most of the horses I bet on. This purple wine opens with a pleasant cherry vanilla bouquet. On the palate, this medium bodied wine is smooth and loaded with lush juicy blackberry and boysenberry flavors. This fruit forward wine would match perfectly with a BBQ pulled pork sandwich. The finish is slightly dry and lingers nicely. This wine was a good red option for a hot day at the track. Perhaps that’s twisted." - Ken on KensWineGuide.com

"On this night the wine was medium garnet in color and had flavors of bright red fruits including raspberries and blueberries, sweet oak, and a touch of cedar & spice. Initially velvety soft and round, it finished dry with well-integrated tannins. A fantastic effort!" - Tresora on Second Leaf

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The meaty and leathery characters and hints of Provençal herbs and spices might have you thinking this Rhône-style blend of Mourvedre, Syrah, and Grenache just fell out of a “California Cheese” commerical. Well, the name is the only cheesy thing about it! Those bright fruit flavors of boysenberry and raspberry sure ain’t no bull! (Note: No animals were harmed in the writing of these tasting notes.)

The 2005 edition of this tastelessly named red Rhône-style blend is the first vintage with grapes sourced almost entirely from Calaveras County. All of the vineyards were chosen for a particular attribute that makes those vineyards very special places. In some cases it is exposure, in some it is clonal or rootstalk applications. But most of all they were chosen because these growers are incredibly committed to producing the highest quality fruit possible.

The base for this wine is Mourvedre from two vineyards. The Mourvedre from the Dalton Vineyard is grown here in Calaveras not far from the Calaveras River. Vineyard manager Steve Collum planted these vines with the intention of growing top notch Rhône varietals. The second Mourvedre was grown by El Dorado County’s very own Rhône varietal specialist Ron Mansfield on a vineyard named Fodhli near Gold Hill. The Grenache as well was grown on two different ranches. The first is our own Estate Vineyard here in Vallecito, and the second was once again the Dalton Vineyard. The Syrah comes from the Tanner Vineyard here in Vallecito, owned and operated by Dick and Ron Tanner and their sister Judy.

The final make-up for this was based on the particular contributions that each grape could make to the blend. For Bright fruit flavors up front, we started with Grenache. For mid-palate fruit and elements of spice, as well as an overall base for the wine, we used Mourvedre. Finally, Syrah was added for dark fruit flavors and powerful structure. All lots were fermented in open top vessels over a period of 14 days. They were pressed off of the skins and allowed to settle for 3 days before being moved by gravity into the barrels for the ageing process. The wine spent 11 months in barrels in order to add more spice elements as well as round out the tannin structure.