Rendezvous Red (Cab Franc / Syrah blend)

What we are trying to accomplish with this blend is a cocktail style wine that rolls right onto the dinner table. We are looking for a nice, full-bodied wine with very smooth and supple tannin on the finish. This is a wine that you do not need to pair with a protein to clean the palette but a wine that would certainly accompany one if so desired. We are looking for combination of red and blue fruits with hints of earthy components. This wine will pair well with a number of game meats, elk, deer, moose, buffalo, and lamb. This blend’s back bone is a Cabernet Franc and Syrah blend, with other supporting varietals of Merlot and Petite Syrah.

AVA

This blend has been produced from Alexander Valley in Sonoma County form 2009-2017. We are now sourcing our Cab Franc and Syrah from Horse Haven Hills, Washington.

The Horse Heaven Hills appellation is located in south-central Washington along the Washington/Oregon border. The area takes its name from an early pioneer who said, upon seeing the region and its wide prairies and expanses, ‘‘surely this is Horse Heaven!”

There are three main soil types in the area—wind-blown sand and loess, Missoula Flood sediment, and hill slope rubble from the Columbia River basalt bedrock. Each of these provides well-drained soils suitable for vinifera.

Varietals

Cabernet Franc Cabernet Franc is a black-skinned French wine grape variety grown in most wine producing nations. The variety is most famously known as the third grape of Bordeaux and can be found in many of the world's top Bordeaux blend wines. It most commonly appears in blended red wines, where it adds herbaceous accents of tobacco and dark spice. Cabernet Franc ripens at least a week earlier than Cabernet Sauvignon. While it has thinner skin and lower acidity, it is also known for its hardiness and often grown as an "insurance" grape.

Syrah is the red wine grape that rules the Northern Rhone Valley. While Syrah is planted all over the world, at close to 70,000 hectares, more Syrah is planted in France, than in any other country. Syrah is the only red grape allowed by AOC rules in the appellations of Cote Rotie and Hermitage. In fact, it’s the only red wine grape planted in the Northern Rhone Today, Syrah is one of world’s most popular and widely planted red wine grape varieties.