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Mellow Wine Style

Mellow wine style
Clos LaChance Vineyard logo

A collaboration between Clos LaChance winery and WineStyles, our MELLOW wine is a great starting point to experience “wine styles” flavor profiles.   This red wine embodies the characteristics of a typical MELLOW wine style category.  Light bodied with aromas of anise with flavors of bright cherry, raspberry and cocoa. Pairs with pasta, veal, pork, beef or lamb recipes. Enjoy with feta or Parmesan cheese.

Clos LaChance winery is a multi-generational family-owned and operated winery.  Located within the Central Coast American Viticultural Area (AVA), tucked into the beautiful Hayes Valley in San Martin, California.  Being good stewards of land and resources, the Close LaChance Winery and Estate Vineyard is proud to be Certified Sustainable by the California Sustainable Wine Growing Alliance.

Mellow wine style bottle
Certified Sustainable California

Mellow Red Wine 2019 Vintage

CLOS LACHANCE VINEYARDS

Harvest Notes
2019, like the previous two vintages, continued to be one of the latest starts to harvest in recent memory. As the winters have become increasingly wet over the past three years, the soil profile has continued to allow the vines time to mature at a health rate and allow for a prolonged growing season. Seasonably above average rainfall in the spring gave rise to a later than average bud break and bloom. The late bloom period allowed the weather to warm up and decrease any concerns of a devastating frost event, a welcomed outcome for winemakers statewide. The summer of 2019 was well below seasonal average for temperatures and heat spike events. Only four days of 100+ degree temperatures in 2019 was well below that of 2018 and 2019 that saw 16 and 11 days respectively over 100 degrees. This even and mild temperature swings gave us an ideal growing season which pushed well into November. The extended hang time is shaping up to provide extremely high quality and likely one of the best vintages in the past decade.

Winemaking Notes
The Mellow Wine comes from the premier regions in the Central Coast AVA of California. The grapes are hand-picked and hand-sorted and then cold soaked for 48 to 72 hours to maximize tannin and color extraction. The must is inoculated and pumped over for 4 times a day during peak fermentation. The pump overs help to extract the tannins and color out of the skins and seeds to maximize complexity and structure in the wine. The different varietals in the blend are kept separate for the first year of aging on oak, then blended and aged together for the remaining months to create a symbiotic relationship between all flavor and aromatic compounds. The wine is aged for 18 months in 100% French Oak of which 30% is New Oak. The final blend is fine-tuned prior to bottling where different varietals can come together to create the final wine which embodies a perfect balance of characteristics.

Tasting Notes
Color: Dark plum
Aroma: Brambleberry, light oak, pepper
Flavor: Blackberry, cooking spice, dark chocolate
Structure: Medium plus acid, medium tannins, full body
Food Pairing: Braised Lamb Chops, Baked Chicken
Cheese Pairing: Feta, Parmesan

Technical Information
Vineyard: 100% Central Coast, California
Blend: 60% Primitivo, 30% Zinfandel, 10% Alicante Bouschet
Harvest date: 9/21/18-10/11/18
Average Brix at Harvest: 25.5
pH: 3.69
TA: 0.58
Alc: 14.5%

Mellow Pairing Recipes

Lamb Chops Balsamic

Lamb Chops with Balsamic

Syrah braised lamb shoulder

Syrah-braised Lamb Shoulder

Wild Mushroom Risotto

Wild Mushroom Risotto

Explore more Styles

There’s no doubt that picking the perfect wine can be an overwhelming experience. That’s why we decided to take the guesswork out of shopping by categorizing our bottles in eight easy to understand styles including: Crisp, Silky, Rich, Bold, Mellow, Fruity, Bubbly, and Nectar. Each wine features a description listing the wine’s characteristics, flavors and suggested food pairings.

crisp style icon
  • Refreshing, clean, bright
  • Flavors of citrus, apple & pear
  • Pairs with salads, flaky fish, shellfish, spicy dishes, cheese
silky style icon
  • Creamy, toasty, adaptable
  • Flavors of vanilla, honey & melon
  • Pairs with pasta, chicken, fish, soft cheese
rich style icon
  • Oaky, buttery, lavish
  • Flavors of caramel, tropical fruit, peach & spice
  • Pairs with creamy sauces, oily fish, turkey, pork
fruity style icon
  • Fruit forward, jammy grapey
  • Flavors of raspberry, strawberry & blueberry
  • Pairs with salads, pizza, salmon chicken
mellow style icon
  • Round, velvety, smooth
  • Flavors of cherry, berry, herbs & earth
  • Pairs with pasta, veal, pork, beef, lamb
Bold style icon
  • Intense, complex, heavy
  • Flavors of coffee, pepper & licorice
  • Pairs with hearty and spicy dishes, complex flavors, hard cheeses
bubbly style icon
  • Effervescent and festive
  • Flavors of apple, mineral, vanilla, toast & nuts
  • Pairs with hors d’oeuvres, desserts, berries, chocolate
nectar style icon
  • Sweet, enticing, seductive
  • Flavors of raisins, nuts, peaches & cream
  • Pairs with desserts, strong cheeses, cigars

Wine Pairing

We’ve simplified the wine pairing process and made it easy with our exclusive wine “styles” concept above. However, if you’d like to dive deeper into the reasons why certain foods taste better with certain wines, let’s explore the tastes together.

Sweet Foods

In a general sense, the wine your are drinking should be sweeter than the food it is paired with. Otherwise, the wine will taste bitter and tart. As an example, desserts are best paired with a Port or Sherry wine, an after dinner wine. BUBBLY semi-sweet sparkling wines could also be paired with fruit desserts.

Bold & Spicy Foods

Barbecue sauces need to be equally paired with BOLD and spicy wines, such as Shiraz, Malbec or Zinfandel, so they don’t over power your palate. If your burger or meat is seasoned, consider pairing with a BOLD Syrah wine with spicy notes.

Spicy & Sweet Foods

Spicy Asian, Thai or Indian foods can be tamed with dry Rieslings, Torrontes, Sauvignon Blanc, Vouvrays or Gewürztraminer.

Meats

Roasted, broiled or barbecued beef dishes pair well with BOLD wines, such as Cabernet Sauvignon varietals. Lamb, wild game such as venison, wild boar, hearty vegetable dishes and strong cheeses also pair well with Malbec and Tempranillo BOLD wines. Depending on the seasoning or sauces, chicken is ideally served with RICH or SILKY Chardonnays.

Acidic Foods

Be sure your wine has a higher acidity than the food it is paired with. Steer clear of a buttery Chardonnay and a salad with vinaigrette.

Earthy & Rustic Foods

Old World recipes tend to pair well with Old World wines (European). These pair well with rustic recipes from Italy, Spain and France. Chianti pairs well with Tuscan cuisine, from sausage to grilled meats and ripe cheeses. Pastas pair well with Cabernet Sauvignon. Other earthy foods, such as mushrooms and truffles pair well with MELLOW wines, such as Pinot Noir.

Seafood

Fish and shellfish recipes can be paired with light, CRISP white wines like Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc, served lightly chilled. Salmon or fatty fish with rich sauces, pairs well with SILKY white wines from the New World (California, Chile or Australia).

Fresh Herbs

Serving a dish with a lot of fresh herbs and veggies, consider white wines that are SILKY, such as Albariño, Grüner Veltliner, Vermentino grape varietals.

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