2014 Sebastiani Alexander Valley Malbec

Sebastiani Vineyards of Sonoma was founded in 1904 by Samuele Sebastiani, a Tuscan immigrant who worked as a stone mason in the Sonoma hills before buying land for vineyards. His winery supplied wine to San Francisco until Prohibition, which the winery survived by making sacramental wine. By the 1960s and 1970s the family-run business was one of the largest winemakers in California and was known primarily for sweet, bulk wines. Various members of the family have left over the years to start their own winemaking ventures and today the estate is owned by Bill Foley of Foley Family Wines. The estate makes a broad portfolio of wines including Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Malbec, Zinfandel, Merlot, Chardonnay and Syrah.

Alexander Valley is an American Viticultural Area just north of Healdsburg, in Sonoma County. It was granted AVA status in 1984, with amendments made in subsequent years. The Russian River flows through the valley, and the region was named for Cyrus Alexander, a 19th century landowner and grape grower. The AVA includes 15,000 vineyard acres, much of it rich, alluvial soil layered on a bed of gravel, somewhat similar to many vineyards in Bordeaux. Alexander Valley is sheltered from marine weather by the low hills northeast of Healdsburg, though it is often shrouded in the morning fog coming off the Russian River. Some of the earliest commercial winemaking in the area started in the 1880s, when immigrants formed the Italian Swiss Colony cooperative at Asti. The region made jug wines until the 1960s and 1970s, when a new wave of quality-minded producers started estates. Today Alexander Valley is home to some of California’s most admired wineries, including Simi, Stonestreet and the Francis Ford Coppola Winery. Silver Oak Cellars, though based in Napa Valley, has a second winery in Alexander Valley where it makes Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Many grapes do well in the Alexander Valley, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and Zinfandel.

This grape produces a dark red wine with plenty of tannins. It is one of the six grapes allowed for blending red Bordeaux wines. Malbec is also the flagship variety of Argentina. The grape needs a lot of sun and heat to mature. It adds complexity and intensity to blends.