Trivia-time: Grangerville was the original name of Santa Maria, changed to Central City and then Santa Maria in the late 1800’s. Now ya know, but I’m not here to tell stories. This wine: OMG. I’d have to check my notes, but I feel the last couple I opened were crazy tired. This one is NOT. Perfumed and concentrated, the fatigue *exists*, but nowhere overwhelming. Beautiful deep cherry layered on perfect pinot funk, the berry deep and elegant while noticeably shitty and moldy-pungent.
Tasting it reveals a gritty balance of fruit not terribly tertiary while still glowing with amaro and maraschino polish. Thin brownish garnet glows from the glass, a thin pour mere dusty amber rose. But still that California concentration in the deep end, where lusty black colors all. The palate reflects ALL of this, in a way cab-bro will consider astringent and raspy but pinotphile relishes with aplomb. Is it tired? Yes. Is it beyond redemption? Not even close. My last bottle from the clearance of the label dedicated to SMV offerings. Expected a pop-n-pour(down the drain), but here we have lavish Burgundian dedication on whispy wings of acid and tannin. Acrid and etching all across the mouth, it still manages stuffing in places unimagineable. I’m gonna suck on this thing all night long. Who’s got some of these left?
2009 GREG LINN WINES ‘Grangerville’ Pinot Noir Santa Rita Hills 13.4
Stephen McConnell 