Cruse Wine Co. Valdiguie Nouveau 2020
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Wong
Wilfred
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Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
This is a fully formed wine, despite its exceptional youth. The color is a bright, ruby red. The nose is serious and wild; crushed raspberries, roses, wet earth dominate with a small amount of the banana that one would expect from a 100% carbonic wine. The palate is surprisingly structured with a length uncommon in a wine of its age.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2020 Cruse Wine Co. Valdiguié Nouveau ushers in the new vintage with a bright, fresh, and lovely look. TASTING NOTES: This wine shows up with lively, tart red fruit aromas and flavors. Enjoy it as an aperitif or with light first courses. (Tasted: November 24, 2020, San Francisco, CA)
Cruse Wine Co. was an opportunity for Michael to showcase fruit driven and satisfying wines that are pleasurable, but seriously balanced and unapologetically California. The North Coast is near and dear to Michael, so he chose to focus on sites within the Napa Valley and Sonoma County to create his special wines. The one thing he didn’t want to do was to create another Pinot Noir or Cabernet, instead he found inspiration in varieties such as Valdiguie, Tannant, Carignan and St Laurent.
The flagship wine of Cruse Wine Co. is the red blend Monkey Jacket (the name inspired by an old, British sailor song). This wine embodies all the things Cruse Wine Co. is meant to be, as it’s a blend of Valdiguie, Carignan, Tannat, St Laurent and mixed field blend reds and provides incredible drinkability with brightness and ample structure. In addition to Monkey Jacket, Michael also makes small lots of single vineyard varietal wines from Valdiguie, Tannant, Syrah, Carignan and Chardonnay.
Native to Southwest France, Valdiguié also maintains a fairly substantial history in California. Given its high-yielding capacity, Valdiguié became very popular during the Prohibition. Until 1980, Californians called it Napa Gamay because of its similarities to Gamay as a finished wine. But in that year, a French ampelographer, Pierre Galet correctly identified it as Valdiguié—not Gamay. Today it still grows in pockets of respected appellations throughout the state. Somm Secret—In France it is also called Gros Auxerrois.
An off the beaten path wine country destination, Suisun Valley is just east of Napa Valley in the California Coast Ranges. The valley boasts plentiful agricultural products as well as wine.