Description
Alondra is a new project from our friends at Skylark Wines, John Lancaster and Rob Perkins. They are two of the nicest, most humble, talented sommeliers on the San Francisco restaurant scene—who met across the street from Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant, at the Boulevard restaurant as co-Wine Directors. With their cumulative experience working with fine wines from all over the world, they were inspired to launch their own label in an attempt to create great wines—at restaurant friendly prices. To that end, they set about sourcing fruit from trusted growers in Mendocino and Sonoma counties, and made their first wine (14 barrels of Syrah) from the 2002 vintage. Encouraged by the praise of that initial wine, they expanded their scope to work with other Rhône varietals like Grenache and Carignan as well as Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay—which we featured as a wine club selection in April—and Cabernet Sauvignon. All in all, they produce small quantities of about 10 different wines, and due to their great success, Rob now spends most of his time, out in the field, showing their wines to an eager and ever-growing fan base.
The Cabernet Sauvignon for this bottling was sourced from one block in the heart of Mendocino County. Farmed organically, this vineyard is planted to three clonal selections specifically selected for this site. The grapes were gently crushed into a fermenter and left to ferment at its own pace with native yeasts. After primary fermentation it was racked into 30% new Taransaud barrels for eight months. One rack and return; bottled unfined and unfiltered. Richly scented nose of dark berries with a hint of sweet tobacco leaf. The palate shows hefty flavors of dark cherry, cassis, blackberry and blue plum. Gracefully structured with smooth, supple tannins though the clean, dry finish.
