35% Syrah, 5% Carignan, 55% Grenache, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon
Alexander Valley, Sonoma County, CA
Estate Fruit, Mila Family Vineyard
Cartello was born from the idea of restoring everyday value to the best that Alexander Valley has to offer. Sourced entirely from the Mila Family Estate, a stunning 54-acre property in the foothills of Geyser Peak, no attention to detail has been spared. It all started with a three-year land grant with US Davis School of Oenology back in 2003. With their findings another five years was spent planted the right grape vine clones in the perfect location on the property. From there, organic and biodynamic framing practices took over, and we’ve let the land and vintage speak for itself ever sense. 2021 was a superb yet unsurprising vintage in the Alexander Valley, a welcomed year coming off of the issues of 2020. Moderate weather persisted throughout the summer with no real extremes. A late summer drought lead to an early harvest to preserve freshness. With no real spikes in the conditions, our fruit was of top quality and the yields were quite generous. The result was lively wines with great complexity, concentration and flavor.
The perfect lens into the potential of Alexander Valley. Whole cluster hillside Syrah is the focus of the 2021 Sonoma Red blend, with generous support from our Carignan, Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache. The stems give this fruit driven wine great balance and lifted aromatics suitable for a wide array of pairings, or by itself. The great wines of the Southern Rhône of France are the inspiration and guideposts for our Sonoma Red.