10 Jan Please The Palate Wine of the Week: Iconic Wines Myriad 2021 Cinsault, Clement Hills, Lodi
With Iconic Wines, Birk O’Halloran’s core mission is “to make wines we want to drink.” And he made one I wanted to drink, a Cinsault from Clement Hills in Lodi. Cinsault is often blended with other grapes from the Rhone Valley, so when I see a single varietal bottling, I cannot wait to get my hands on it. And when I opened it, it did not disappoint. That is why the Iconic Wines Myriad 2021 Cinsault, Clement Hills, Lodi is the Please The Palate wine of the week.
About Iconic Wines
Iconic Wines owner Birk O’Halloran’s entire career has consisted of “drinking his way up the supply chain.” While studying at Cornell University’s Hotel Program, wine became his subject of study and he never looked back. Birk helped build three wine retail stores on the east coast before working for a small import company and growing it into a national company. In 2011, Birk started to make wine on the side. He created Iconic Wines with the goal to establish a new benchmark for California wine, producing wines with more restraint that was the norm at the time. After years of juggling his sales position with winemaking, he focused all of his energy into Iconic Wines.
Iconic Wines have an irreverence to them. Birk does not follow a specific winemaking philosophy. He has taken things he has learned over the years from both Californian and European mentors to come up with his own “Dogma Free” style of winemaking.
Starting with 90 cases of neutral oak aged Chardonnay, Iconic Wines now produces more than a dozen different wines, ranging from $18-$55. The labels are eye-catching with images of comic book art and some wines have playful names, such as “Heroine”, “Secret Identity”, “Myriad”, and “Shapeshifter”.
Myriah is the name of the Cinsault. The wine was named Myriad to represent all of the other synonyms for Cinsault (Cinsaut). The synonyms are numerous: Black Malvoisie, Blue Imperial, Bourdales Kek, Budales, Calibre, Chainette, Cincout, Cinq-sao, Cinquien, Cinsanet, Cinsault, Cubilier, Cubillier, Cuviller, Espagne, Espagnol, Froutignan, Grappu De La Dordogne, Hermitage, Malaga Kek, Marocain, Maurange, Mavro Kara Melkii, Milhau, Morterille noire, Moustardier Noir, Navarro, Negru De Sarichioi, Oeillade noire, Ottavianello, Ottaviano, Ottavianello, Pampous, Papadou, Passerille, Pedaire, Picardan noir, Piquepoul D’Uzes, Pis De Chevre, Plant D Arles Boudales, Plant D’Arles, Plant De Broqui, Plant De Broquies, Poupe De Crabe, Pousse De Chevre Rouge, Prunaley, Prunelas, Prunella, Prunellas noir, Salerne, Samsó, Samson, Senso, Sensu, Sinsó, Strum, Takopulo Kara, Ulliaou, West’s White Prolific, Black Prince, Boudales, Oeillade, Picardin noir and Ulliade. And some of these names have funny translations. For example, Pis De Chevre means “goat utter”, Poupe De Crabe mean “crab butt, and Pousse De Chevre Rouge means “Red Goat Shoot”. As a result the Myriad Cinsault label has a fantastical creature on it that was created by artist Jesse Lonergan.
Tasting Notes
The Iconic Wines Myriad 2021 Cinsault is sourced from the Spague Vineyard in Clement Hills in Lodi. Myriad Cinsault is 100% carbonic. The grapes were fermented whole cluster under CO2 for 16 days before pressing and finishing fermentation in barrel. 40% remained in neutral French oak, while the rest was transferred to stainless steel. The wine is a translucent cranberry red color. It has a perfumed nose with floral notes, as well as aromas of strawberry, rhubarb, cranberry, raspberry, and red cherry. On the palate, the wine is smooth and light bodied with soft acidity and an earthy, tart cherry finish.
Food Pairing
Cinsault is a food friendly wine and can be paired with many different dishes. Enjoy it with salmon, roasted meats, stews, and pizza. I roasted and sauteed some vegetables with pasta.
Where To Purchase
Only 600 cases of the Iconic Wines Myriad 2021 Cinsault were made, which retailed for $20 but is sold out. For a current list of available Iconic Wines, check out the Iconic Wines website.