Tasting Notes: 2005 Kalyra MC2 Santa Ynez Valley

Finally had my first proper wine night in the new apartment on the beach, and a long overdue catch-up with LL was more than enough reason to pull the cork on this wine that has been sitting on the rack for a couple months now.  The science nerd in me was drawn to the bottle by the black and white Hubble telescope image of the universe, but the wine nerd in me had to bring it home because of the wine's smooth drinkability.

Yes, Kalyra was a Sideways winery, but it is a Santa Ynez gem and favorite among many of my other wine-drinking friends in the Southland. The winery was started by an Australian who made his way over to Santa Barbara, and they have made some pretty interesting wines that are imbued with the label's offbeat spirit. MC2 is a Merlot blend, mixed with some Cabernet Sauvignon and Franc in the Bordeaux style.

These are not wines that will shock your senses, but rather more subtle in their impressiveness. MC2 is at first a soft red that opens up into a creamy, almost velvety wine. The dominant Merlot lends it a fruity sweetness (as far as reds go), but it is a fairly deep wine with a good balance of light tannins. The dark fruit flavors nicely complemented our garlicky hummus snacks, with a bit of chocolate raspberry when it sits full in the mouth. A good value, and an interesting twist on a fairly standard blend.

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Kalyra Winery
343 N. Refugio Rd.
Santa Ynez
(805) 693-8864

Label Notes: "Moving at 5 miles per second The Hubble Space Telescope has orbited the Earth 100,000 times (and counting) traveling over 4.8 Billion Kilometers since being put in Space 18 years ago. [sic]"