Winemaker Notes
The 2022 Grenache Vie Caprice, from a site in Santa Ynez, is one of the more restrained wines in this range. Dried cherry, leather, spice, tobacco and cedar are front and center.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2022 Grenache Vie Caprice Vineyard comes from a tiny vineyard outside of Santa Ynes and was fermented with 55% whole clusters and aged in used oak. It's another savory, peppery wine in the lineup and offers ripe red fruits (cherries, redcurrants), leather, loamy earth, and peppery herb-like aromas and flavors. It's medium-bodied and has a nicely balanced, structured mouthfeel and a good finish. It's one of the more structured wines in the lineup and will benefit from a year or so in bottle and, I suspect, evolve nicely through 2032.
Rating: 90+
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.
Ranging from cool and foggy in the west to warm and dry in the east, the Santa Ynez Valley is a climatically diverse growing area. The most expansive AVA within the larger Santa Barbara County region, Santa Ynez is also home to a wide variety of soil types and geographical features. The appellation is further divided into four distinct sub-AVAs—Sta. Rita Hills, Ballard Canyon, Los Olivos District and Happy Canyon—each with its own defining characteristics.
A wide selection of grapes is planted here—more than sixty different varieties, and counting. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir dominate in the chilly west, while Zinfandel, Rhône blends, and Bordeaux blends rule the arid east. Syrah is successful at both ends of the valley, with a lean and peppery, Old-World sensibility closer to the coast and lush berry fruit further inland.