Callipepla Malbec 2019

While Malbec may immediately make us think of Argentina, where it has become the country's superstar grape, it is also quite at home in other warm, sunny climates. The Callipepla vintage is proof of this! The name Callipepla comes from the Latin name for the California quail, the small sociable bird depicted on the label. The vineyard is located in California's Central Valley, but at the northern end, where the cooling influence of the San Francisco Bay helps preserve the grape's acidity. After fermentation, 70% of the wine is aged in oak barrels for 4 months so as not to overly mark the wine with wood while providing subtle spicy notes. This wine exudes notes of blackberry, raspberry , blueberry jam , plum , cherry , fig , pepper , red spices and dried herbs . On the palate, it is a bomb of fruit with sweet tannins and a persistent, dense and juicy finish. Although the fruit gives an impression of sweetness, the finish is dry and the acidity brings freshness to make the wine digestible and pleasant.

In the United States, 90% of the wine produced comes from California. It was the influx of gold prospectors to California that boosted the California wine industry in the mid-19th century, particularly in the Sonoma and Napa region. At the start of the 20th century, there were 800 wineries. From 1919 to 1933 Prohibition destroyed the vast majority of the California wine industry so that by 1933, only 140 wineries remained producing wine. It was only from 1960 that the wine industry began to recover from Prohibition and California was primarily known for the production of fortified wines (in the style of Port). It was also in the 1960s that some of the most famous estates were created (Mondavi, Heitz Wine Cellars, Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, etc...). In 1976, a significant event took place: the legendary tasting competition better known as the "Judgment of Paris". He sees the greatest French wines opposing the new American wines. This May 24, an unexpected result shakes the world of wine, since to everyone's surprise, it is the United States which wins. However, this competition remains relatively unknown to the general public. Today, there is no doubt that the United States produces great wines. Even though California largely monopolizes the reputation of American wines with its excellent Zinfandels, the state of Oregon produces some of the best Pinot Noir in the world and the state of Washington offers excellent Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet-Sauvignon.