Oh sweet winter sex. The kind of wine you open and take one sniff of and are instantly torn between *glad you opened* and *shit I regret opening this*. Dank and delirious in the nose, tertiary trying desperately to over-power the still-vibrant fruit. It’s a perfect balance of sweat and piss and blood, oak and leather and velvet, rich blackberry, velvet and leather. Dusty brilliance in a cat’s-tongue rasp.

Full and equally dank in the mouth. Grassy barnyard screams for attention but gets subdued by rocky grit and the ridiculous acidic equation. Granite ground fine, wet and clay-ridden, the springtime burst of energy plumping green machinations down overgrown corridors of petrichor and brick blossoming with salt-peter. Beautiful cherry, ripe and round, introduces you slowly to the deep thrusts of tannin. No Paso sluttiness, no Santa Barbara fool-hardiness here–this is straight-up nectar from a tiny hillside vineyard hidden out of sight in the Arroyo Grande Valley. The people who get Rim Rock fruit know. And that’s why you’ll only see it under certain labels.

2006 GREG LINN WINES Syrah Rim Rock Vineyard Arroyo Grande Valley San Luis Obispo Co. Central Coast 14.2

https://www.greglinnwines.com/