2022 Bella Essence Red Wine

Variety: 50% Grenache, 50% Syrah saingée 

Appellation: Dry Creek Valley, Lily Hill

Sensory Notes: Cherry is dominant here! The aromatics are full of goregous cherry clafoutis or cherry custard exploding out of the glass with a background of raspberry and brambles. There's a lovely fresh tobacco leaf undertone giving this very fruit forward, feminine wine a bit of masculinity. On the palate, this is extremely smooth with a well integrated tannin structure. The black cherries come forward with a bit of earthiness and a lovely, lingering fruity finish. 

Winemaking Notes: A powerful blend of saigné rosé and red, best enjoyed with a light chill for summer-into-fall sipping.

The Essence was born in 2019 when Syrah harvest yielded some very special fruit, although it was lighter in character than anticipated–too light for the full-bodied red. Rather than waste a drop of juice, a different style of wine was made: a powerful saignée rosé best enjoyed with a light chill and that embodies the style and some flavors of a Moulin-à-Vent–one of the most highly rated of all the Beaujolais Crus.

Dubbed Essence, it is known at Bella as a “fall rosé” that lends itself to drinking as the weather starts to cool. 

“Essence is a delicious, refreshing, lighter glass of wine for summer-into-fall, all-weather easy sipping–an elegant transition from rosé to cooler weather reds,” Ryan explains. It's a truly unique expression of Dry Creek Valley, with a nod to traditional wines from Beaujoulais Cru and Lambrusco.

Cellar Notes: Similar to most rosé, there is no need