I think Grenache gets pigeon-holed as a Pinot-comparative a bit too often, and while I will occasionally compare varieties, NOTHING aligns with Pinot and good Grenache deserves a stand-alone perspective. “Grenache delivers what Pinot promises” is a tired narrative and needs to go away. Delving into a truly good Grenache makes these comparisons trite and meaningless to all but the least-evolved palates.
Moody garnet-ruby in the glass–the core red, the rim pink. Earthy, savory nose reeking of sharp greenery herb and a kind of musty, concentrated berry salty and layered: sliced onions; raspberry-leaf tea; woody latex and Cinnamon Toast Crunch.
In the mouth, an early orgasm of tart cherry, laid thick on raspy chalk and mineralific stoniness hard to put into words. As all good wines SHOULD be. This is NO fruit-bomb, and if you’re looking for that I suggest you stick with WINERIES OF THE YEAR from the sold-out magazines. This wine is dreamy in far different ways: ways the 99 will find “harsh” and “bitter”… words of pure magic to the wine 1%. Nectarine and green banana dry and sooth simultaneously, the fruit unforgettable in its compelling way of getting a point across without stooping to aggrandizations of sweetness and false-positives. It’s dank. It’s bitter. It’s an angel’s kiss of beauty straddling a thick line between gorgeous and reserved. A note of bright sugar batting alongside tannin long into the finish. But there’s no arguing the gorgeousness of a wine like this. Everything fits so perfectly. Nothing out of place or garish by example. The lean-ness of this wine defies the stated 15-oh Sierra Foothills label, but there it is. Everything just works.
2019 THE GRENACHISTA Grenache Noir Naggiar Vineyard Sierra Foothills California 15.0
Stephen McConnell 