Wine of the week: Tom Mackey Cellars, 2016 Dog Tired Red, Sonoma County Red Table Wine

For Tom Mackey, 2020 was a year to forget.

“For the first time in 43 years, I didn’t harvest any fruit and I didn’t produce any wine,” the vintner of namesake Tom Mackey Cellars said. “As all of my growers are in Sonoma Valley, they were hurt much more than me but are rebounding. ... I actually didn’t dislike the time off, but I’m glad to be back at it again.”

Mackey is the winemaker behind our wine of the week winner — the Tom Mackey Cellars, 2016 Dog Tired Red, Sonoma County Red Table Wine, 15.7%, $30. It’s a feisty red that packs a wallop, which is not surprising considering this is a blend of zinfandel, petite sirah and malbec. It has aromas and flavors of blackberry, black cherry, savory herbs and cracked black pepper. It’s briary with a zesty finish, and it’s impressive.

Other tasty red blends, at a range of price points, include: Highway 12, 2018 Sonoma County Sonoma Red Blend, 13.9%, $28; Knotty Vines, 2018 California Red Wine Blend, 13.5%, $15; La Prenda, 2015 Sonoma Mountain, Sonoma County Pick Berry Red Blend, 14.5%, $40; and The Whole Shebang! NV California Red Wine, 14th Cuvee, 14.2%, $12.

As for the winning blend’s playful label — “Dog Tired Red” — Mackey said there’s a funny story behind it. He and assistant winemaker Clyde Galantine were worn out after pressing the pomace in a hand-crank basket press while watching their basset hounds snooze nearby.

“The name was a natural,” Mackey said. “I drew the dog for the label, and the 2015 was the first commercial Dog Tired Red. The 2016 is 70 percent zinfandel, 20 percent petite sirah and 10 percent malbec.”

Oftentimes, Mackey explained, blends can add complexity, enhance the color and lengthen the finish of a wine.

“Malbec is an unusual grape to add to a zinfandel,” he said. “It stood out in the blending and so here it is. As each vintage is different, the blends are different. Was it said that consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds? Consistency for quality is one thing, for identical taste (it) is another. We’re not a dairy.”

The fruit for the Dog Tired Red comes from the Montecillo Vineyard high on the western slopes of the Mayacamas overlooking Sonoma Valley.

“Credit first and always is given to the growers,” the winemaker said. “While I’m not a fan of the saying ‘great wines are made in the vineyards’ ... I believe that great wines start in the vineyards. They can still be screwed up in the winery.”

Mackey, 71, earned a bachelor of science and a master’s degree in enology at Fresno State University. In 1983, he joined the team at Santa Rosa’s St. Francis Winery and retired in early 2012.

“I’ve been blending commercial wines for over 40 years,” Mackey said, “and think I’ve got the hang of it.”

Wine writer Peg Melnik can be reached at peg.melnik@pressdemocrat.com or 707-521-5310.