Red Belly is our ode to the South of France, where blending varietals to achieve the perfect synergy is the way of life. 2019 Red Belly is a composition of Niemi Vineyard Carignane in Redwood Valley, Ashurst Vineyard Syrah in Hopland, and Charlie Sawyer’s Grenache Vineyard that sits at 1000 feet elevation above Ukiah in Mendocino. In 2019, the first week in October was a busy one, as we harvested Ashurst Syrah on the second, followed by Niemi Carignane and Sawyer Grenache on the third. Each vineyard was hand-picked by our crew at first light, then transported to our facility in Sonoma for vinification.
Each lot was passed down the sorting table before being crushed into the fermenter. While the Niemi Carignane and Ashurst Syrah were de-stemmed, we retained 10% stems in the Sawyer Grenache. Grenache was punched down twice daily in an open-top fermenter; the remaining lots were pumped over twice daily. All red wine ferments with indigenous yeast at their own pace. After primary fermentation, each lot was separately barreled to seasoned French cooperage. After secondary fermentation is complete, a barrel selection is made, racked to a tank, and then returned to barrel for the final months of elevage. As with all our red wines, Red Belly was bottled unfined and unfiltered.
Ruby red. Ripe fruit aromas of plum, red raspberry, and black cherry with a violet floral top note. The medium-bodied palate is ripe and creamy, with the plum and wild berry fruit complemented by warm brown spice and sweet, firm tannin. The textural palate impression leads into a long fruit-imbued finish with tannin and fruit in perfect harmony.
Skylark Wine Company is a collaboration between Boulevard Restaurant wine directors John Lancaster and Robert Perkins. John and Robert have run the wine program at the acclaimed Boulevard Restaurant in San Francisco for fifteen years. During their tenure at Boulevard, they have built a close friendship, an inventory of wines from around the globe, and a palate of tasting wines of the world from vintage to vintage. This partnership has created long-term relationships with the entire scope of the wine industry, from winemakers to vineyard managers to owners. With these relationships, their next logical progression was the realization of a dream: making fine wine from select vineyards in Northern California. While the original plan was simply a barrel, they jumped in with 14 barrels of Syrah from the 2002 harvest. Skylark Wine Company was formed.
Available States
AL, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Wine Review Online:
89 points. Skylark is a modern-day Rhône Ranger winery. Red Belly is their homage to Southern Rhône, showcasing a blend of Syrah, Carignane, and Grenache. The blend, heavy on both Syrah and Carignane, comes across true-to-style with a lighter body and clear earth notes. Meanwhile, Red Belly’s fruit-driven profile is true to California. Skylark’s oak usage is well integrated and acts in a supporting role to the wine’s red fruit and earthy notes. Made to cellar, this wine will do well in a decanter. Be sure to look out for sediment but also ensure that it receives sufficient air. Vince Simmon 4/23/24
Jeb Dunnuck:
89 points. The 2019 Red Belly is terrific, with lots of spiced red (and some black) fruit as well as dried herbs and chocolate nuances. It’s balanced, medium-bodied, has supple tannins, and reminds me of a great Côtes du Rhône from the South of France. The blend is 45% Syrah, 32% Carignan, and the rest Grenache, aged 18 months in barrel. JD 8/30/23
Wine&Spirits Magazine:
88 points. Bright-green and piney, this wine boasts simple and pleasing raspberry flavors. The tannins are a little sticky in the end, then the wine lasts with humus-like earthiness. (1,200 cases) —J.G. 3/24
An SF Chronicle blurb not specific to the 2019 here
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations.)
2019 Skylark Red Belly - $30 = 15.00%
I was lucky enough to be chosen to rat a bottle of Skylark Red Belly 2019. It arrived the day of a small get-together, so I was able to get some other opinions as well. I opened the bottle and let it breathe for 30 minutes before I poured the first taste.
Visual: The color is a lovely bright brick (or some say “strawberry) red with high clarity and defined, medium bodied legs. There was a bit of sentiment in the bottle that was transferred to the glasses on the initial pour.
Nose: Everyone tasting was surprised at how subtle the nose was. It was hard to pin down, slightly floral, strawberries, and alcohol. The alcohol fled the glass after about an hour.
Flavor: My first sip was tannic and tart, with an alcohol burn that finished with some cedar and pomegranate. Several people agreed that the alcohol burn and tart flavors were astringent, while one insisted that it stripped her tongue like Seabreeze. Clearly we needed to give this wine more time.
