Alicante Bouchet
⏳ Drinking Window
2021 - 2025
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Texas smoked brisket, grilled lamb chops, wild game stew
✨ Technical Specifications
Crafted by the pioneering McPherson family in Lubbock, Texas, this robust red showcases the exceptional potential of Mediterranean varieties in the Texas High Plains AVA. The McPherson winemaking legacy began with Clinton 'Doc' McPherson, a chemistry professor who was among the first to plant wine grapes in the region in the 1960s. Today, his son Kim McPherson continues this trailblazing heritage, championing grapes that thrive in the state's challenging, semi-arid climate. Alicante Bouschet, a rare 'teinturier' grape featuring both red skins and red flesh, yields an intensely pigmented, deeply colored wine. Grown in sandy loam soils at elevations of over 3,000 feet, the grapes benefit from intense daytime sun and cool desert nights, resulting in a bold, fruit-forward profile rich with dark plum, smoky spice, and supple tannins.
🍾 About the Producer
Established in 2000 by winemaker Kim McPherson and opened within a converted 1930s Coca-Cola bottling plant in Lubbock's Depot District in 2008, McPherson Cellars honors the pioneering legacy of Dr. Clinton 'Doc' McPherson, a founding father of modern Texas viticulture. Sourcing fruit almost entirely from the wind-swept Texas High Plains AVA, the estate champions warm-climate cultivars uniquely adapted to the region's semi-arid, continental climate, sandy clay loam soils, and high elevations above 3,000 feet. Diurnal shifts preserve vibrant natural acidity, counteracting intense summer heat. Embracing a philosophy of planting to the land rather than mimicking Burgundian or Bordeaux archetypes, McPherson focuses predominantly on Rhône, Iberian, and Mediterranean varieties. Vinified primarily in stainless steel with judicious oak contact, benchmark white and rosé bottlings like The Queen Viognier, Reserve Roussanne, Picpoul Blanc, and Les Copains White deliver crisp minerality, balanced ripeness, and distinctive regional authenticity.
🍇 Grape Varieties
Alicante Bouschet