Turley and Robert Hall Carignane from Paso Robles Paired with Instant Pot Moroccan Chicken and squash bacon salad
Turley’s winemaker Karl Wicka sits in his office below an old Pesenti Winery sign
Turley Vineyards — with vineyards and a tasting room in Paso Robles as well as in Sonoma also champions old vines like Zinfandel and Carignane. Their Pesenti vineyard with a deep personal connection for my co-conspirator here at Wine Predator: Sue’s family has deep roots in Paso Robles. That’s where her Italian relatives settled, and the Pesenti family helped them get on their feet in the new country.
According to the Turley website, Frank Pesenti came to the United States in the late 1880s. He purchased a ranch heavily forested with oak trees in Templeton in 1919. By 2022, he was planting it to zinfandel, carignane, and grenache, and in 1934, he bonded the Pesenti Winery. In 2000, Larry Turley purchased the property.
Robert Hall under the leadership of Caine Thompson is a regenerative organic certified winery, one of only a few in the world, and part of a B Corp (see more below). I tried to find out more about where the grapes came from, and how old the vineyards are, and will add that ASAP. They also make a carbonic Carignan some years.
While there’s not a lot of Carignane to be found on its own, there are a few producers like there— and Larry Scheffer at Tercero also makes one! But I am saving that for another day in order to focus on these two sustainably farmed wines from Paso Robles.
To celebrate #CarignaneDay and to call attention to fine farming and old vines with the International Old Vine Conference taking place this final weekend of October in Sonoma, Napa, and Lodi, we highlight two special sustainably grown Carignan from Paso Robles, CA.
You can sign up to watch the proceedings of the Old Vine Conference online here.
Turley and Robert Hall Carignane from Paso Robles Paired with Instant Pot Moroccan Chicken
Wines
- 2022 Turley Carignane, Pesenti Vineyard, Paso Robles, CA
- 2021 Robert Hall Cavern Select Carignane, Templeton Gap, Paso Robles, CA
Menu
- Baked brie with honey, dried fruit, spiced pecans
- Baguette
- Bacon squash spring green salad
- Moroccan Chicken on a bed of couscous
adapted for the instant pot from here; recipe below
2022 Turley Carignane, Pesenti Vineyard, Paso Robles, CA
2022 Turley Wine Cellars Carignane, Pesenti Vineyard, Paso Robles, CA
ABV: 15.4%
SRP: $45
Grapes: Carignan
purchased with industry discount
Planted in the 1920s on ancient marine calcareous soils, Pesenti today is a certified organic estate-owned vineyard of head-trained and dry-farmed vines where the soil distinguishes this westside vineyard by bringing distinctive chalk and florals to the wines made from grapes grown there. While zinfandel is the most well known grape from this vineyard, it also has a small amount of precious carignane that I had to beg to buy with the help of Sue’s wine club membership access and my industry connections— I actually bought it without even tasting it, and now, after tasting, Sue plans to add it to her allotment.
Appearance: Bright vibrant ruby, fushia rim, medium plus density, so pretty in the glass
Aroma: Very rich and intense, raspberry and licorice, elderberry, blueberry, lilac, ceanothus, chaparral flowers, what a beautiful nose on this wine, bees wax, bee pollen, we loved the nose on this wine, loamy earth, gardenia, frankincense and myrh,
Palate: This wine shines on the palate, zesty, fruity, bold, super ripe cherry, grape juice, earthen, humus of the soil, rich and decadent, this wine has so much energy, there is something very special about this wine, so balanced, great acidity, smooth tannins, bold yet balanced, I don’t know what it is about this wine, but it sings Turley because it sings the earth tart fruit and is not clouded by oak. The fruit is able to shine in the wine,
Pairing: Very nice with the pate, rich meet rich, great with the baked brie, the cheese brings out the sweet fruity characteristics in the wine, what a yummy pairing, the food and the wine work so well together, but what makes the pairing exceptional is the tart acidity of the wine which marries with the meal perfectly and brings out all of the complex flavors of the dish. flipping incredible with the salad, the wine becomes tart and the salad blooms with flavors the greens become greener, the squash becomes sweeter, the bacon becomes smokier and the wine becomes more complex.
2021 Robert Hall Cavern Select Carignan, Templeton Gap, Paso Robles, CA
2021 Robert Hall Estate Cavern Select Carignan, Templeton Gap, Paso Robles, CA
ABV: 13.5%
SRP: $50
Grapes: Carignan 16 months in French Oak
150 Cases Produced
sample for my review
Robert Hall is part of O’Neill Vintners & Distillers which earned B Corporation recertification following a comprehensive evaluation process. A leader in sustainable and responsible operations since 2022, and one of the largest B Corp Certified wineries in the world and defiantly in North America, O’Neill demonstrates “that business can be a powerful force for good – harnessing scale and innovation to drive measurable impact.”
O’Neill contracts with over 200 growers, across 15,000 acres, who are Certified California Sustainable Winegrowing (CCSW). Under their leadership, many are now adopting regenerative farming methods. They repurpose retired oak barrels as filtration layers in the wastewater system, and they transform leftover grape pomace and stems into animal feed.
Robert Hall Winery in Paso Robles and Ram’s Gate Winery in Sonoma have earned Regenerative Organic Certification, with a total of 170 acres of certified estate vineyards.
Appearance: Ruby, very dense and dark, ruby rim
Aroma: Cherry, cherry blossom, cherry tobacco, cherry cigar box, very subtle, violet, eucalyptus, chaparral brush,
Palate: Cherry, sweet bing cherry,cherry tobacco, licorice, bold tannins, very structured, this is a wine that can lay down for a bit, tarragon, very fresh,
Pairing: Pate brings out lovely fruit in the wine, so good together, it made me think about duck breast with a fruit sauce: that would be perfect with this wine, the baked brie was also fabulous with the wine, because the squash is so sweet it needs the salty bacon and spicy savory nuts to balance it out and it goes absolutely perfect with the wine. the chicken dish is perfect with the wine, it loves the richness of the protein, sweet fruit, and all of the lovely spices that go so perfectly
Even the cat wants carignan!
Instant Pot Morrocan Chicken Ingredients
- 2 C chopped baby carrots
- 1/4 large onion chopped
- 3 pounds skinless chicken
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 14 ounces reduced-sodium chicken broth
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 garlic cloves, sliced
- 1-1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 1/2 teaspoons McCormicks Moroccan spice blend
- 3/4 teaspoon pepper
Directions
- Pour olive oil in the bottom of instant pot to cover.
- Place carrots and onions in instant pot.
- Sprinkle chicken with salt; add to slow cooker.
- Top with apricots and raisins.
- In a small bowl, whisk broth, tomato paste, flour, lemon juice, garlic and seasonings until blended; add.
- Cook on meat stew setting (about 75 minutes).
- Serve with hot cooked couscous.
wine predator.............. gwendolyn alley 