Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2022 Grenache Besson Vineyard comes from a site located just outside of the Santa Cruz Mountains and is all Grenache that was fermented with 59% whole clusters and spent 11 months in neutral oak. Its ruby/garnet hue is followed by impressive aromatics of juicy black cherries, mulberries, leather, peppery herbs, and underbrush. This carries to a medium-bodied Grenache with a lively, elegant mouthfeel, higher yet integrated acidity, and a more focused style that should evolve nicely through 2032. It's a juicy, elegant, Pinot Noir-like expression of Grenache.
Grenache thrives in any warm, Mediterranean climate where ample sunlight allows its clusters to achieve full phenolic ripeness. While Grenache's birthplace is Spain (there called Garnacha), today it is more recognized as the key player in the red blends of the Southern Rhône, namely Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Côtes du Rhône and its villages. Somm Secret—The Italian island of Sardinia produces bold, rustic, single varietal Grenache (there called Cannonau). California, Washington and Australia have achieved found success with Grenache, both flying solo and in blends.
Home to some of California’s most influential winemaking pioneers of the late 1800s, Paul Masson and Charles Lefranc, the Santa Clara Valley AVA hugs up against the southwestern border of today’s famous Silicon Valley and excels in the production of bold reds, as well as some whites.