2016 Renegade Wine Co. Grenache

Full Pull

• By Paul Zitarelli
  Full Pull Value Grenache, 8/20/2018

  (Renegade Grenache) Hello friends. We have the return today of a wine that has become a list mainstay; a true expression of (mostly) rocks Grenache from the Walla Walla Valley:You may recall that we offered the 2015 vintage in January, and allocations were… rough. We under-allocated scores of list members, and had to zero-allocate many latecomers. This time we asked for a hold on a larger parcel of the ‘16, but that hold evaporates shortly, so consider this a one-and-done opportunity to access one of the finest value Grenaches produced in Washington each year. According to our records, this is the eighth consecutive vintage of this wine that we’ve offered—every vintage it’s been released since it’s 2009 debut. Why? Because it is exceedingly rare to find Washington Grenache at $15. Especially one with a backbone from Rocks District fruit. Before we get into it, a quick reminder of what the Renegade program is all about. So, imagine a winery sitting on barrels of wine that they don’t want to release under their own label. There are a myriad of reasons why this could be the case. Regardless, Trey Busch (whose main label is Sleight of Hand Cellars) purchases the barrels, bottles the wine under his Renegade label, and frequently signs a non-disclosure agreement regarding the source of the juice. Here’s what we can disclose about this Grenache: 1. The foundation of this wine is the Rocks District of the Walla Walla Valley. It does have some Yakima fruit in there as well this year, so it is labeled Columbia Valley. 2. The Rocks foundation is specifically from one vineyard in the Rocks District. This Rocks vineyard sells fruit to a very small number of wineries, all of them among the finest Rhone producers in Washington. 3. This wine was aged for 16 months in neutral barrels. 4. 2016 marked a return to (relative) normalcy after the hot, hotter, hottest trend for Washington. It is proving to be an outstanding vintage—even for value wines. 5. This is delicious Grenache, evocative of its unique origins: the ancient cobbles of the Walla Walla River. Clocking in at 14.3% listed alc, this wine opens with an enchanting nose redolent of the Rocks’ signature fragrances. A bouquet of lavender and violets, black olives, wild red raspberry, cracked pink peppercorns, bundled mediterranean herbs, and smoke. (I find this nose to be a dead giveaway of the Rocks vineyard it comes from.) In the mouth, it’s easy—delightfully and completely lacking rough edges. This is a silken drinker, such a charming wine texturally that it goes down a little *too* easy. But be advised, you’ll like this wine best if you show some glugging restraint, for there is hidden complexity in spades. A touch of savory meat. A tinge of herbal smoke. A reminder of its unique origins. This is characterful, well-priced Grenache that fits the bill for every food occasion, from weeknight take-out to an all-day weekend braise. In my house, we’ll pair this with hummus kawarma—which is hummus topped with lamb, lemon, and parsley—from Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi's cookbook, Jerusalem.