Winemaker Notes
The vibrant acidity of this vintage makes it sensational with food. It can pair with lighter fare, like fish and veggies, but still, hold up to pork or red meat. Drink now through the next 10 years if you have the patience.
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
A star amongst the rest of Grenache field in the New World, the beautifully made 2016 Last Summer beats many of the Old World producers as well. This wine explodes in the aromas with energetic raspberry fruit before settling down nicely on the palate with red cranberries to blueberries. Its elegance makes it a superb match with roast turkey. (Tasted: September 18, 2017, San Francisco, CA)
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.
The largest and perhaps most varied of California’s wine-growing regions, the Central Coast produces a good majority of the state's wine. This vast California wine district stretches from San Francisco all the way to Santa Barbara along the coast, and reaches inland nearly all the way to the Central Valley.
Encompassing an extremely diverse array of climates, soil types and wine styles, it contains many smaller sub-AVAs, including San Francisco Bay, Monterey, the Santa Cruz Mountains, Paso Robles, Edna Valley, Santa Ynez Valley and Santa Maria Valley.
While the Central Coast California wine region could probably support almost any major grape varietiy, it is famous for a few Central Coast reds and whites. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel are among the major ones. The Central Coast is home to many of the state's small, artisanal wineries crafting unique, high-quality wines, as well as larger producers also making exceptional wines.