Only 150 cases of this Mourvèdre were produced. As with all of Sonja’s wines, the wine is remarkably fresh, but robust in intensity. Crushed blackberry, fresh cut herb, and persistent, but integrated tannins are hallmarks here. The wine saw a long cool fermentation to allow its complexity to peak through. Only neutral French barrels were used for an aging of 10 months.

Not many producers deliver intrigue, purity, and utter drinkability throughout their range. Owner/ winemaker Sonja Magdevski has had a life of exploration in more ways than one. As a former Fulbright Scholar with a background in journalism and peace brokering, Sonja’s road to winemaking has been a winding one, sparked when she had the random opportunity to plant a backyard vineyard in California. Her first attempt at winemaking occurred in her garage.

Today, Sonja works with a number of small family-owned vineyards in Santa Barbara. Clementine Carter, dedicated exclusively to Rhône varieties, was named after one of Sonja’s favorite movie characters from My Darling Clementine, which she used to watch with her father as a child. Clementine embodied determination and ingenuity, much like Sonja’s work with these wines—evident in the glass. These are absolute crowd-pleasers and the type of wine to snap up by the case.