Winemaker Notes
The 2018 Grenache is a pretty medium red, with a powerful nose of cherry jam, black pepper, rare steak and minty spice. The mouth shows sweet black cherry fruit balanced by vibrant plum skin acids and chewy tannins, with a sweet tobacco note coming out on the finish. Good acids and the youthful Grenache tannins promise a decade or more of age worthiness.
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
Grenache with a French feel, the wine leads with vibrant red-cherry fruit grounded by dusty aromas of leather and turf—like Gigondas, I wrote in my notes. With air, the red fruit brightens into a raspberry sweetness, tethered by the savory elements.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Pale to medium ruby, the 2018 Grenache opens with loads of bright raspberries, rhubarb, cranberries and citrus with notes of underbrush, dried leaves and spices. Medium-bodied, the palate is bright and lifted with a rustic tannic frame and long, spicy finish.
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.
