Le Cigare Volant from Bonny Doon

Over the weekend, we enjoyed a bottle of Bonny Doon Vineyard’s Le Cigare Volant Reserve 2011. Translated Le Cigare Volant means Flying Cigar.

The wine was a blend of Mourvèdre, Grenache, Syrah and Cinsault. The protocols for producing Le Cigare Volant included oak and 20 months in glass carboys sur lie. According to the back wine bottle label, “Our Flying Cigar is based on the traditional Southern style encépagement.”

It is also interesting to note that the bottle is labeled with the ingredients, “INGREDIENTS: Grapes, tartaric acid, and sulfur dioxide. In the winemaking process, the following were utilized: Indigenous yeast, yeast nutrients, and French oak chips.” Bonny Doon is one of the few wineries that lists ingredients that were used to make a wine.

The wine was an opaque dark ruby color. It offered notes of black fruits including black raspberries, plums and cherries. There was also a hint of baked bread with mild tannins and a medium/full body. The finish was crisp and fruity. This was an easy-to-drink red wine that would be great as a 3P (porch, patio, pool) wine.

We enjoyed this wine with a home-baked delicious pizza. The pizza crust was made with sourdough starter. Pizza toppings included mozzarella, cheese, chicken, spinach, mushrooms and broccoli.

You may want to consider this wine for a summer picnic or barbecue. This enjoyable red wine might be an idea for Memorial Day or Father’s Day, too.

Check out the interview about Bonny Doon’s owner and winemaker Randall Grahm.

Enjoy,
Kathy