Had the above wine tonight at dinner at Corks restaurant in Baltimore. (They have around 200 wines on their list, none from outside the US).
This is one of the most powerful reds I have had. 14.6% alcohol. Really fruit forward. Akin to a small berry Mourvedre but truly intense.
If you like power, finish, and power, this is the wine for you. It was $49 at the restaurant.
This is from Rainbow Ridge vineyards in Lockeford, Cal. which I guess is central coast.

Irwin

"Life is short....start with the dessert."

I tried this one earlier this year and thought it was incredibly tight and wasn't showing much. I might need to find another bottle and give it another try. Glad to see its starting to come around.

I don't think more bottle time would hurt at all.

Irwin

"Life is short....start with the dessert."

What is the aging potential on a Alicante Bouschet?

Lockeford is outside of Lodi. Just about 5-6 miles.

Alicante Bouschet is left over from Prohabition. It was (and still is in some areas) widely planted across California for the "Fresh Grape Deal". It was prized soley on the fact that it was so thick skinned it could survive the railroad trip back east to home winemakers without turning to slush and spoiling.

It's never been considered a grape with much class, in fact Oz Clarke refers to it as "one of umpteen crossing done by Bouschet in the 19th centurey, some worse than others". I imagine it will age for decades. Improve? I doubt it, but it will keep.

I've had a few dozen, many small family wineries have old vines left over from plantings in the 1920's and as there is almost no market now for the grapes they end up crushing them on their own. The wines are usually dark, rustic, and high in alcohol. I usually describe them as Petite Sirah on steroids.

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Santa Cruz Mountains Vintage Chart

I've heard that Alicante Bouschet is the only grape whose juice is red.

Lots of grapes have red juice. Alicante Bouschet is one of the few used for wine. A lot of cheap jug wine in California, and a good amount of cheap Aussie Shiraz (the stuff with kangaroos, or other cute things on the labels) is darkened up with a nasty grape called Rubired. I've also heard rumors that a fair amount of really high priced Napa stuff gets a good dose of Rubired for color and tannin also.

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Santa Cruz Mountains Vintage Chart