In a previous post I discussed the groundbreaking pioneer of Arizona wine, Maynard Keenan. He's familiar to music fans as the creator and leader of several bands, Tool, A Perfect Circle and Puscifer, and has a very devoted following in that regard. But the Arizona winemaking is what intrigues me. He's basically commited to fighting the climate extremes of the desert conditions in Arizona as well as javelina attacks on his vines to produce a line up of (mostly red) wines that feel like big, rustic, Tuscan wines. The winery chose to sell all the wine direct, cutting off our access to it some time ago. But we just got a tiny allocation for the store. So check out these links for Caduceus Anubis, Caduceus Nagual de la Nalga, Merkin Chupacabra and Merkin Shinola to get more details. Here's a brief summary of the wines we currently have:
2010 Caduceus Cellars Nagual de la Naga*
About 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot and about 30% Sangiovese and Tempranillo
all sourced from the Bonita Springs vineyard, Graham County, AZ
Tasting Notes: A dusty hue of red plums, red licorice with a subtle hints of oak & plump tannins
2010 Caduceus Cellars Anubis**
Essentially Cabernet Sauvignon with about 20%Petit Sirah, Syrah and a touch of Malvasia Bianca, yes that last one is a white grape, for those of you from Rio Linda. Sourced from the same vineyard as the Nagual, see above
Tasting Notes: Honeyed toffee and cherried leather in a cone of oak
2011 Merking Vineyards Shinola***
This is a blend of: 25% Sangiovese, 25% Dolcetto, 25% Refosco, 25% Primitivo sourced from the Luna Rosa vineyard in New Mexico
2011 Chupacabra****
A blend that varies from year to year, the mystery beast "Chupacabra" is also know as the shapeshifter. It is a blend of: 42% Petite Sirah, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Syrah, 8% Viognier sourced from California vineyards
Tasting Notes: A purple hued, Mocha covered pomegranate with black plums and black raspberries, focused coarse tannins round out a medium finish
*Nagual de la Naga: Nagual-in Mesoamerican religions it is a personal guardian spirit that resides in an animal. Naga-in sanskrit means cobra or king cobra
**Anubis- The egyptian god of mummification often depicted with the head of a jackal
***Shinola-the opposite of s**t, though apparently difficult for some people to distinguish
****Chupacabra- Also known as the shape shifter but literally "goat sucker" in Spanish, a mystery beast that strikes at night and kills livestock, vampire style. Might be extraterrestrial or it might be a coyote with really bad mange.
Caduceus Cellars and Vineyards, general information
158 MAIN STREET, JEROME, AZ 86331 | MAIL: P.O. BOX 905, JEROME, AZ 86331
WWW.CADUCEUS.ORG | TASTINGROOM@CADUCEUSCELLARS.COM | TEL: 928.639.WINE | FAX: 928.639.3519 | BASIC INFO: 928.634.3444
Important links.
http://www.caduceus.org/ winery website, funky annoying flash but good mission statements and stuff on the spirit of each wine.
http://speakeasypr.com/news/2012/04/12/caduceus-cellars-merkin-vineyards-spring-releases/ 2012 press release on the new wines
http://www.azstronghold.com/centennialwines.html Arizona Stronghold Vineyards website
