Winemaker Notes
Aromatic and exotic with smoked herbs, juvenile fresh red fruits, fennel, and wet crushed stones; dense and long. Aged 34 months in larger French containers of various ages after being fermented open to by its native yeasts. Bottled unfined and unfiltered.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Similar to the classic Grenache, yet with even more polish and finesse on the palate, the 2013 Pandora is another monumental effort. Lavender, cassis, black cherry liqueur, flowers and toasted spice emerge from this huge, ethereally textured, sensationally rich Grenache that's every bit as good as the perfect 2012. It needs 2-3 years of cellaring to show at its best, and will have 20 years of overall longevity.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Coming from a separate block from the Grenache release, the 100% Grenache 2013 Pandora offers darker black and blue fruits, licorice, roasted herbs and caramelized meat characteristics to go with the upfront, voluptuous, sweetly fruited style of the vintage. Possessing a big, rich, layered mid-palate and awesome purity, it too will have 15-20 years of overall longevity.
Range: 97-99
With bold fruit flavors and accents of sweet spice, Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre form the base of the classic Rhône Red Blend, while Carignan, Cinsault and Counoise often come in to play. Though they originated from France’s southern Rhône Valley, with some creative interpretation, Rhône blends have also become popular in other countries. Somm Secret—Putting their own local spin on the Rhône Red Blend, those from Priorat often include Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. In California, it is not uncommon to see Petite Sirah make an appearance.
California’s coolest wine growing area, Edna Valley excels in the production of high quality Central Coast wines like Pinot noir, Chardonnay, Rhône Blends and aromatic white wines. It has a cool Mediterranean climate and an incredibly long growing season, giving late-ripening varieties plenty of opportunity to develop great phenolic complexity.
Its northwest to southeast orientation creates a direct path for cool Pacific air and fog to penetrate the valley from the Los Osos and Morro Bay area inwards. Low hillsides of both calcareous and volcanic soils are home to much of the vineyard acreage of the Edna Valley.