Sea Shell Cellars The Collection Red Blend 2022
We have 12 in stock (Inventory is live and accurate)
The Land
Sea Shell Cellars sounds coastal, but its vines grow in Paso Robles, inland on the warm side of the Santa Lucia Range, where summer days run hot and nights cool down hard. Warm days and cool nights are the hallmark of the region, and they explain how a single estate can ripen nine varieties side by side: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot from Bordeaux; Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, and Viognier from the Rhône; and Tempranillo from Spain. Cabernet Sauvignon covers more than half of all Paso Robles plantings, but a mixed estate like this one gives a blender far more to work with. The Sea Shell vineyard was planted in 2001, and the family's wines are estate grown.
The Wine
Sea Shell Cellars The Collection 2022 is an estate red blend from Paso Robles. The 2022 season was a hard one. Bud break came in early March, a windy, cool late spring made fruit set difficult, and two heat waves followed: August 12 to 19 at 100 to 108°F, then August 31 to September 9 with highs up to 115°F. Harvest started earlier than any on record in the AVA, and growers reported losses of about 30%, with small clusters that tend to give deeper color and concentration. The winery's notes on the next release of The Collection describe rose, lavender, pomegranate, strawberry liqueur, and chocolate-covered raspberry, followed by Provençal herbs, bright cherry, velvety tannin, and a finish of chocolate and cedar.
The People
Michelle and Rick Carter bought the Sea Shell vineyard in 2008, seven years after it was planted, and built a family-owned estate winery around it. Their stated aim is direct: estate wines that are high quality and smooth, at a fair price. The name comes from their love of the beach and the beauty they see in how seashells and grape clusters form. The Carters sell most of their grapes to other wineries and bottle a small share under their own label, and they farm as a certified sustainable California grower. Vineyard manager Tony Domingos is a fifth-generation Central Coast farmer and Cal Poly graduate who has run his own farming company since 2005. Lauren Lange, also Cal Poly trained, rose from intern to associate winemaker in the custom crush program at ONX Wines and works on the Sea Shell wines.
Food Pairing
The Collection is a red for the grill and a long table. Tri-tip with a Santa Maria rub of garlic, black pepper, and salt is the Central Coast pairing, and the ripe fruit and tannin stand up to the char and the fat. Lamb kofta with tzatziki and grilled flatbread picks up the herbal edge, the yogurt softening the wine's grip. Smoked pork shoulder with a cherry barbecue glaze matches the red fruit. A wood-fired pizza with fennel sausage, roasted peppers, and smoked mozzarella keeps it casual. This is the Paso Robles red wine to bring when friends want something from California that isn't the usual Cabernet.
We ship wine to most states with a $100 minimum order for shipping. We don't ship spirits nor beer.
Weather shipping advisory: Orders placed during times of extreme heat or extreme cold will be held for no charge until more favorable weather returns.
California's Central Coast is a sprawling and diverse wine region stretching from south of San Francisco all the way to Santa Barbara. This vast area encompasses a wide range of climates and terroirs, resulting in a remarkable diversity of wine styles. Monterey County, known for its cool-climate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, benefits from the influence of the Monterey Bay. The Santa Cruz Mountains, with their high elevation and proximity to the Pacific, produce elegant, cool-climate wines. Paso Robles, known for its warm days and cool nights, is renowned for its bold Zinfandel and Rhône-style blends. Santa Barbara, despite its southerly latitude, boasts surprisingly cool climates due to the unique east-west orientation of its valleys, which funnel cool ocean breezes inland, creating ideal conditions for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The Central Coast's varied geography and range of climates contribute to its standing as a highly dynamic winemaking area.
California - Central Coast
Red Blend is a catch-all for wines built from more than one red grape, a practice as old as winemaking itself and central to many of the world's most celebrated bottles. Blending lets a producer balance what a single variety cannot deliver alone: structure from one grape, perfume from another, flesh and color from a third. Bordeaux, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Rioja, and the old field blends of Portugal's Douro all fall under this umbrella, as do countless wines from growers who care more about the finished wine than about varietal labeling. Expect enormous range in style, from light and herbal to dense and age-worthy, depending entirely on origin and intent.
