2021-C Iconic 'Secret Identity' Dry Rose, North Coast, California (750ml)
About the Icons
A Seasonal Rosé Club Selection
Bright pink. Inviting aromas of red berries and stone fruit. The palate is ripe and juicy with flavors of tart plum, peach and apricot. Lively, fresh, fruity, and readily drinkable. Simply delicious, it begs for sunshine and good conversation!
Founded in 2011, Iconic Wines is the brainchild of NYC wine veteran Birk O'Halloran and Karl Antle. The pair met in college and quickly became great friends bonding over their mutual love for whiskey, comics and all things nerdy. Wanting to make the kind of wines that they liked to drink: affordable wines with balance, focus, and complexity while showing a strong connection the place from which they come. Iconic’s first vintage was 90 cases of Chardonnay in neutral oak, named Heroine a nod to its “grace and elegance, while still reflecting the powerful terroir of California.” They loved the idea of putting comic book art, a truly “American art form,” on the label of their American wine. They sold out in 6 just weeks! After several years splitting his time between production and sales, and building a network of amazing fruit sources, Birk finally made winemaking his full-time job. The name “Secret Identity” came from the desire to make the best dry rosé for the buck. Rather than showcasing a single region or grape, the goal is achieving the ideal balance of fruit and freshness. So, while not a secret per se, the blend of grapes each year isn't the focus and changes from vintage to vintage. This year is a blend of roughly 80% Chenin Blanc from 15-year-old vines from Clarksburg. The other 20% (next to impossible give an exact breakdown but listed in order of quantity), 25-year-old Mourvèdre from a small organic site in the Sierra Foothills, Carignane and a small amount of Zinfandel from an 85+year-old vineyard in Mendocino and a small amount of skin macerated Pinot Gris from Glen Ellen and Riesling from Mendocino. The Riesling (only about 1.5% of the final blend) is from 60+ year old bush grown vines of original Johannesburg Riesling clone. All the vineyards were farmed organically or are certified sustainable. The chenin was fermented in temperature-controlled stainless-steel. The wine finished primary in about 7 days. The Mourvèdre and Riesling were fermented on the skins for about 10 days separately. All the other components were cold soaked for 1-3 days on the skins before being pressed and barrel fermented in neutral French barriques. None saw SO2 until just before bottling, as a result, they each went through partial malolactic fermentation and were aged in tank for 8 months. The final blend was competed a few days before bottling. Label Art: Cliff Chiang.