Wine Last Sold on: October 12, 2012
Tessa Marie Wines
Featured Wine:
2007 Tessa Marie "Coquette"
| Varietal: | Red Blend |
| Region: | California: Santa Barbara County |
| Avg. Price: | $36.00 |
| Wine Spies: | $23.99 |
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SUPERIOR VINTAGE ALERT:
2007 keeps on producing the hits, and today’s wine is solid gold. Keep an eye out for more from this fantastic California vintage, which Robert Parker, Jr. (Wine Advocate) awarded with a stellar 96 Point score. This is his highest score in more than a decade for an overall vintage.
SUPER QPR ALERT:
At today’s special Wine Spies price, this wine delivers tremendous value - and a drinking experience that exceeds expectations, easily earning it this special QPR (Quality to Price Ratio) Alert.
Mission Codename: Adoration
- Operative
- Agent Red
- Objective
- Investigate reports that Tessa Marie winery’s 2007 Coquette is a stellar Italian varietal blend, born in California and made by one of the state’s most talented young female winemakers. If the wine passes our exacting standards for quality and value, secure an ample allotment for our well-deserving Operatives.
- Mission Status
- Accomplished!
- Winemaker
- Tessa Marie
Final Assessment
What an exceptional wine we have discovered for you, in today’s very highly recommended Italian varietal blend from Tessa Marie Wines.
Lady winemakers are something of a rarity in the wine trade. So, too, are very young winemakers. Tessa Marie, winemaker of today’s 2007 Coquette, shows remarkable skill, especially for her age.
Bursting with dark berry flavors, this wine shows wonderful complexity and balance. Bold, lofty aromatics had our entre tasting panel inhaling the wine, long before taking our first delicious sips.
2007 was such an extraordinary vintage, and today’s wine is one of our very favorite red blends to have been born of this stellar 96 point. Be sure to stock up on this wonderful gem of a wine.
Tasting Profile
Pretty dark ruby hues, with perfectly even coloration from the heart of the wine, out to the fine pink edge. After spinning the wine, chubby legs take a long time to emerge high up on the glass wall, before moving very slowly downward.
Lush and wonderfully aromatic, with a rush of spiced cherry, raspberry, blackberry and crushed violets that leaps from the glass. These are followed by cracked leather, pipe tobacco, cassis, ripe strawberry and berry bramble.
Cool and soft on entry, then very quickly grippy as the wine gains weight across the entire palate. Gradually, it coats the mouth with a plush, crushed velvet quality. A soft, flinty dryness spreads from mid-palate, outward to the edges, slowly drying the lips and cheeks.
Bursting with delicious flavors, this balanced and juicy wine leads with blackberry, black cherry, smoky blueberry and dark raspberry. These find beautiful juxtaposition against secondary flavors of dried green tobacco leaf, espresso bean, exotic spice, dried black flower petals, salted black licorice and flinty minerals.
Ultra-long and bursting with fruit flavors that seem to go on forever. Dark berry fruits taper off gradually, leading to spice, tobacco and dried flowers. At the very end, subtle spice, flint and black pepper remain, making the mouth water and generating anticipation of the next delicious sip.
What the Winery Says
Why Coquette?
2003 marked the first vintage for Tessa Marie Wınes. While searching for a perfect name for my new blend I came upon the French name Coquette. True to its name, the 2006 Coquette is a beguiling flirtatious blend of Sangiovese and Syrah that leaves you wanting more with every sip. Like a beautiful rfinest chocolate, Coquette has earned a place among the many romantic staples.
Varietal Composition
70% Sangiovese from Camp 4
30% Syrah from Camp 4
Aging
Aged in neutral French Oak for 19 month
Tasting Notes
Coquette presents playful aromas of bright red fruit, black currant and a hint of molasses. Wıth Sangiovese being its principal component, this wine has good acidity to marry beautifully with food, as well as wonderful raspberry and black cherry flavors on the palate. The supple tannins, spice and plum character in the Syrah, along with the new oak in this blend, creates a well-balanced fruit-forward wine to enjoy for years
Accolades
90 points Wine Enthusiast Magazine, October 2011 – Preview Score
Alcohol
15.8%
About the Winery
In the summer of 2004, following graduation from high school, Tessa began her winemaking career by working in her family’s tasting room. At the age of 18, still too young to actually taste the wines that were being poured, she would smell them and describe their aromatics using the descriptive words she had so frequently heard there. Curious about the process of crafting fine wine, and armed with determination, she enrolled in the Enology and Viticulture program at Allan Hancock College.
It was during that first semester, as she attended school and worked harvest at a local winery, that Tessa discovered Sangiovese. Instantly this variety captured Tessa’s attention. With its food-friendly character, forward fruit and ageablity, Sangiovese would become the cornerstone of Tessa’s winemaking efforts. Shortly after this revelation, the Tessa Marie label was born and a new winemaking career began.
Today, with four harvests under her belt, Tessa continues to perfect her winemaking techniques and has expanded her portfolio to include several new varieties in her all Italian lineup. Sangiovese however, remains the hallmark of the program and always will!
