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Broc Cellars

Eaglepoint Ranch Counoise 2016

Price: $29.95
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Tasting notes

Counoise bottled as a solo varietal is almost unheard of in California, and this version from Eaglepoint Ranch's 1,800-foot elevation site shows why Broc broke from the blending plan: white pepper, raspberry, and red cherry with wet-clay tannins and real acidity. It drinks closer to a cool-climate Rhone than anything typically associated with Mendocino.

BodyFruitTanninAcidity
Taste profile
RaspberryRed CherryWhite PepperPlum
  • Style: Dry, medium-bodied red; 100% Counoise; raspberry, white pepper, red cherry; 13.3% ABV
  • Grapes & Terroir: 100% Counoise; CCOF-certified organic; decomposed sandstone with iron-rich red loam; 1,800 ft elevation, Mayacamas Mountains, Mendocino County
  • Winemaking: Spontaneous fermentation with native yeasts; whole-cluster; basket pressed; no additions; minimal SO2 at bottling only
  • Serving: Serve at 58-62F; 20-30 min decant or light chill recommended
  • Pairing: Herb-crusted lamb, roasted chicken, pork tenderloin, olive tapenade, tomato-based pasta
  • Similar To: For fans of cool-climate Rhone reds and Grenache-based wines who want something genuinely rare from California

Counoise is almost exclusively a blending grape in the southern Rhone, where it contributes acidity and spice to Chateauneuf-du-Pape and other appellations. This 2016 bottling from Broc Cellars is a rare single-varietal expression, sourced from Eaglepoint Ranch in Mendocino County. Winemaker Chris Brockway originally planned to blend it but found the site's fruit compelling enough to bottle on its own.

Eaglepoint Ranch sits at 1,800 feet elevation on the Mayacamas Mountain Range east of Ukiah. The Counoise block, roughly 4 acres, was planted in 2007 from clonal material sourced from Tablas Creek. Soils are thin mountain decomposed sandstone, iron-rich, rocky, and low in nutrients, with veins of red loam that keep yields naturally in check. Temperatures run 5 to 10 degrees cooler than Mendocino's valley floor, extending hang time and preserving acidity. The vineyard is CCOF-certified organic and farmed without pesticides or herbicides.

In the cellar, Broc's approach is consistent across all wines: grapes are whole-cluster fermented spontaneously with native yeasts, basket pressed, and bottled with little to no added sulfur. No commercial yeasts, nutrients, enzymes, or tannins are added at any stage. Alcohol comes in at 13.3%, on the moderate end for a California red.

The result is a medium-bodied red that sits outside easy category comparisons. It shows raspberry, red cherry, and plum with white pepper on the finish, wet-clay tannins, and the kind of vibrant acidity that makes it a genuinely good food wine.

The high acidity and moderate tannins make this a natural match for roasted chicken, herb-crusted lamb chops, or pork tenderloin. It also works well with dishes that include olives, capers, or tomato, where its spice and pepper notes find good counterparts. Serve slightly cool, around 58 to 62 degrees Fahrenheit.

Wine details

Dry/Sweet:, Dry
Wine Type:, Red Wine
Wine Style:, Medium Body
Grapes:, Counoise
Farming:, Organic
Vintage:, 2016
Alcohol:, 13.3%
Country:, United States
Region:, Mendocino County
Appellation:, Mendocino County
Bottle Size:, 750ml
Sugar Level:, Zero Added Sugar

We will process and ship your order in 2-3 business days, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with tracking as soon as the Carrier scans the shipping label.

Ground shipping time depends on location, here's a breakdown:

West Coast: 1-2 business days
Midwest: 3-4 business days
East Coast: 5 business days

Process time is not shipping time. Shipping time starts from the days successive to the day of shipping, after the order has been processed.

See here our shipping policy.


Important Compliance Requirements

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If you'd like to receive a refund for a package that was returned to us after FedEx made three delivery attempts, we can do that but we must keep a $20 refund fee; FedEx charges us a lot of money for returns, unfortunately, I can't stress this enough.


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Heat/Frost damage

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Placed an order. What next?

