Old Vine Mendocino County Carignane

I agree with some of the statements below, great wine but I don’t think it’s 100% Carignane

Restrained dark fruit with dusty spicy nuance.

Juicy berries clean and outrageously delicious and succulent.

I think @Jordan Mackay described this wine to a tee. While I enjoyed it, I wonder if it’s 100% Carignan. Could there possibly be an error in the identification of the variety? It is actually quite common in Californian vineyards and especially older vineyards to have a mix of varieties or believe it’s one variety because that’s how it was bought, but DNA testing can be surprising. This seems much more Gamay to me. In Paso Robles for example I know of some pretty famous winemakers and important vineyards that thought they had Mourvèdre and it turned out to be Graciano.

If you’re looking to switch things up for under $30, this is 🔥.

Very cool wine, light in color and body, but full of fruit and minerality.

Dry. A very different varietal that is fun to play with.

This is the model for the delicious California table wine of the present and the future. Old vines give decent concentration, yet very very light and lovely tannin. Mainly, it's a beautiful expression of purple and dark fruit with a heady perfume and an incredibly soft landing. Price is good. Probably low 20s retail. Competes with good Beaujolais.

Very good and appropriate for the varietal.

This has a bit of a green streak, but also great texture and lean spicy fruit behind the veg.