The current carbonic craze often produces similar tasting wines, so it’s refreshing to see it applied to Mourvèdre, whose rustic soul brings new flavors. The Adroît Initiative 2019 Carbonic Mourvèdre (Chalone) $30, 92 points. Pair it with grilled flank steak with chimichurri. Light, bright flavors follow, with an intriguing, grainy, almost tacky feel. There are upfront aromas of green pepper, peat, cranberry, pomegranate and strawberry. This is a one-of-a-kind wine, carbonic macerated from one of the state’s top vineyards. Chill it properly and wow your friends with this truly one-of-a-kind wine.Savage Grace 2019 Cru Carbonic Red Willow Vineyard Cabernet Franc (Yakima Valley) $34, 92 points. It's such a cool take on Cab Franc, with white wine acidity in the body of a lighter red. You totally taste that green pepperiness typical of this grape, but the citrus notes and zesty acidity prevail - think lemon, lime and thyme.

Here he lets the juice sit with the skins for a few hours then presses off (instead of leaving it sit for days or weeks, as in a red wine), leaving the juice with just a kiss of skin contact, a pretty pink blush, and the spicy, peppery aromatics of Cab Franc. Michael makes mostly red wines, with a focus on his favorite grape, Cab Franc. He named his label after himself, ‘Savage’, which he says also represents the struggle of the grape, and the ‘Grace’ part is not only his wife's name but what he hopes to capture in bottle.

So he started a project inspired by the wines he loved to drink - light reds from the Loire Valley - made his first wine that very same year. But while preparing for the exam, he decided that instead of learning about it, he should probably just make it. While working in music and software development, he signed up for the WSET (Wine & Spirits Education Trust) diploma course, for fun. We don't see a lot of natural wines from Washington state, and we have NEVER seen Cab Franc vinified white, so this is a Unicorn wine all around! It comes from a small, one-man winery started by Michael Savage in 2011 - kind of on a whim. Vineyard/Cellar Stats: Organic farming whole cluster pressed and aged in stainless-steel tanks for six months bottled without filtering and minimal added So2 12% ABV

Savage grace wine