Domaine de la Terre Rouge TERRE ROUGE® AND EASTON

Tis minty red blend shows how wines can take on the favors of plants that grow nearby

Esther Mobley April 28, 2021

“Garrigue” is one of those perfect words — a concise term that encompasses a larger, and very beautiful, idea. Te word refers to the unique mix of vegetation that grows throughout part of southern , near the Mediterranean Sea: fragrant, shrubby plants including lavender, thyme, , white fowers and juniper. It’s thought that the oils from the native fora make their way onto grapes in nearby , imbuing the resulting wines with the intoxicating fa- vors and aromas that recall those plants. Tat exact set of fora doesn’t appear in California, of course, but we do have our own version of garrigue. Ours is called , and it is ofen marked by the presence of scrub , sage, chamise and manzanita, among other plants. Although you can fnd chaparral-infuenced wines

a box 41, fiddletown, amador county, california usa 95629-0041 a telephone 209-245-3117 fax 209-245-5415 e-mail: terouge at volcano.net www.terrerougewines.com bw ca 5789 Domaine de la Terre Rouge TERRE ROUGE® AND EASTON WINES throughout the West Coast, one place where its imprint is particularly potent is in the Sierra Nevada. A delicious from the Sierra foothills, in Amador County, pays homage to that. Domaine de la Terre Rouge’s Garrigue cuvee is a hearty, rich, structured red, but its overall efect is light- ened by its lilting fragrances and fresh favors — its deep notes of blackberry and blueberry are countered by lightly herbal and intensely foral accents. Mint, thyme, resiny pine needle and earthy, wet soil appear alongside the fruit. Winemaker Bill Easton has no doubt that those notes are the gifs of nearby vegetation. Wild chapparal — buck brush, coyote brush, toyon, yerba santa — surrounds the vineyards whose fruit goes into this wine. Some of the area’s vegetative signature, he says, connects directly with that of southern France: Both places have pine trees and wild thyme, for example. But even when they diverge, Easton believes “there’s something similar about the smells and tastes you get from these resiny types of plants.” Te Garrigue wine pays a more specifc homage, too, to a in called Domaine de Trevallon. Its red wines are an equal blend of and , two grapes rarely seen together. Syrah is prevalent in this part of southern France, but Cab — a popular grape vari- ety in other regions, like Bordeaux — is anything but. Yet Trevallon has earned an ardent following for its unorthodox blend, and Easton counts himself among its biggest fans.

“I’ve always liked that perky spiciness,” Easton says of the Trevallon red. “Tat’s what really in- spired me here.”

His blend washes out a little diferently, with about two-thirds Syrah and one-third Cabernet. Domaine de la Terre Rouge is currently selling the 2013 of Garrigue, which is old for a current-release wine. Tat’s standard practice for Easton, who holds back all of his red wines sev- eral years before selling them. In my mind, the delayed release adds value to the bottles, since the winery has already done the aging for you. And like many of Easton’s reds, the Garrigue has held up nicely at eight years old, with favors that still feel fresh and vibrant and primary. Te advan- tage is that the few extra years of age have sofened and smoothed this grippy wine’s texture. For that type of elegant, aged, structured red wine, you’d be hard-pressed to fnd a more fairly priced wine in California than this, which goes for about $25. Te wine is available from Domaine de la Terre Rouge’s website, K&L or William Cross Wine Merchant. Please note that price may vary slightly depending on the retailer, and stores may run out of inventory. Domaine de la Terre Rouge Garrigue Sierra Foothills 2013 ($25) Esther Mobley is Te San Francisco Chronicle’s wine critic. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @Esther_mobley

a box 41, fiddletown, amador county, california usa 95629-0041 a telephone 209-245-3117 fax 209-245-5415 e-mail: terouge at volcano.net www.terrerougewines.com bw ca 5789