Lot 219 | 2019 Santa Ynez Valley Grenache 750ml

Lot 219 | 2019 Santa Ynez Valley Grenache 750ml


Winner: Best Grenache
94-Points, Platinum Medal
2021 Sommelier Challenge Wine Competition

Here is a Grenache that manages great complexity that goes from the front to the back of the experience. Ripe strawberry, white pepper and subtle dried herbs are everywhere, and focused acidity lets the flavors roam free. This may sound a bit strange, but you will understand when you taste. Delicious! A Platinum Award winner at the 2021 Sommelier Challenge International Wine & Spirits Competition. 94-POINTS Sep 28, 2021

Finally, a fantastic Grenache!

I gotta tell you, good Grenache is harder to come by than just about any other varietal.

Remember the Aussie Grenache wine brand "Bitch"? There is a reason for that - Grenache is a supremely challenging grape to grow. Growers hate it and, subsequently, very little of it is planted.

Winemakers, however, love the grape and are largely responsible for forcing growers to plant it. As a passion project grape, however, they are loathe to part good Grenache wine in bulk.

Well, I've got a doozy for you today. This wine comes to us from the same producer as Lots 221, 223, and 224 Syrah's. It was slated for release as a $45, stand-alone, single-vineyard-designate bottling of Grenache sourced from the Vogelzang Vineyard in Happy Canyon/Santa Ynez Valley. I have been sourcing both fruit and bulk wine from this vineyard for over a decade and can vouch that this is a terrific, well-managed site. We blended in a stunning Syrah from Kimsey Vineyard in the sub-AVA of Ballard Canyon (from same producer - not Kimsey) and the results are fantastic.

At $16/bottle, this is an absolute steal. True to form, however, the quantities are small and the wine will be offered in six-packs to broaden accessibility - many of you have been clamoring for this.

My tasting notes are from a couple weeks ago, just after bottling and prior to bottle shock setting in...

Raspberry fruit, strawberry candy and sweet, powdery pink florals over dark earth and toasty, well-integrated oak. Juicy, succulent and fresh on the palate with freshly cut french oak married to mineral rock, Provencal spice and boysenberry which linger on the finish with braised lamb and clay earth notes. Silkiness pervades the mouthfeel with excellent purity of fruit underscored with meaty length and punctuated in a fine mineral finish. Serious umami bombi going on here.

75% Grenache, 25% Syrah, 100% Santa Ynez Valley
35% new French oak
14.8% alc.
200 cases available
Bottled July 1, 2021


Recently viewed