2016 Amapola Creek "Cuvée Alis" Sonoma Valley Rhône Blend

Over the years we've had some fantastic deals from Amapola Creek up in Sonoma's Moon Mountain District. The Amapola Estate, now owned by B. Wise Vineyards, shares the incredibly rocky, red, volcanic soils as their famed immediate neighbor the historic Monte Rosso Vineyard. This terroir produces, big, powerful, opulent wines, with lots of bold dark fruit, scorched earth and dried mountain chaparral. That's exactly what you'll find here in this Châteauneuf-du-Pape-inspired "Cuvée Alis" from Amapola Creek. A blend of Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, plus Petite Sirah and a dash of Viognier. This is a ripe, rich wine with some really nice secondary development notes emerging from its time in bottle. The wild, dusty, mountain fruit is now interwoven with lots of leather, spice box, tobacco leaf, and cured meat. Soft and supple on the palate with iron-like mineral tinges running through into the finish. The wine still has lots of density and satisfying fruit, but the years of aging have made this something much more complex than your typical fruit-driven Cali Rhône Blend. The pedigree of these hallowed soils is on full display here, and it's an experience that typically comes with a much higher price tag! This bottle is also a piece of history in a way; in 2019 Amapola Creek founder Richard Arrowood retired after 54 vintages of crafting Sonoma wines, meaning this is one of the final vintages ever made by a truly legendary vigneron. Our last-of-vintage, Insider's Advantage price is too low to show publicly as the wine typically sells for more than twice the price! Limited availability.