Winemaker Notes
This complex and layered wine is opaque and dark-cherry red in appearance with bright and enticing aromas of leather, smoked meat, cedar, brown sugar and wild blackberry. On the palate it is extremely balanced with a beautiful dark fruit entry followed by a full mid-palate weighted with dark chocolate, cinnamon, vanilla and soft, persistent tannins. The structured Cabernet Sauvignon blended with the powerful, hedonistic and elegant Rhone varieties from the Estate vineyard complement each other perfectly in this seamless and supple wine.
Blend: 46% Cabernet Sauvignon 25% Syrah 19% Mourvèdre 10% Grenache
Professional Ratings
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Tasting Panel
Combining 25% Syrah, 19% Mourvèdre, and 10% Grenache from estate vineyard Annadel Gap with 46% Sonoma and Napa Valley Cabernet, this California red with a French accent is alert with Old World acidity. A waterfall of violets, plum, and black-cherry skin cascades across the lush palate. Tannins are enveloped in dark chocolate and tempered by white pepper.
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Jeb Dunnuck
A kitchen sink blend of mostly Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Mourvèdre, and Grenache (there's Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot in there as well), the 2017 Legend Proprietary Red Wine is a delicious, plump, fruit-loaded beauty that displays chocolatey dark currants, plums, savory herbs, and spice-driven aromas and flavors. These carry to a full-bodied red with a rounded, mouthfilling texture, plenty of ripe tannins, no hard edges, and a great finish. Drink this pleasure-bent, incredibly satisfying red blend over the coming 7-8 years or more.
With hundreds of red grape varieties to choose from, winemakers have the freedom to create a virtually endless assortment of blended red wines. In many European regions, strict laws are in place determining the set of varieties that may be used, but in the New World, experimentation is permitted and encouraged resulting in a wide variety of red wine styles. Blending can be utilized to enhance balance or create complexity, lending different layers of flavors and aromas. For example, a red wine blend variety that creates a fruity and full-bodied wine would do well combined with one that is naturally high in acidity and tannins. Sometimes small amounts of a particular variety are added to boost color or aromatics. Blending can take place before or after fermentation, with the latter, more popular option giving more control to the winemaker over the final qualities of the wine.
How to Serve Red Wine
A common piece of advice is to serve red wine at “room temperature,” but this suggestion is imprecise. After all, room temperature in January is likely to be quite different than in August, even considering the possible effect of central heating and air conditioning systems. The proper temperature to aim for is 55° F to 60° F for lighter-bodied reds and 60° F to 65° F for fuller-bodied wines.
How Long Does Red Wine Last?
Once opened and re-corked, a bottle stored in a cool, dark environment (like your fridge) will stay fresh and nicely drinkable for a day or two. There are products available that can extend that period by a couple of days. As for unopened bottles, optimal storage means keeping them on their sides in a moderately humid environment at about 57° F. Red wines stored in this manner will stay good – and possibly improve – for anywhere from one year to multiple decades. Assessing how long to hold on to a bottle is a complicated science. If you are planning long-term storage of your reds, seek the advice of a wine professional.
Perhaps the most historically significant appellation in Sonoma County, the Sonoma Valley is home to both Buena Vista winery, California's oldest commercial winery, and Gundlach Bundschu winery, California's oldest family-run winery.
It is also one of the more geologically and climactically diverse districts. The valley includes and overlaps four distinct Sonoma County sub-appellations, including Carneros, Moon Mountain District, Sonoma Mountain and Bennett Valley. With mountains, benchlands, plains, abundant sunshine and the cooling effects of the nearby Pacific, this appellation can successfully produce a wide range of grape varieties. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Gewürztraminer, and most notably, Zinfandel all thrive here. Ancient Zinfandel vines over 100 years old produce small crops of concentrated, spicy fruit, which in turn make some of the Valley's most unique wines. These can also be made as “field blends” (wines made from a mix of grape varieties grown in the same vineyard) along with Petite Sirah, Carignan and Alicante Bouschet.