If you are a fan of Santa Barbara County wines, you should really add Cimarone Wines to your list of wineries to explore. Cimarone’s vineyards are located in the Happy Canyon AVA of Santa Barbara and the winery is run by husband and wife team Roger and Priscilla Higgins. With the help of winemaker Andrew Murray, they produce small lot, crowd-pleasing wines. Over the past week, I sampled the newly released Cimarone 2012 Gran Premio Sangiovese and Cimarone 2012 Cabernet Franc. Each New World style wine is well-made and full of flavor.
Cimarone’s vineyards courtesy of Cimarone Wines
Cimarone 2012 Cabernet Franc
Cimarone’s Cabernet Franc is pleasantly aromatic with notes of ripe, red berries, cassis, violets, and hints of oak. The palate is super smooth and features tastes of plums, green bell peppers, red berries, and spice. Balanced and incredibly enjoyable! (13.8% alcohol, $29.99)
Cimarone 2012 Cabernet Franc
Cimarone 2012 Gran Premio Sangiovese
This wine opens with aromas of ripe fruit, earth, and cinnamon. Decadent flavors of plum, red berries, and cinnamon are surrounded by more nuanced notes of earth and vanilla. Hearty enough to pair with roasted meats, this wine will most definitely improve with a little more time in the bottle! (14.5% alcohol, $29.99)
*Media Samples
