Monday, May 2, 2016

Le Cigare Volant Réserve 2011

The Réserve version of Randall Grahm’s flagship wine is aged en bonbonnes, which means it is aged not in oak but in glass carboys, or, less elegantly, jugs. It is also aged sur lie, or in contact with the used-up yeast cells that gave their lives making alcohol. We salute them. The former insures that you are tasting all fruit, the latter that it’s got a creamier mouthfeel than the normale Cigare.

As Grahm explains, "The Réserve has a slightly different texture than the 'normale,' tannins not quite as firm, rather softer, plusher and more velvety, with enhanced mouth feel and a slightly more savory aspect."

The varieties are 37% Mourvèdre, 34% Grenache, 20% Syrah and 9% Cinsault picked from eight Central Coast vineyards, Ventana, Del Barba, Rancho Solo, Evangelho, Bien Nacido, Alamo Creek, Bechtold and Gonsalves. At 14.5% abv, the alcohol is noticeable, but not an intrusion. 966 cases were made, and it retails normally at $79 per bottle. There was a pretty big sale going on, last I checked.

Le Cigare Volant Réserve is as fresh as a just-picked daisy. The nose full of ripe red fruit shows a touch of spice, while the palate seems even more youthful and exuberant. That’s something I might expect in a wine produced just last fall, but this one was made five years ago. Cherries, raspberry and blueberry cover the fruity side, while leather, spice and earth handle the savory lifting. It is an amazing wine, one of my favorites for the four vintages it has been produced.


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