All KINDS of beautiful funk flowin out of this bright, clear ruby-garnet darling with a wide clear edge. “Barnyard” is putting it mildly, as dirty baby diaper, deer bedded down in dense grass, hay, curry-comb–and the attendant sweat–mingle with mucho herbaceousness and deep blackberry. A show-stopper of a nose which will turn aside most of the 99 but loyal followers will know this is the kind of magic I LIVE to cram my noggin into.
But let’s go back to the color for a minute. Deep pours show definite garnet at the core, while thin puddles show light, bright pink. Why do I talk about appearance so much? I get this question a lot, and nary another blogger notes it as I do. I think this tells TOMES about a wine–especially a GSM.
Not immediately fruity on the tongue–another hallmark of *wines I love*–as I much prefer the fruit to be something apparent and full, of course, but a steady base-line of moderation from entry through finish. Chunky berry exposes itself gradually mid-palate, green and edgy, a curl of bitter framing all and NOWHERE is a speck of flab or cloy. All that funk translates fully into the mouth, and the nod to CdP is unmistakable, but naturally showing here with plentiful California sunshine. Dank and bitterly bright, it is a gob-smacking, lip-smacking, soul-searching wine, thin and delightful in the right places and thick and chunky in all the others. Tannin starts off green and fresh, ultimately applying itself into your pores as a full bitter jacket worn over berry and brilliance second-to-none.
This is an astonishing Rhone Blend. I highly recommend it. I am ridiculously picky about my California GSM’s, considering the vast majority of them blended for *people who hate wine*. This is not one of those.
2015 CARLSON ‘Charades’ Red Wine GSM 36/21/43 Santa Ynez Valley Santa Barbara Co. 13.2
Stephen McConnell 