Cruse Wine Co., “Monkey Jacket” Red Blend
Cruse Wine Co., “Monkey Jacket” Red Blend

Cruse Wine Co., “Monkey Jacket” Red Blend

California, United States 2019 (750mL)
Regular price$28.00
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Cruse Wine Co., “Monkey Jacket” Red Blend

Like many legacy grapes in California, Valdiguié has practically disappeared: only about 250 acres remain. Until 1980, when it was correctly identified as Valdiguié (a.k.a. Gros Auxerrois), it was called “Napa Gamay,” and often still is. Thought to be from southwest France, it had its “Hearty Burgundy” moment in the 1970s, in wines labeled “Gamay Beaujolais.”


Valdiguié wines often resemble Beaujolais, with lots of brambly berry fruit, peppery spice, light/medium body, and crunchy acidity. In a market full of richly extracted, heavily oaked reds, they’re a dramatic departure, so the variety has some devoted fans. “It’s kind of perfect,” says Michael Cruse of Cruse Wine Co. “It keeps its acid, it’s nearly impossible to get overripe, and it tastes like California sunshine.”


Like many “indie” labels, Cruse Wine Co. isn’t dependent on just one vineyard source. Fruit for “Monkey Jacket” comes from multiple sites across five Northern California counties, though more than half—including most of the Valdiguié—is from Mendocino. One key source is Eaglepoint Ranch, which sits at 1,800 feet above Mendocino’s Ukiah Valley in soils of loam and sandstone.


Cruse says this 2019 contains the highest percentage of Valdiguié (53%) of any edition of Monkey Jacket. Other varieties include Carignane, Petite Sirah, and Tannat. Fermentation was carried out in concrete tanks with about 25% whole grape clusters. The finished wine matured in a mix of concrete and older French oak barrels/puncheons, to preserve the “transparency of the fruit.”


Bright ruby in color and leading with scents of violets and black pepper, this is a medium-bodied red loaded with energy and intrigue. Brambly wild berries, strawberry-rhubarb, and black plum collide with notes of leather and black olive. A Californian mashup of Cru Beaujolais and lighter-bodied Northern Rhône Syrah. Pair with steak au poivre or some mushroom-sauced burgers.

Cruse Wine Co., “Monkey Jacket” Red Blend
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United States

Washington

Columbia Valley

Like many Washington wines, the “Columbia Valley” indication only tells part of the story: Columbia Valley covers a huge swath of Central
Washington, within which are a wide array of smaller AVAs (appellations).

Oregon

Willamette Valley

Oregon’s Willamette Valley has become an elite winegrowing zone in record time. Pioneering vintner David Lett, of The Eyrie Vineyard, planted the first Pinot Noir in the region in 1965, soon to be followed by a cadre of forward-thinking growers who (correctly) saw their wines as America’s answer to French
Burgundies. Today, the Willamette
Valley is indeed compared favorably to Burgundy, Pinot Noir’s spiritual home. And while Pinot Noir accounts for 64% of Oregon’s vineyard plantings, there are cool-climate whites that must not be missed.

California

Santa Barbara

Among the unique features of Santa Barbara County appellations like Ballard Canyon (a sub-zone of the Santa Ynez Valley AVA), is that it has a cool, Pacific-influenced climate juxtaposed with the intense luminosity of a southerly
latitude (the 34th parallel). Ballard Canyon has a more north-south orientation compared to most Santa Barbara AVAs, with soils of sandy
clay/loam and limestone.

California

Paso Robles

Situated at an elevation of 1,600 feet, it is rooted in soils of sandy loam and falls within the Highlands District of the Paso Robles AVA.

New York

North Fork

Wine growers and producers on Long Island’s North Fork have traditionally compared their terroir to that of Bordeaux and have focused on French varieties such as Cabernet Franc and Merlot.

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