Winemaker Notes
Blend: 85% Grenache, 14% Syrah, 1% Mourvedre
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Spectator
Polished and well-structured, with fragrant black raspberry, crushed stone and garrigue aromas that open to refined, layered blueberry and savory licorice flavors that linger toward harmonious tannins. Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre.
-
Jeb Dunnuck
Coming from all the different blocks of the estate vineyards, the 2016 All Blocks offers a more medium ruby/purple color as well as a sumptuous bouquet of sweet blackberry liqueur, kirsch, ground pepper, and crushed flowers. It's elegant, silky, and beautifully textured, with no hard edges. It's another incredibly pleasure-bent effort.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A keenly priced Grenache-based blend that draws on all of Tensely's estate blocks, the 2016 All Blocks offers up notes of black cherry, roasted herbs and grilled meat. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, deep and concentrated, with an ample core of dark, ripe fruit framed by some youthfully chewy tannins, but overall supple and seamless in character. This wine, which reminded me of a Châteaneuf-du-Pape from a producer such as Jean-Paul Daumen, should drink well on release and last for a decade.
California is a winemaking colossus; by itself it is the fourth largest producer in the world. Red wine accounts for 56% of the total by volume, and red grapes 63% of total acres planted. In addition, a number of California red wines are heralded as being among the most prestigious and sought-after wines in the world.
While the state’s incredibly diverse geography, soils and microclimates allow for a wide array of styles, the key factor unifying California red wine is the abundance of sunshine and a long, consistent growing season. This leads to well-developed fruit marked both by impressive ripeness and balancing acidity.
The state’s most famous red wine region, of course, is Napa Valley, where Cabernet Sauvignon reigns as king. But California boasts a wealth of other impressive appellations. The much larger and climatically varied Sonoma County also produces world class California Cabernet, along with wonderful examples of California Pinot Noir and Zinfandel.
Fine versions of Cabernet and Zinfandel hail from Paso Robles as well, which is also gaining fame with Rhone varietals like Syrah and Grenache. As for Pinot Noir, terrific examples can be found from AVA’s such as Anderson Valley, Carneros, Santa Lucia Highlands and Sta. Rita Hills. Wineries in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties are making wonderful Syrahs, and the Sierra Foothill appellations are proving to be an experimental hotbed, with Italian and Spanish varietals employed to great effect.
This of course is a mere sketch. The subject of California red wine is as deep and broad as an ocean, and absolutely a joy to explore!