We all decided to let it sit in the glass and enjoyed some shepherd’s pie.
As it opened the alcohol burn lessened and eventually evaporated entirely. The tannins took more of a backseat and the wine overall became softer, but still a little tart.
After another hour the flavor improved a lot. It became more complex and mellow, with flavors of red plums and raspberries joining the pomegranate. Herbs joined the glass with hints of rosemary, thyme, and some reported fennel. Spices like cinnamon and black pepper rounded out the finish.
It was a good pairing for shepherd’s pie, as it cuts through rich food and re-sets your palate. It was a very tasty red blend, but make sure you decant it or give it plenty of time to breathe.
@gemeinschaft79@smoothie72 I especially like that it was bottled with some sentiment. Hope it was a good sentiment.
Seriously I like Rhône style wines but basically am overloaded. In WA state there is a lot of production in that now (but usually much higher prices). I tend to avoid the CA ones because they can be too fruity/jammy but Mendocino might be cool enough to keep a good balance.
EDIT also my father had a Buick Skylark. He was a Buick guy till the end. Some are still on his property which I have to deal with.
@gemeinschaft79@smoothie72 , thank you for the kind words and time you took to review. john and I are quite proud of our wines and thrilled your sharing with friends, best robert
Ooof… sorry to the fine folks at Casemates and Skylark. I had my review written up and spaced out on posting it this morning.
The 2019 Skylark Red Belly is a blend of Syrah, Carignane, and Grenache. It pours somewhere between brick and brown, and has a fruity nose with hints of blackberry, raspberry, and cherry. The smell is complex… I described it as fruity but that doesn’t really do it justice. The berries are what I can tease out, but it’s quite nice smelling, with a tickle of alcohol on the finish.
First pour and immediate sip— closed, tart, astringent. The Red Belly shows strong legs in the glass and has a high 14.8% alcohol to match. The hint of alcohol on the bouquet makes sense. We let our glasses sit for a few while I started taking notes. Within 5 minutes it opened up noticeably (and continued to improve as we sipped). The astringent bitterness softened and became softer, almost velvety, but it remains tart on the front. The fruity aroma is evident as I sip, but is not apparent on the tongue.
We had a dinner date, but I grabbed some smoked gouda to gauge how it held up. The answer is… nicely. It cut through the fatty cheese with enough left in the tank to remind you what you are drinking.
We had a little bit left for Day 2. It was a mild improvement over day 1. There tang of alcohol was gone, the finish was long and smooth. I don’t think it needs to sit overnight; just decant or give it a couple minutes. But if you don’t finish it the first night, you’ll be able to enjoy the rest the next day.
2019 Skylark Red Belly, Mendocino County
Tasting Notes
Specs
What’s Included
6-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
$300.00/Case for 12x 2019 Skylark Red Belly, Mendocino County at Skylark Wine Company
About The Winery
Available States
AL, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Monday, Dec 8 - Wednesday, Dec 10
2019 Skylark Red Belly
6 bottles for $99.99 $16.67/bottle + $1.33/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $169.99 $14.17/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
Wine Review Online:
89 points. Skylark is a modern-day Rhône Ranger winery. Red Belly is their homage to Southern Rhône, showcasing a blend of Syrah, Carignane, and Grenache. The blend, heavy on both Syrah and Carignane, comes across true-to-style with a lighter body and clear earth notes. Meanwhile, Red Belly’s fruit-driven profile is true to California. Skylark’s oak usage is well integrated and acts in a supporting role to the wine’s red fruit and earthy notes. Made to cellar, this wine will do well in a decanter. Be sure to look out for sediment but also ensure that it receives sufficient air. Vince Simmon 4/23/24
Jeb Dunnuck:
89 points. The 2019 Red Belly is terrific, with lots of spiced red (and some black) fruit as well as dried herbs and chocolate nuances. It’s balanced, medium-bodied, has supple tannins, and reminds me of a great Côtes du Rhône from the South of France. The blend is 45% Syrah, 32% Carignan, and the rest Grenache, aged 18 months in barrel. JD 8/30/23
Wine&Spirits Magazine:
88 points. Bright-green and piney, this wine boasts simple and pleasing raspberry flavors. The tannins are a little sticky in the end, then the wine lasts with humus-like earthiness. (1,200 cases) —J.G. 3/24
An SF Chronicle blurb not specific to the 2019 here
fwiw
@kaolis Nice stylistic background info with that link
@kaolis @rjquillin I’m troubled by that “clear earth notes” (good!) followed by “fruit-driven,” for me usually a negative.