1. You will receive an order confirmation email with your order summary.*

2. As soon as your order ships from the warehouse, usually within 2-3 business days, this applies to all shipping rates, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with your tracking information. 2DAY shipping refers to shipping time; we still need 2-3 business days to prepare an order. We need to pick and pack, QA, add printed collateral, and palletize the orders.

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Returns Policy

If you are not satisfied with your purchase, please contact us at (424) 414-2040 or via e-mail at hello@primalwine.com between 9 am and 5 pm Pacific Standard Time, Monday through Sunday, we would like to understand and try to solve your concerns. We can offer refunds only as store credit.

Producer profile

Broc Cellars

Broc Cellars was founded by Chris Brockway, who completed his degree in enology at Fresno State and released his first commercial vintage in 2006. The winery operates out of Berkeley's Gilman District, functioning as an urban winery that sources fruit from organically farmed vineyards across California, from the Central Coast up through Mendocino. In 2021, Brockway took over farming operations at Fox Hill Vineyard in Mendocino, and in 2023 became the owner of that 60-acre CCOF-certified organic site, planted largely to Italian varieties.

Broc sources exclusively from organically farmed vineyards and has built its roster around lesser-known grape varieties, including Counoise, Valdiguie, Carignan, Picpoul, and various Italian varieties. The Eaglepoint Ranch Counoise block was planted in 2007 from Tablas Creek clonal material and covers roughly 4 acres on thin, rocky, iron-rich sandstone soils at 1,800 feet elevation. The vineyard holds CCOF organic certification and is farmed without pesticides or herbicides.

All Broc wines are made with spontaneous fermentation using only native yeasts and bacteria present on the grapes. Nothing is added during fermentation or aging, including nutrients, commercial yeast, enzymes, or tannins. Grapes are whole-cluster fermented and basket pressed. Sulfur is not added during fermentation or aging; a small amount is occasionally added at bottling depending on the wine and vintage. Brockway harvests early by California standards to preserve acidity and keep alcohol levels moderate.

Wine region

Mendocino County, United States

Mendocino County sits at the northern end of California's North Coast, with the Mayacamas Mountains forming its eastern spine. Eaglepoint Ranch occupies the upper reaches of that range, east of Ukiah, at approximately 1,800 feet elevation. At that altitude, temperatures run 5 to 10 degrees cooler than the valley floor, producing a longer, slower growing season and wines with noticeably higher natural acidity. The soils at Eaglepoint are primarily decomposed sandstone with veins of iron-rich red loam, thin and well-drained, which keeps vine vigor in check and concentrates flavor without irrigation.

Mendocino County contains thirteen distinct AVAs as of 2024, including Anderson Valley to the west, Redwood Valley and Potter Valley to the north of Ukiah, and the Eagle Peak Mendocino County AVA designated in 2014. The county's wine identity has historically centered on Zinfandel and Rhone varieties in warmer inland sites, and Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in the cooler, fog-influenced Anderson Valley. High-elevation sites like Eaglepoint Ranch occupy a distinct niche, above the fog line and subject to significant diurnal temperature swings, making them well suited to Rhone varieties that benefit from extended hang time and naturally preserved acidity.

Frequently asked question

We will process and ship your order in 2-3 business days, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with tracking as soon as the Carrier scans the shipping label.

Ground shipping time depends on location, here's a breakdown:

West Coast: 1-2 business days
Midwest: 3-4 business days
East Coast: 5 business days

Process time is not shipping time. Shipping time starts from the days successive to the day of shipping, after the order has been processed.

See here our shipping policy.

Signature on delivery is mandatory for wine deliveries. Please make sure someone is at the shipping address to sign for the package.

If applicable, please consider delivering the package to a business address to ensure someone is available to sign for the package.

We also have the option of delivering the package to a Carrier's store for pickup. Please reach out to us to coordinate.

Carrier will try to delivery a package up to three times before returning the package to us.

See here our shipping policy.

If you miss a delivery and a package gets returned to us we have two options:

1) Reship the package right away: due to the very high cost of shipping and returns, we must charge a re-shipping fee to be determined based on package size and shipping destination.

2) Consolidate the returned package with your next order: this option is free of charge and it's the most popular option.

See here our shipping policy.

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