Sandlands Carignane 2023

Sandlands Carignane 2023

Sandlands
$45.00

Grape: Carignane
Vintage: 2023
Type: Red

This low-intervention red wine is a pure varietal expression of Carignane sourced from historic, dry-farmed California vineyards. Winemaker Tegan Passalacqua focuses on preserving own-rooted vines planted in deep, sandy soils that check vigor and concentrate flavor. The hand-harvested grapes are vinified using traditional whole-cluster inclusion and fermented spontaneously with native wild yeasts in neutral vessels. The liquid matures for several months in seasoned French oak barrels to allow the structural elements to integrate naturally without any wood dominance.

It pours a ruby-purple color, opening with high-toned aromatics of wild blackberry, fresh plum, and savory garden herbs. On the palate, the light-to-medium body is exceptionally fluid and direct, balancing a crunchy fruit core with a chiseled mineral baseline. Soft, fine-grained tannins provide a structural grip across mid-palate volume without feeling heavy. A clean thread of natural acidity runs through the center, keeping the mouthfeel thoroughly refreshed.

Sandland is Tegan Passalacqua's project devoted to California's old, often overlooked vineyard heritage. As vineyard manager for Turley, Passalacqua has deep experience with ancient vines, and Sandlands channels that knowledge into parcels planted to varieties such as Chenin Blanc, Carignane, Mataro, Trousseau, Zinfandel and Mission. Many sites are own-rooted, dry-farmed and planted on sandy granitic or decomposed soils that helped them survive phylloxera. The wines are made simply, with restrained alcohol and little new oak, showing a quieter California built from old vines, immigrant varieties and historical continuity rather than modern fashion.