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More wines available from Clendenen Family Vineyards
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The wine is plush and enveloping, and yet like all of Jim Clendenen's wines, it also remains light on its feet. Hints...
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Beautiful. Ripe black cherry, plum, spice, licorice, cedar and new leather are some of the many notes that emerge...
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Winery
Clendenen Family Vineyards
Vintage: 2011
The year 2011 was an interesting year for many northern and central European countries, as the weather was more than unpredictable in the spring and summer. However, in most countries, the climatic conditions thankfully settled down in the late summer and fall. The result of this slightly difficult year of weather in France was a set of surprisingly small yields, but overall, these yields were of a higher quality than those harvested in certain previous years. A fantastic set of wines was also made in Italy and Spain, and the Rioja wines - when released - are set to be very good indeed. Austria also had superb year in 2011, with almost fifty percent more grapes being grown and used for their distinctive Gruner Veltliner wines than in the year before. Possibly the European country which had the finest 2011, though, was Portugal, with wineries in the Douro region claiming this year to be one of the best in decades for the production of Port wine, and the bright, young Vinho Verdes wines.
In the New World, the Pacific Northwest saw some of the best weather of 2011, and Washington State and Oregon reportedly had a highly successful year, especially for the cultivation of high quality red wine grapes. Chile and Argentina had a relatively cool year, which certainly helped retain the character of many of their key grape varietals, and should make for some exciting drinking. South Africa had especially good weather for their white wine grape varietals, particularly Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, and many South African wineries are reporting 2011 as one of their best years in recent memory.
Varietal: Nebbiolo
The dusty purple grapes of the Nebbiolo variety are widely considered to be amongst the finest in the world, and hold many unique characteristics which have secured their place in wine making history. Indeed, almost all of the most respected and sought after red wines of Italy are made using this grape varietal, and it wasn't long before several New World wineries started experimenting with the fruit of this special vine, too. Nebbiolo grapes are renowned for their ability to age beautifully, with their strong and dense tannins mellowing out and becoming more balanced inside the oak. Alongside this, they hold some of the most complex and exciting flavors to be found in any grape, which range from gorgeous notes of black truffle, to aromatic violets and tobacco tones.
Region: California
Since the 18th century, California has been a hugely important and influential wine region, acting as a trailblazer for other New World wine regions and utilizing an important blend of traditional and contemporary practices, methods and techniques relating to their wine production. Split into four key areas – the North Coast, the Central Coast, the South Coast and the Central Valley – Californian wineries make the most of their ideal climate and rich variety of terrains in order to produce a fascinating range of wines made with a long list of different fine grape varietals. Today, the state has almost half a million acres under vine, and is one of the world's largest wine exporters, with Californian wines being drunk and enjoyed all across the globe.
Country: United States
Of all the New World wine countries, perhaps the one which has demonstrated the most flair for producing high quality wines - using a combination of traditional and forward-thinking contemporary methods - has been the United States of America. For the past couple of centuries, the United States has set about transforming much of its suitable land into vast vineyards, capable of supporting a wide variety of world-class grape varietals which thrive on both the Atlantic and the Pacific coastlines. Of course, we immediately think of sun-drenched California in regards to American wines, with its enormous vineyards responsible for the New World's finest examples of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot based wines, but many other states have taken to viticulture in a big way, with impressive results. Oregon, Washington State and New York have all developed sophisticated and technologically advanced wine cultures of their own, and the output of U.S wineries is increasing each year as more and more people are converted to their produce.
Appellation: Santa Barbara
The beautiful region of Santa Barbara in California is one of the United States' most important wine regions, with a history which stretches back over a hundred years, and which currently has a high reputation for excellence and wines of character and distinction. Many people claim that the county of Santa Barbara is highly similar to that of Provence in France, with its gently sloping hillsides and lush green spaces. The similarity extends to the wines which are produced there, which generally involve big, flavorful and characterful red wines made from classic grape varietals such as Cabernet Sauvignon. The dozens of wineries in Santa Barbara benefit enormously from the hot sunshine and cooling Pacific winds, meaning that many different varietals can flourish there and produce a wide array of exceedingly high quality wines.