Reichwage Winery
I had the pleasure and privilege to sample wines from Reichwage Winery. Before I get started, I want to say thanks to Max Reichwage for participating in BerserkerDay 13, and for sending six bottles to sample. I received two vintages each of his Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, and Carignane. Max farms Mancini Ranch, which is the source for the Zinfandel and the Carignane, and Twin Hills, which is used for the Pinot Noir.
My Methodology
After receiving the wines mid-December directly from Max, I let them sit upright for a couple of weeks. The day before tasting, I always put them in my wine fridge for about 24 hours to bring them to cellar temp (about 57 degrees).
I tried each varietal individually over three days. I started with the Pinots. (Note: I never decanted any of the wines – basically a modified pop-and-pour). The first night I used a Coravin to pour two small glasses of each vintage (4 total glasses) – one to immediately taste, and one to let sit exposed for a while. The second night I pulled the cork and poured two glasses of each, and finally the third night I had final glasses of each to see if the wines changed after being opened. After three nights with the Pinot, I moved on to the Zinfandel, and then to the Carignane, repeating the process.
Given that this was for BerserkerDay, I used my 1855 Grassl stems. Also, to make my BerserkerDay purchases less painful, I encouraged my wife to assist me (which she gladly did). My notes reflect a combination of our impressions (so for the CellarTracker purists, I had these wines with Nancy 
). Where appropriate, I also note if I had with food.
![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers")
2016 & 2018, Reichwage Winery, Pinot Noir, Twin Hills, Sonoma Coast (approx. 13.5%)
2016 Pinot Noir
Color – Medium color, about what I would expect of a Pinot. Nice purple with a tinge of red. Clear and clean. (Sorry for not taking pictures of the wines in the glasses).
Aroma – A little astringent. Dried cranberry. Some funk, earthen floor, damp dirt. Somewhat what you might expect of a Sonoma Coast Pinot.
Body – Light to medium, nice acidity, crisp.
Flavor – Blackberry, tart cherry, cranberry. Earthy notes, some dirt. Some pencil shavings. The first night we tried these with a homemade plain pizza. Very food friendly.
2nd & 3rd Nights – We pulled the cork for the final two nights. The second night more cherry came through, also some boysenberry and raspberry. By the third night, the fruit flavors became somewhat muted.
2018 Pinot Noir
(Note: As a reminder, we tasted these side-by-side, as we did for all the varietals).
Aroma – Had a similar funky note, but weirdly enough, mixed with a little perfume. Overall, subtle on the nose, a bit more muted versus the 2016.
Body – Had more texture than the 2016. Had a cinnamon, gritty aspect to it. More body and mouthfeel.
Flavor – A much different wine. More sweet fruit flavors. Also more of the Sonoma Coast spice, baking spice, cinnamon. Over the course of the first evening, flavors turned more tart, towards pomegranate, after being more fruity upfront.
2nd & 3rd Nights – The earthy aroma was still present. The texture and body became much softer than the night before. The mouthfeel changed more with the 2018. Flavor wise, more cherry presented itself, Bing cherry, shifting to tart cherry. The 2018 might benefit from decanting.
The Pinot Noirs
Final Impressions – The 2016 was a better match with the food, but we both preferred the 2018 to just sit and sip. Both were solid Sonoma Coast Pinots. They tend to be a bit lean and austere, as opposed to some of the lush, fruity Pinots you see from some Sonoma wineries. Both were enjoyable and would be great dinner wines.
One other note, Max said that the Pinot is about 15% whole cluster.
2016 & 2018, Reichwage Winery, Zinfandel, Mancini Ranch, Russian River Valley
2016 Zinfandel
Color – Sharp, clear, medium color, with distinctive red hues. Not as dark as the 2018.
Aroma – Somewhat cold, as in stone or very blue fruits. Not particularly expressive.
Body – A bit of a zing to it, and slightly gripping. Nice acidity.
Flavor – Dark fruits, such as plum. Some red fruit, such as raspberry. Nice zing of white pepper and spice notes. Almost a perfume aspect to the flavors. Paired better with food.
2nd & 3rd Nights – Came across as a bit more tart and astringent. More tart cherry and cranberry. A black tea aspect the next night. Held up consistently over all three nights.
2018 Zinfandel
Color/Aroma/Body – all very similar to the 2016. Nice acidity.
Flavor – The 2018 had less pepper notes. But it has more fruit notes of tart cherry, blueberry, pomegranate, cranberry. Also had more of an earthy quality, some dirt. Was also a good food wine.
2nd & 3rd Nights – Definitely kept losing some of the fruit.
