Marietta Cellars Christo Red Blend 2019

Marietta’s calling card and bread and butter is their unrivaled Rhône blends from Sonoma and Mendocino. Ever since Chris Bilbro founded the place nearly 45-years ago, they’ve been focused on making Cote Rotie-like red blends and have had tremendous success.

Nobody in either of those places is making wine any better than these guys. And nobody is touching their level of acclaim either. Robert Parker, Jr. himself once dubbed them, “one of California’s finest value wineries” a testament to the reasonably priced bottles that feature their old-vine Zinfandel, Syrah, Grenache and Petite Sirah in addition to their Cabernet.

What I find so amazing about Marietta is that every time I revisit their lineup, the wines seem to get better. Take today’s wine as the perfect example: the 2019 Christo Red Blend. Affectionately nicknamed, “Christo” (his great-aunt Marietta’s nickname for him) the wine is actually made by Chris’ son, Scott – who has been in charge since 2012. In the 2019 vintage, he fashioned a gorgeous Northern Rhone blend of Syrah, Grenache and Petite Sirah with the signature splash of Viognier.