Also tried this one last night:
1. Carlisle AlicanteBouschet SonomaCnty (MontafiRanch/1926 + RossiRanch/1910; 1 brl; 15.6%) SantaRosa 2004: Very dark/near black color w/ some bricking; strong earthy/loamy bir rustic/violetshollyhocks/floral rather dusty/OV bit coarse/clunky nose w/ little fruit; soft bit tangy/metallic rather earthy/dusty/OV slight floral/violets rather coarse little fruit light toasty/oak flavor w/ some hard/coarse tannins; med.long rather coarse/clunky/rough slight floral/hollyhocks/musky rather dusty/OV/loamy very light toasty/oak finish w/ ample coarse/rough tannins; a rather rough/coarse/clunky earthy RW that's hard to find anythink likable.
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. AlicanteBouschet: A grape variety that is known as a tenturier, which has color in the juice, unlike most red grape varieties. Lots & lots of color. I seen JohnBalagna's hands after he has worked w/ AB and they are stained black for weeks. The use of AB is to bring dark color to blends. However, the anthocyanins in AB are somewhat unstable and drops out after some aging in btl. The only attraction of AB is that it is impressive when young because of its inky/black color. It's seldom made as a varietal wine, is not very interesting, and doesn't mature into anything interesting. Simply put, you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Kudos to Mike for trying, though.
Tom