Clarissa Vin Rouge 2022

$59

Clarissa Vin Rouge is a Meritage, a soft, complex American Bordeaux-style wine for medium to soft, complex foods - from a pizza with a lot of different toppings; brined pork chops or a New York steak.

Clarissa is an elegant, refined wine, that is in perfect balance with a purity of fruit, uniquely designed by Bill to complement medium-soft foods that may also include some of the flavors like garlic, brine, tomato, anchovy, cloves, etc.

The 2022 Clarissa has a very broad, expansive bouquet, full of complexity with layers of blackberry, cedar and a touch of mint.

This has nice vivacity, featuring plum and cassis notes (macerated black currants, giving it a rich, layered dark-berry flavor balanced by the tannins and tartness you might associate with blackberries) laced with herbal accents of bay leaves, pepper and mild tobacco.

The wine will attain even more nuance with a little aeration in the glass.

The palate is medium-bodied with plenty of fruit concentration: layers of ripe blackberry and boysenberry, segueing into what feels like a very complex and rich coating of the entire mouth that seems to last forever on the palate.

It is a wonderful follow-up to its predecessor wines stretching back to the 2005 vintage, with similar audacity and bravado remaining fresh and racy through the finish.

Growing conditions in 2022 required careful vineyard irrigation and canopy management. The lack of adequate winter rain together with frost in late April contributed to a lower-than-normal projected yield.

Minimal rainfall and high temperatures in early summer allowed for the fruit that successfully set in the spring to ripen quickly, and up to August moderate daytime temperatures and cool nights created excellent conditions however the 2022 harvest was fast-tracked by a heat wave which came as a bit of a surprise nevertheless all our varieties are showed excellent chemistries in the winery.

Naturally the blend is complex and comprises, in order of quantity, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec blended from our vineyards located in Napa-Atlas Peak, Sonoma Mountain, Chalk Hill, Red Hills and Dry Creek Valley.

French Oak for 22 months, approximately 40% new, 40% one use and the balance neutral.
Only 759 cases produced. No allergens were used in the making of this wine.
Color Red
Vintage 2022
Harvest Date 15th Sep 2022
Style Bordeaux, Red
Appellation North Coast
Varietal Bordeaux Blend
Date Bottled 15th Aug 2024
Drinkable 2025 - 2045
Alcohol 14.80%
Bottle Size 750ml