A Micro-Production Napa Valley Insider’s Red
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2019 March Wines St. Laurent Ricci Vineyards Carneros 750 ml
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- Temperature controlled shipping options
- Get credited back if a wine fails to impress
A Fateful Night on Lodi Lane…
There are over 600,000 acres of wine grapes in California. 93,000 are planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, 46,000 to Pinot Noir, and 16,000 to Syrah.
Just 11 are planted to St. Laurent.
That’s what makes Charley and Maura Johnson’s 2019 March Wines St. Laurent Carneros such an extraordinary rarity. We only discovered it because our friend Chris Cooney, the winemaker at Dana Estates, introduced us to Maura. Once we tasted this stunning bottle, we knew we knew we had to bring it to our members.
St. Laurent is “Pinot Noir with sultry underpinnings,” in the words of Dale Ricci, the grower behind this wine. Planted primarily in Austria and the Czech Republic, the grape is most likely an offspring of Pinot Noir. Touched with the complexity of Gamay and Syrah, it’s got vibrant acid, rich color, and low tannins.
Iin 2016, the Johnsons started March, dedicated to making food-friendly wines that stand in contrast to the big, full-bodied Napa Cabs they were both making at their day jobs. A few years after that, they jumped on the chance to get in on one of the two only known St. Laurent vineyards in the state—Ricci’s six-acre plot in Carneros.
Just 97 cases of their 2019 were created, and we’ve got the last remaining bit. It’s a joy to drink—and it’s a gorgeous and versatile food wine, a terrific introduction to a variety that’s equally at home with a buttermilk-brined roast chicken as it would a spicy green curry.
Don’t wait to claim your share. What’s left is going to vanish faster than a bucket of cold Modelos at the end of a long day during harvest!