Clear bright thin thin ruby with day-glo edges.  The prettiest floral and deep dark rich fruit WAY beyond its color and depth of view.  Like a good Pinot, it is hard to imagine a wine so round and full from a package this light and translucent.  Crisp buttery gunpowder and spice flow effortlessly off the glass–the sweetest candied nectar imaginable.  Perfect rich barnyard funk–but sterile in focus–toy with the blueberry and gooseberry.  In the mouth, high-note acidity couple with dessert-like spice right from the get-go, melding seamlessly with graphite and cedar-box loveliness.  I’m going to put this safely down in 13-0 territory, maybe a bit more only because they have managed such opulent velvet texture from a seemingly simple bottling.  Incredibly fun to drink and never cloying, with long supple tannins, this easily ranks with some of the loveliest Grenaches this year.

2012 MARTIAN RANCH Grenache Noir Santa Barbara County Los Alamos Valley  13-2
http://www.martianvineyard.com