Quite aromatic with aromas of cherry, grenadine, pomegranate, flowers, star anise and light toast. The palate shows flavors of dark-raspberry, boysenberry, roasted fennel and violets. It is silky, fresh, medium-plus in body with a long finish.

WINE INFORMATION

Bonny Doon Vineyard is renowned for making wines with Rhône varieties in the Central Coast of California. In 1986 Bonny Doon Vineyard released the inaugural vintage (1984) of Le Cigare Volant, an homage to Châteauneuf-du-Pape, and this continues as the winery’s flagship brand.

Bonny Doon Vineyard grew with some incredibly popular brands (Big House, Cardinal Zin and Pacific Rim) until it became the 28th largest winery in the United States. Owner Randall Grahm came to the realization that the company had diverged from his original intention of producing soulful, distinctive and original wines, and that it was time to make a course correction. So he sold off the larger brands (Big House and Cardinal Zin) in 2006 and Pacific Rim in 2010.

Since then, the focus of the winery has been to spend more time working with vineyards in improving their practices, as well as on making wines with a much lighter touch – using indigenous yeast whenever possible, and making wines with a sense of place using minimal intervention. Bonny Doon has always been an innovative and creative winery and Randall Grahm is a brilliant wine nerd known for his witty writings and intense passion for his undertakings.

The fruit for this wine comes from many different sites primarily in Monterey County with smaller amounts from the Central Coast AVA and Santa Ynes. They are all farmed in an eco-friendly manner – either organic, biodynamic or sustainable.