Mariah Vineyards

This wine is a high-elevation hybrid. Most of the fruit comes from the Mariah Vineyard, 2600 feet up in the wild-‘n’-wooly Mendocino Ridge appellation. You can see the Pacific Ocean from up there. The other significant source, Piffero Vineyard, is even higher but on the other side of the state in Amador County. The blend is mostly Zinfandel, with a big dose of Petite Sirah and dollops of Syrah and Carignane. Brown-Forman, which makes the wine, has decided to end the program, and will give the “Mariah” name back to vineyard owner Dan Dooling. Odds are that he will make his own Mariah entirely from the vineyard in future vintages.

While I would not call this my favorite Mariah ever, it’s still a compelling wine that manages to disguise some fairly sophisticated winemaking. You can smell plenty of oak here in the minty, mountainy red and black fruit, but otherwise the substantial oak is well integrated. In your mouth the wine adds chocolate and grape tannins, then violets and spice become evident as the fruit eases off and the aftertaste volatilizes. To add to this nice effect, the wine stays cool and bright to the finish even though it's built with dark, intensely ripe fruit.

Reviewed October 31, 2007 by Thom Elkjer.