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations.)
2019 Skylark Red Belly - $30 = 15.00%
@Mark_L tempting; makes me more likely to buy smaller pack.
Skylark - Red Belly 2019 Red Blend
I was lucky enough to be chosen to rat a bottle of Skylark Red Belly 2019. It arrived the day of a small get-together, so I was able to get some other opinions as well. I opened the bottle and let it breathe for 30 minutes before I poured the first taste.
Visual: The color is a lovely bright brick (or some say “strawberry) red with high clarity and defined, medium bodied legs. There was a bit of sentiment in the bottle that was transferred to the glasses on the initial pour.
Nose: Everyone tasting was surprised at how subtle the nose was. It was hard to pin down, slightly floral, strawberries, and alcohol. The alcohol fled the glass after about an hour.
Flavor: My first sip was tannic and tart, with an alcohol burn that finished with some cedar and pomegranate. Several people agreed that the alcohol burn and tart flavors were astringent, while one insisted that it stripped her tongue like Seabreeze. Clearly we needed to give this wine more time.
We all decided to let it sit in the glass and enjoyed some shepherd’s pie.
As it opened the alcohol burn lessened and eventually evaporated entirely. The tannins took more of a backseat and the wine overall became softer, but still a little tart.
After another hour the flavor improved a lot. It became more complex and mellow, with flavors of red plums and raspberries joining the pomegranate. Herbs joined the glass with hints of rosemary, thyme, and some reported fennel. Spices like cinnamon and black pepper rounded out the finish.
It was a good pairing for shepherd’s pie, as it cuts through rich food and re-sets your palate. It was a very tasty red blend, but make sure you decant it or give it plenty of time to breathe.
@gemeinschaft79 Very nice review
@gemeinschaft79 @smoothie72 I especially like that it was bottled with some sentiment
. Hope it was a good sentiment.
Seriously I like Rhône style wines but basically am overloaded. In WA state there is a lot of production in that now (but usually much higher prices). I tend to avoid the CA ones because they can be too fruity/jammy but Mendocino might be cool enough to keep a good balance.
EDIT also my father had a Buick Skylark. He was a Buick guy till the end. Some are still on his property which I have to deal with.
@pmarin @smoothie72 LOL dang, can’t believe I wrote sentiment and not sediment. It was not a jammy wine, so I think it might match your preferences
I thought it was cute enough not to even think about pointing it out
@gemeinschaft79 @sandbarhappy @smoothie72
Also easy to blame auto-correct which is now AI meaning this is what you wanted to say even though it wasn’t.
@pmarin @sandbarhappy @smoothie72 ,
exactly!
@gemeinschaft79 @smoothie72 , thank you for the kind words and time you took to review. john and I are quite proud of our wines and thrilled your sharing with friends, best robert
This is right up my alley. In for a case
Ooof… sorry to the fine folks at Casemates and Skylark. I had my review written up and spaced out on posting it this morning.
The 2019 Skylark Red Belly is a blend of Syrah, Carignane, and Grenache. It pours somewhere between brick and brown, and has a fruity nose with hints of blackberry, raspberry, and cherry. The smell is complex… I described it as fruity but that doesn’t really do it justice. The berries are what I can tease out, but it’s quite nice smelling, with a tickle of alcohol on the finish.
First pour and immediate sip— closed, tart, astringent. The Red Belly shows strong legs in the glass and has a high 14.8% alcohol to match. The hint of alcohol on the bouquet makes sense. We let our glasses sit for a few while I started taking notes. Within 5 minutes it opened up noticeably (and continued to improve as we sipped). The astringent bitterness softened and became softer, almost velvety, but it remains tart on the front. The fruity aroma is evident as I sip, but is not apparent on the tongue.
We had a dinner date, but I grabbed some smoked gouda to gauge how it held up. The answer is… nicely. It cut through the fatty cheese with enough left in the tank to remind you what you are drinking.
We had a little bit left for Day 2. It was a mild improvement over day 1. There tang of alcohol was gone, the finish was long and smooth. I don’t think it needs to sit overnight; just decant or give it a couple minutes. But if you don’t finish it the first night, you’ll be able to enjoy the rest the next day.