2006 Carina Cellars Sibylline

A little back story behind how we found this wine.
In February Mary and I met my cousin Matt and his wife Megan in Los Olivos in the Santa Ynez Valley just north of Santa Barbara for a day of wine tasting. They were driving in from Phoenix while we flew into LAX and then drove up, and we arrived early enough to do a few tastings by ourselves. One of the places we tasted was Bedford Thompson. One unique aspect of their wines was that they were all from 2001 and thus were already aged and in their prime (I'm sure when we drink one of their wines [we bought 4] I will write about it). Whenever we find a new winery we really enjoy, we often ask the pourer if they recommend any other places to visit, and he recommended a place called Buttonwood.

The four of us arrived at Buttonwood at 11am right when the winery opened (you know the day is going to be good when that happens). When we were tasting our wines at Buttonwood, someone who worked there mentioned that his wife pours at Carina Cellars and he gave us a pass for 4 free tastings at Carina Cellars. We had never heard of Carina Cellars prior to the trip and had not planned on visiting there but we couldn't pass up some free tastings!! We were so glad that we did because we enjoyed all of their wines and it was hard to decide which ones we would buy. Plus, Carina Cellars shares its tasting room with Tensley Wines and we were able to taste them for free as well!!! This is just another example of how during our wine travels that some of our favorite places have been those that we never planned on visiting.

Now onto the wine...

Tonight we drank the Carina Cellars Sybilline. It is a blend of 55% Mouvedre, 33% Grenache, and 12% Syrah. The website describes it as "a vibrant bouquet of cassis, blackberries and jasmine. Unable to resist these alluring aromas, you become engaged in a decadent palate of bright fruits and vanilla that culminates in a smoky cranberry and white pepper finish. This wine will leave you wanting more, and will tempt your palate long after the last sip is gone." It paired well with the BBQ chicken with zinfandel BBQ sauce. Interestingly, we also bought a wine from Carina that is 55% Syrah, 33% Grenache and 12%Mouvedre. So it will be interesting to taste how a wine that switches the percentage of mouvedre and syrah.

Cheers,
BC