2018 Sandlands Cinsault- USA, California, Central Valley, Lodi (3/15/2020)
12.3 abv from 134yr old vines…open in bottle for an hour, slightly chilled. LOVED the 18 Turley version…went through those too quick! The Sandlands Cinsault seems slightly darker, and has a deeper floral and earth spice to it. Still…Cru Bojo brightness…vibrant fresh crushed red fruits…raspberry, cranberry, cherry, wild strawberry…racy and tarted up nicely with cherry skin and blood orange acidity…has a sheen polish and silkiness…yet crunchy saline minerality and vine struggle. BUT what makes this wine is the pretty perfumed florals…dried roses, fresh cherry tart, and sandalwood spice! Intoxicating…more complex than the Turley…and a true joy to drink! (94 pts.)
Nice! Tegan tasted me on the ‘19 Turley earlier this week and I loved it. Made a point if pulling the Sandlands for a look. You beat me to the punch! Thanks for the note.
Gonna have to do a tasting featuring this one, the Turley, and perhaps one of mine as an ‘outlier’ since it doesn’t come from that vineyard but I think does a pretty good job showing off that variety!
Unfortunately, unable to access my offsite or passive right now so I’m saying “fuck it” and drinking bottles as they come in (perfect timing for shipping season!). Since I have 2 bottles of the Cinsault, decided to pop one tonight and all I can say is Brian’s note hits the nail on the head, just intoxicating juice. Might be my new fave next to Tegan’s Trousseau, which this most resembles stylistically, imo.
Just opened one of these. The fruits are definitely quite vibrant, but for me I’m getting a bit of an “Oaked Hawaiian Punch” feeling, that I would probably be all in on (goes down so easy) if it didn’t have that specific flavor connotation in my mind…will see where it goes over the next few hours/day.
Edit: the overpowering sweetness is slowly dropping off…this is getting really awesome