OC Poker For Wine VIII: Grenache Blind

Edition #8 saw us tasting Grenache based wines blind. I wasn't wild about the lineup in general but there were some nice standouts. Notable was how modern and ripe the 07 CdPs showed. Very little rustic characters to be found among them but lots of very ripe rich fruits were. Five I marked as liking were the 83 Mont-Redon CdP, 07 Piaugier Gigondas, 08 Evodia, 04 Benedetti CdP and the 08 Dacalier from our very own Dave Smig. The Gigondas showing so well is also interesting since that isn't so far from Chateauneuf. Seems as though some can pay attention and still produce good wine in a more extreme year.

• 1983 Château Mont-Redon Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  Served Blind. Clearly very aged in character though not done. Some pepper on a very light in character palate that had nice acidity. This would have been better served with a meal at this point and was probably best 10 years ago or more but it still had some appeal for me. It is about twice as old as I would have guessed.

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• 2007 Domaine Paul Autard Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée La Cote Ronde

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  Served Blind. Primary nose showing herbs but plenty of alcohol. Full fruit and very extracted including strong tannin for a CdP. More heat on the palate. One for the notion that 07 CdP's are overblown.

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• 2004 Domaine de Beaurenard (Paul Coulon et Fils) Châteauneuf-du-Pape Boisrenard

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  Served Blind. Primary fruit on the nose with strong berry characters. Lots of extraction on the palate evident with a cherry candy character and some woody tannins. Not your granpa's CdP.

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• 2007 Domaine de Piaugier Gigondas

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Gigondas

  Served Blind. Reticent nose. Pretty on the palate with a sweet tart juicy character. Plenty of tannin that are coating rather than biting. I liked this with some good wine making evident but not on the rustic side of Gigondas clearly.

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• 2008 Herman Story Grenache On The Road

  USA, California

  Served Blind. Stewy and stemmy/vegetal nose backed up by strong oak notes of vanilla and chocolate. Soft palate with a good dose of heat. Moved on quickly.

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• 2008 Altovinum Evodia

  Spain, Aragón, Calatayud

  Served Blind. Secondary nose showing peppery herbs, pot, stems and evergreens. Palate seemed a bit tight but it showed good balancing acids and tannins. One of the favs on the day for me. I don't drink these kinds of wines as much as I have in the past but there is plenty of quality wine from old vine Grenache from the South of Spain that can be had on the cheap. Its nice when they don't spoof it up and let the grapes do the work.

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• 2006 Patrick Lesec Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Galets Blonds

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  Served Blind. Baked fruits with notes of brown sugar and cardboard on the nose. Tight palate and very tannic but also short and showing wood. I think this needs some time but the potential also seemed limited. Hard to say.

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• 2004 Domaine Benedetti Côtes du Rhône Vieux Clos

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône

  Served Blind. Seems aged but the color is still very bright. Lean yet juicy. I liked this but it seems like a wine to drink closer to release than not. Very slight spritz on the back end that goes away with swirling.

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• 2008 Denner Grenache

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  Served Blind. Big nose showing strong oak. Sweet and juicy, somewhat soft and oaky. Touch of heat. Meh.

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• 2007 Core Grenache Santa Barbara County

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County

  Served Blind. Nose seems very oaky. Juicy and fruity with notes of pine. Nice lean feeling finish. Nice mix here but didn't add up real well.

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• 2008 Dacalier De La Terre

  USA, California, North Coast, Lake County

  Served Blind. Tight nose showing some baking spices. Light and juicy but nicely balanced. Could use more concentration but is in a nice early drinking style friendly to food.

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• 2007 Delas Frères Châteauneuf-du-Pape Haute Pierre

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  Served Blind. Ripe baked fruited nose. Richly fruited but not heavy. Plenty of extraction with a touch of heat. Showed some acidity but this is a bigger styled wine. Probably needs a couple more years but not one for the long term.

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• 2006 Villa Creek High Road James Berry Vineyard

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  Served Blind. The nose gave off overripe stewed fruit. Juicy showing a lot of fruit on the palate with brown sugar and heat. Oops!

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• 2007 McPrice Myers L'Ange Rouge

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County

  Served Blind. Ripeness on the nose with plenty of heat. Ripe again on the palate with sweet baked fruits and strong tannin on a short finish.

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• 2007 Domaine Juliette Avril Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  Served Blind. Big sweet nose with notes of cinnamon. Harsh finish with strong tannin though the palate isn't as big as I might have though. 07 is looking less and less advisable from CdP.

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• 2007 Clos Saint Jean Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  Served Blind. Ripe nose with maybe some signs of VA. Lean feeling but ripe sweet fruit and heat. Blah. I've liked some aged versions from this house but I wouldn't bet on this one.

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• 2005 Yangarra Estate Grenache High Sands

  Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale

  Served Blind. Lots of oak on the nose with raisins and heat. Big and oaked with a light hot finish.

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• 2008 Stolpman Grenache

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley

  Served Blind. Lightly spiced nose with lots of dark berries and a bit of heat. Big fruited but feeling balanced and not very extracted. Touch of heat and sweetness. I would bet this gets a bit better over a few years.

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