Broc Cellars Old Vine Carignan 2017

This wine comes from a single field-planted block in Alexander Valley, Sonoma County, with vines over 130 years old. The block is an original co-planting of Carignan (85%), Alicante Bouschet (10%), Zinfandel (4%), and Palomino (1%) growing in decomposed sandy soils. Those soils make it impossible for phylloxera to survive, so the vines remain on their own rootstock — some of the last self-rooted vines in California.

Winemaker Chris Brockway uses full carbonic maceration. Whole clusters go directly from bin into two large concrete tanks, where a blanket of CO2 keeps the berries intact while native yeasts begin fermenting sugars from the inside out. This intracellular fermentation gradually breaks down pigment in the skins, staining the juice a vivid red before the berries ever split. Once fermentation is complete, the wine is pressed back into concrete and aged for eight months before bottling. No yeasts, bacteria, enzymes, or tannins are added at any stage; sulfur is kept to little or none at bottling.

Only 440 cases were produced in the 2017 vintage. The Alexander Valley AVA sits in northeastern Sonoma County along the Russian River corridor, with warm days, deep alluvial and sandy soils, and significant diurnal temperature swings that preserve acidity even at full ripeness. For Carignan from vines this old, that combination results in density without weight.