Last year, we introduced you to Onesta Wines and their brilliant 2012 Cinsault. That wine was incredibly popular with your fellow Operatives, and it sold in record numbers for a non-mainstream varietal. We’re thrilled, today, to bring you their 2013 Bechthold Vineyard Cinsaut, a stunning wine that’s even better than the prior vintage!

This wine hails from the oldest vineyard in Lodi - and the oldest Cinsault vineyard in the entire world. This special wine is described by former Bonny Doon winemaker Jillian Johnson De Leon in a special video on our site today. Be sure to view it!

Bright red on the nose, with Bing cherry, pomegranate, and red currant, followed by dried fall leaves, dried wild mushroom, kola nut, cedar and slate mineral. Spectacular on the palate, bursting with juicy Bing cherry, blueberry, raspberry, wild strawberry, soft spice, slate mineral, softly toasted oak, vanilla, and a hint of white pepper.

So, just what is Cinsault?! Pronounced SaN-so, it is one of the 13 varieties permitted in the Chateauneuf-du-Pape region in Southern France (amazingly, there are more Cinsault vines in France than Cabernet Sauvignon vines!). One rarely finds it bottled on its own, which makes today’s wine all the more special.

Cinsault tends to produce delicious wines that have the delicate body of a Pinot and the ripe berry fruit forwardness of a Zinfandel. Today’s Onesta Wines 2013 Bechtold Vineyard Lodi Cinsault is definitely elegant and Pinot-like, with deliciously more extraction of fruit.

We were crazy about the 2012 vintage, and this wine is much much better. We offer it to you, today, with our heartiest recommendation. Enjoy! .

Here’s what the wine press has to say.

91 Points - Jim Gordon, Wine Enthusiast - “Leafy, fennel-like aromas top this fresh, grapy and well-balanced wine. It tastes lively and tangy but also brings good ripeness and richness to the palate. Made from vines as old as 130 years, it’s a wonderful break from the ordinary.”