Clendenen Family Vintners, Red Wine Blend "PIP" Central Coast, California 2019

During the 2019 harvest we had a few “buying opportunities” to obtain some interesting lots of Syrah, Merlot, and Sangiovese from high quality vineyards. 2019 is a great vintage for all red varieties in Santa Barbara County, so we knew if a blend was created it would be good, really good. We just needed to figure out how to put it together. 

Our cellar crew watches all wines carefully while aging in our cellar. We are topping-obsessed ensuring the barrels are completely full for slow, graduated development. Our late owner Jim Clendenen main advice to young winemakers was, “Top your barrels like your life depended on it”. All wines aging in our cellar are tasted and analyzed every quarter. We want wines to mature gracefully but not get “old”. After 3 years in barrel, the lots were “ready to go”. A series of trials determined the components that were selected, and subsequently blended and bottled. The wine is complex, integrated, balanced and food friendly. It accomplishes everything we set out to do, and more.

This masterful, dark red blend has an opulent nose of fresh cherries and spice that conceals its age. Leather, dark chocolate and truffle aromas emerge as the bouquet opens up. The broad flavor profile shows every type of cherry known: bitter, black, and even wild. The intensity is continuous from the first sip to bright finish - with just enough sexy suppleness for endless food pairings.