Winemaker Notes
Blend: 90% Grenache, 10% Syrah
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Moving to the reds, the 2017 Grenache is 90% Grenache and 10% Syrah. It reveals a deeper purple/plum color as well as perfumed notes of black raspberries, red plums, Asian spice, and peppery incense. This carries to a medium-bodied Grenache that has wonderful purity of fruit, a rounded, seamless texture, fine tannins, and a great finish.
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Vinous
Kimsey's 2017 Grenache is just as impressive from bottle as it was from barrel. This is an especially sumptuous, intense wine, with tremendous fruit purity and overall depth. Succulent red cherry, plum, licorice and spice notes abound in this juicy, full-throttle, but impeccably balanced wine from Kimsey.
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.
Accounting for only ten percent of the greater Santa Ynez AVA, Ballard Canyon’s north-south orientation provides an ideal pattern of sunshine and martime fog for producing excellent Syrah. While Syrah is planted to half of the total AVA acreage, an additional third is dedicated to other Rhône varieties, red and white.