April 3, 2023 - Appearance: medium ruby, garnet highlights, medium+ tearing, very light staining, just a tiny bit of rim variation, no sediment.
Nose: clean, medium+ intensity, developing, ripe strawberry, blackberry, ruby grapefruit, orange peel, lavender, white pepper, cured meat, stemmy organic earth, dusty soil, raspberry preserves, fig, worn leather.
Palate: dry, medium acid, medium tannin, medium+ alcohol (14.0%), medium+ body, pronounced intensity, long finish, blackberry, black plum, ripe strawberry, orange peel, lavender, potpourri, stemmy organic earth, dusty soil, brick, cooked strawberry, fig, prune, soy sauce, worn leather.
March 6, 2023 - Wife and friend opened this over their dinner while I was out, but there were a couple glasses left when I returned. This is really nice when you want a low-tannin wine that isn't PN. Savory, herbal, with a little sweet spice to it. Would be great with barbecued foods, esp when there's a wide range to match with. Might also be a good call for Thanksgiving. Alas, there will likely be no more, now that Pax has bought the vineyard and Paul and Jackie have decamped to places far away.
September 11, 2022 - -- decanted 1 hr. before initial taste --
-- tasted non-blind over 2 hrs. on Day 1; revisited on Day 4 --
NOSE: stemmy; savory; lots of woodsy spice and light purple fruits (plum); medium+ expressiveness.
BODY: medium-light bodied.
TASTE: 14.0% alc. well-hidden; stemmy/savory; more bitter than sweet; very fine tannins and medium+ acidity; purple-fruited with a hint of earthy strawberry; still needs time. Day 4: still drinking well. Tasty now, but better in the future: Hold for now.
February 26, 2022 - Who needs southern France when you have Yorkville. I am shocked this was neutral/used oak. These spices exist in Mendocino terroir? I see why Paul Gordon has a cult following.
January 21, 2022 - Very floral -- lilac, violets.
November 23, 2021 - Thoroughly enjoyed this wine (all the family) as a prelude to the upcoming holiday. Gave them a choice of Fabulous, Interesting, Never Had, Solid. They chose Interesting which was the Grenache.
November 8, 2021 - I drink a decent amount of Grenache-based wines from France and Spain, so it’s fascinating to see what the grape is like from a cooler location. It had many of the same notes, but more acidity and less concentration than Grenache from those areas. Maybe because of the lack of ripeness there was a slight astringency that I didn’t find off putting, though others might.
So from an intellectual perspective, this is fun (appreciate Halcon’s Mourvèdre for the same reason)…but it’s also an enjoyable wine that’s good with food.
Will be interesting to see how this develops over the next few years.
August 28, 2020 - I found this as good as most any 100% Grenache wines I've had from the Rhone as well as many domestic. I used to swoon over this variety, but of late the heat (or is it just spice) it brings burns the back of my weak palate. I still thoroughly enjoyed this bottle, and while I did experience some of that higher ABV heat, it was well within check and balanced by the structure and acidity this wine presents. The aromatics are correct and present, and the flavor and mouthfeel is well balanced and juicy. I'm sure this will mellow and improve over the next half-decade. I wonder if it would fare better than the Rayas-es of the world, which to me seem to fall apart after around 15-years give or take on vintage.
June 19, 2020 - Not a fruit bomb. Earthy strawberry on the Nose. Savory. Lightly tannic. Med-light bodied. I think this might benefit from a couple years laying down.