2019 Olivia Brion 'Les Vagabondes' Tempranillo
2019 Olivia Brion 'Les Vagabondes' Tempranillo
-95% Tempranillo, 5% Graciano
-Single Vineyard, Shake Ridge Ranch, Amador County AVA
-13.5% Alcohol
-115 cases produced
92pts Wine Enthusiast
Winemaker’s Notes - Kira Ballotta
This wine is unique in the realm of Tempranillos as it's 100% neutral oak. Usually 100% new oak i sused for elevage, especially in the Rioja region where this varietal reigns supreme. Since oak tends to add it's own flavoring this is a fun wine to taste as you can really find all the Tempranillo nuances. It's similar in body to a Cabernet but with more blue fruits rather than red. It tastes great with a variety of foods pairing just as beatifully with pasta and red sauce, steak or a crispy potato chip.
But don’t take our word for it, here is the accolade published by Wine Enthusiast giving this wine a fantastic 91 points:
Very good fruit concentration and velvety tannins give a mouth-filling intensity to this full-bodied wine, which was cellared longer than most before its release. The ripe black-fruit flavors are lifted by a slightly grippy texture and everything is in good balance. JIM GORDON
And here you can find Dan Dawson singing it’s praises, giving the wine 91 points and an Excellent Value rating while also featuring it in his summer grilling guide:
Smells great, like red cherry compote, dark pomegranate, dried red rose petals and cracked black peppercorns. Medium-bodied, loads of fruit yet not overly fruity because of the floral/spicy/earthy flavors going on. Its fine tannins make the wine stand tall. Really lovely…full-flavored yet with a graceful restraint. Fantastic food wine. Pair as you would a structured, complex Napa Valley Merlot.
Shake Ridge Ranch
Shake Ridge Ranch is a magical enclave in the Amador County AVA. It is farmed and owned by celebrated viticulturalist Ann Kraemer and her family. The organically farmed vineyard slopes and dives across many different soil configurations with an emphasis on quartz speckled granitic soils. This one-of-kind site produces some of the richest Spanish, Italian and Rhone varietal expressions in California.
Ann and Shake Ridge were recently highlighted in the San Francisco Chronicle.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/wine/article/Inside-the-remote-peculiar-vineyard-behind-13939601.php
Olivia’s Inspiration
Olivia’s “Les Vegabondes” adventure is inspired by Effie Hotchkiss, a single professional woman from Brooklyn, New York. Having never left Brooklyn by her early 20s, Effie dreamed of seeing the world. Overstressed at work, she was counseled by a doctor to “...give up all work and take a complete rest.” She bought a motorcycle with money she inherited upon the death of her father and heeded her mother’s advice, as later quoted in an interview with The Harley Davidson Enthusiast of 1916, “Let’s go to California. It’s the furthest place I can think of. We can see the exposition.” That exposition was the 1915 World’s Fair in San Francisco.
The mother-daughter team left Brooklyn on May 2, 1915 on a Harley Davidson Model 11F with side-car combo. Fame was not their intention, Effie stated, “We merely wanted to see America…” Effie dispatched rattlesnakes and coyotes with a handgun, and wove around dirt roads and mountainous routes to become the first transcontinental female motorcyclist in August of 2015.
First female motorist to cross the United States on her Harley Davidson motorbike.