Las Jaras Wines 2026 'Slipper Sippers' Nouveau, Mendocino County
Item Number: 24492
UPC: 0-197644912063
Country: USA
Region: California
Sub Region: Mendocino
Appellation/AVA: Mendocino County
Estate Grown Wine: No
Vintage: 2026
Grape(s): 60% Zinfandel / 40% Petite Sirah
Type: Wine - Red
Bottle Size: 750 ml
Pack: 12
Closure: Cork
Alc by Vol(%): 12.5
Total Acidity: 5.96 g/L
pH: 3.6
Viticulture: Practicing Organic
What is Nouveau? Nouveau as a style of winemaking originated out of Beaujolais, just south of Burgundy where they make wines from Gamay using the technique carbonic maceration . In carbonic maceration, open top tanks that have been inertized with carbon dioxide are filled with whole cluster grapes and then sealed for a number of days. Pioneering wine chemist and natural winemaker Jules Chauvet employed the technique in the mid-20th century to make light, fruity, and delicious wines. Winemaker Joel Burt has evolved the technique into something uniquely Las Jaras.
Vineyard Notes: The Zinfandel came from Cherryhouse Vineyard in the Mokelumne River subregion of Lodi. The vines were planted in the 1940s. The Petit Sirah comes from Gary Venturi vineyard in Mendocino County. Gary Venturi vineyard was planted in the 1950s. All the grapes used for this blend are farmed organically.
Winemaking Notes: Several winemaking techniques were employed as Las Jaras believes that layering differing winemaking methods and varieties creates a wine with a lot of intrigue. They also love to learn and experiment during harvest. The Cherryhouse Zinfandel was broken into two pieces, one was destemmed, and one was 50% “reverse saignée.” The destemmed ferment followed a standard winemaking method and made a juicy wine with a bit of structure. The reverse saignée lot was fermented with 50% crushed grapes and 50% pressed juice and came out lithe and super juicy. The Petite Sirah was fermented with 70% reverse saignée; meaning Las Jaras direct pressed 70% on one tank and the remainder was a small amount of destemmed grapes. They originally came up with this method to tame the power of Petite Sirah, and the results are delicious! The Zinfandel was aged in tank and the Petite Sirah was aged in barrel (for only one month). The week before bottling Las Jaras blended the wine and added 30ppm SO2 to protect from any oxygen the wine picked up during bottling.
Tasting Notes: Th 2026 Slipper Sippers is mega delicious. It is a very light wine, but there is a richness and minerality which make it so drinkable. It has a nose full of boysenberry, marionberry, red plum, and crushed rock. There are gobs of raspberry, red licorice, and slate mineral notes on the juicy palate. The acidity is balanced and zippy and with a pleasurably long finish.