Clayhouse Red Cedar Vineyard Malbec 2014
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
There's an adobe home among the vines at Red Cedar Vineyard. It's no longer habitable, but the Clayhouse owners maintain it... and it's holding up pretty well after more than 150 years.
Adobe is sun-dried bricks, with the bricks formed from a particular local clay, combined with straw and water. These bricks were a primary building material in California from the Spanish mission period until the Gold Rush.There are other adobe buildings in the area, but this one, at Red Cedar Vineyard, was inspiring in important ways: It's a home, built brick by brick from elements of this place... earth, water, sun. So, that's the inspiration for the winery and wine names: Clayhouse and Adobe as depicted on the wine labels.
Celebrated for its bold flavors and supple texture, Malbec has enjoyed runaway success in Argentina since the late 20th century. The grape originated in Bordeaux, France, where it historically contributed color and tannin to blends. A French agronomist, who saw great potential for the variety in Mendoza’s hot, high-altitude landscape, brought Malbec to Argentina in 1868. Somm Secret—If you’re trying to please a crowd, Malbec is generally a safe bet with its combination of dense fruit and soft tannins.
Paso Robles has made a name for itself as a source of supple, powerful, fruit-driven Central Coast wines. But with eleven smaller sub-AVAs, there is actually quite a bit of diversity to be found in this inland portion of California’s Central Coast.
Just east over the Santa Lucia Mountains from the chilly Pacific Ocean, lie the coolest in the region: Adelaida, Templeton Gap and (Paso Robles) Willow Creek Districts, as well as York Mountain AVA and Santa Margarita Ranch. These all experience more ocean fog, wind and precipitation compared to the rest of the Paso sub-appellations. The San Miguel, (Paso Robles) Estrella, (Paso Robles) Geneso, (Paso Robles) Highlands, El Pomar and Creston Districts, along with San Juan Creek, are the hotter, more western appellations of the greater Paso Robles AVA.
This is mostly red wine country, with Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel standing out as the star performers. Other popular varieties include Merlot, Petite Sirah, Petit Verdot, Syrah, Grenache and Rhône blends, both red and white. There is a fairly uniform tendency here towards wines that are unapologetically bold and opulently fruit-driven, albeit with a surprising amount of acidity thanks to the region’s chilly nighttime temperatures.