The Zinfandels
Before I go into final impressions, I had on hand a 2016 Carlisle, Mancini Ranch, Zinfandel. (I have at least one other Mancini from Carlisle, but only one of the same vintage as Reichwage). I tasted it in parallel all three nights. One impression I have across all three of these bottles was an amazing similarity to each other. The 2016 and 2018 Reichwage were very similar, and they were similar to the Carlisle. While I tried to be specific, in all honesty, coaxing out big difference between the bottles was tough. If you swapped the order of the glasses, you might get confused, except for the color of the Carlisle, which was more opaque.
The Carlisle was much darker and opaque, even a brownish aspect to the edges. It was softer, more mellow, with a chewier mouthfeel. The flavors were also more muted, but pepper and bramble fruit came out, and some chocolate.
The Reichwage were more acidic, and they paired well with food. We tasted with Mexican one night, and the pepper/spice worked well. Max said that the Zins are 0% whole cluster (or rather, they are destemmed). I forgot to write down the ABV, but there was no heat to the wines. If I was just popping a bottle to drink on its own though, I might go with the Carlisle, but if I was pairing with food, I would go with the Reichwage.
I’ve been on the Carlisle list for years, but Mancini is not one of the vineyards I typically purchase. To be honest, all three bottles were good, but they weren’t my favorite Zins. The three Mancini’s all came off as a bit austere than what I usually like out of a Zinfandel. Again, the wines were good, but of the three varietals, they were also our least favorite, but they were still quite tasty. Which brings me to my favorite of the three Reichwage Carignanes….
2018 & 2019, Reichwage Winery, Carignane, Mancini Ranch, Russian River Valley (13.8%)
2018 Carignane
Color – Dark purple, darker than the 2019, and a little more opaque.
Aroma – Had a nice, clean, pleasant aroma, while nothing specific. (I think my tastebuds are better than my nose, in fact, I know that is the case. My wife has the better nose).
Body – Very soft, smooth.
Flavor – This was my favorite of the Carignanes, and also of all the six bottles I tasted from Reichwage. Strawberry, rhubarb, blackberry, some cherry. Nice bright fruits. Of the six wines, picking out the fruit in this bottle was the easiest. First night, paired ok with Moroccan Lamb Stew, but the 2019 paired better.
2nd & 3rd Nights – Seemed even smoother. Aromas were more noticeable, flowers, earth, even the fruits expressed themselves more. I probably should have decanted the Carignanes. A decant may have helped them express themselves better. Flavors of cherry syrup, blueberry, blackberry jam, and some caramel/maple popped. The baking spice notes also appeared. I really liked this wine, and I was surprised how much better it was the other two nights. A pleasure to just sit and drink.
2019 Carignane
Color – Lighter in color than the 2018, and more reddish.
Aroma – More aromatic than the 2018. Lots of fruit on the nose.
Body – A little more acidic, and little more grip. Paired better with the lamb dish as it has a cinnamon aspect to it.
Flavor – Not quite as flavorful as the 2018. Darker fruits, and tarter fruits, a little syrupy fruit. Also came across as more spicy and peppery (which fought the Mexican food on the second night – interesting in the way these two paired with food).
2nd & 3rd Nights – Again, this wine probably should have been decanted. More raspberry, more bramble fruit on the later nights. Still some tart fruit as well, such as cranberry. The nose also showed more fruit, with a sweeter aspect. This wine paired better with the lamb the first night, but not as well with the Mexican food the second night, I think because of their spice profiles.
The Carignanes
These two wines were our favorites. Good food wines (if you keep the spice profiles in mind), but also fun to drink on their own. Later in the evening after we ate and were just tasting final pours, they were a delight to sip. I don’t drink a lot of Carignane, though I do enjoy the occasional wine from the Priorat, so I struggle to compare these to other producers. That said, drinking these with limited expectations, I really enjoyed the Carignanes. Max said the Carignanes are 100% whole cluster.
Final notes and Impressions
I enjoyed all six of the wines. In order, I would go Carignane, then Pinot, then Zinfandel. In general, Zinfandel is probably my favorite varietal, or so says CellarTracker, so maybe this did not fit my preference profile for Zins. And as I noted, the Reichwage Zins were very similar to the Carlisle Zin, and I like Carlisle. If you are a fan of the Carlisle Mancini, then you’ll probably like these wines.
I also tend to favor Cali Pinot, particularly Sonoma Coast. The Pinots were in line of what I would expect of a SC Pinot, albeit these seemed a little more lean and acidic than some of the Pinots I drink. They’re not cocktail wines.
And finally, I don’t drink much Carignane, but I really enjoyed these. Simply a delightful mix of fruit and spice. These are wines that paired well with food, but were also enjoyable on their own as a finisher. I’m looking forward to seeing what Max offers on BerserkerDay. [Edit: I see the offer, and I’m off to buy some of these.]
Max – Thanks again for sharing and for participating in BerserkerDay13. Cheers!
#BD13
