Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2018 Grenache Lumiere Larner Vineyard from Paul Lato is pure, vibrant and stunning, detailed and elegant like a fine Pinot Noir. Pale to medium ruby-purple in color, the nose offers loads of spicy nuances with notes of aniseed, dried leaves, blood orange and a core of sweet berry fruits. The medium-bodied palate bursts with juicy, spicy, detailed fruits, finely grained and finishing very long and pure. Wow!
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.