2012 Full Pull & Friends Grenache Olsen Vineyard

Full Pull

• By Paul Zitarelli
  Full Pull Last Call Territory, 2/20/2019

  (Full Pull & Friends Grenache Olsen Vineyard (FPF-23)) Hello friends. Thanks to consistent reorder requests and brisk sales through our tasting room, we’re getting down to last-call territory on one of last year’s most popular Full Pull & Friends bottlings. Which is kind of crazy, since we purchased a parcel intended to last us for two full years, and we’re currently at one year, six days since original offer: One point worth remembering about any FP&F wine: this is a special bottle, exclusive to our list members. Outside of the Full Pull list and tasting room, there is no place else to source this; it is a one-off treat for our list members. Originally offered Feb 14, 2018, and here are excerpts from the original: Grenache from Olsen is some of the most prized fruit in the state. A smattering of Rhone rockstars who have worked with Olsen Grenache: Betz, Gramercy, Kevin White, Maison Bleue, B. Leighton. Bob Betz himself said the following about his latest release of Besoleil: The story of Bésoleil begins with our long-held belief that a precise marriage of soil and site can produce a profound expression of Grenache in Washington… While the Grenache in the earliest vintages of Bésoleil was sourced from various vineyards throughout the Columbia Valley, two sites in particular (Olsen Vineyards in the Yakima Valley and Upland Vineyards on Snipes Mountain) have excelled as uniquely distinctive for Grenache. These two sites are the sources for the entirety of the Grenache in Bésoleil today. So yeah, when we had the opportunity to go long on Grenache from an A+ vintage and an A+ vineyard, we didn’t hesitate. This was raised in large puncheons, mostly neutral (20% new) for 18 months, and clocks in at 14.6% listed alc. The nose contains fruit layers both primary (fresh strawberry) and maturing (fig, dried raspberry), alongside complexities of hot-stone minerality and green savories of garrigue and Castelvetrano olive. The extra bottle age shows itself texturally on the palate, where all rough edges have been sanded down by the power of time, leaving a supple beauty that saturates the palate with its rich mix of fruit and earth notes. This feels like it’s in early- to mid-peak drinking, a wonderful time to access a wine.

• By Paul Zitarelli
  Full Pull Ring Out (Final Offer of 2018), 12/22/2018

  (Full Pull & Friends Grenache Olsen Vineyard (FPF-23)) Hello friends. This is our final offer of 2018. We’ll plan to stay out of your inboxes until January 6, when you can expect our first offer of 2019. In the meantime, after our open hours today (Saturday; 11am-7pm) we are CLOSED for pickups for the next few weeks, and our first TPU pickup day in 2019 will be Thursday January 10. Today’s offer will include reorder links for a handful of our well-loved in-house wines – three from the Block Wines line, four from Full Pull & Friends, and one from Starside – but first, we’ll do what we’ve done every year since 2009: excerpt Tennyson’s In Memoriam. Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky, The flying cloud, the frosty light; The year is dying in the night; Ring out, wild bells, and let him die. Ring out the old, ring in the new, Ring, happy bells, across the snow: The year is going, let him go; Ring out the false, ring in the true. Ring out the grief that saps the mind, For those that here we see no more, Ring out the feud of rich and poor, Ring in redress to all mankind. I have always loved quoting those stanzas, the way they speak to the cleansing grace of the end of a year. But this year is complicated. My father died, suddenly and unexpectedly, on December 3 (here is a remembrance I wrote soon after). And while I would normally be inclined to keep family matters like this private, that doesn’t seem appropriate for my dad, who had become interwoven with Full Pull over the past few years. He loved working the tasting bar on Thursdays and telling stories. (Some of them were even true.) He loved Full Pull, loved our team, and really loved our list members. So in addition to the thanks I would normally give to you all, for all the support you’ve given to Full Pull in 2018, I also want to say thank you for enlivening and enriching the last years of my dad’s life. We'll be doing a small ceremony at Full Pull in late January to celebrate my father's life. If any of you are interested in attending, please just reply to this email and let me know, and I'll send along details when we have them. Ring out the grief that saps the mind for those that here we see no more. I’m trying. Moving to happier topics, this was a wonderful year for Full Pull, a year of surprising growth. Way back on April 23, I christened 2018 “the year of the deal” and my goodness was that borne out by the subsequent eight months. It felt like kismet: Full Pull growing to a point where we have substantial buying power on behalf of y’all, right at the same time that many wineries needed help moving significant volumes of juice, with a willingness to do so via significant discounts. All signs point to more of the same in 2019. But of course we’re not all about the discount deals; in fact they remain a small minority of our offers. The vast majority still focus on the finest wines from the compelling boutique producers of the Pacific Northwest. Our goal remains connecting the finest farmers and winemakers of this corner of the world with a vibrant community of wine lovers who can’t seem to get enough of all this good juice. Speaking of good juice... One point worth remembering about any FP&F wine: this is a special bottle, exclusive to our list members. Outside of the Full Pull list and tasting room, there is no place else to source this; it is a one-off treat for our list members. Originally offered Feb 14, 2018, and here are excerpts from the original: Grenache from Olsen is some of the most prized fruit in the state. A smattering of Rhone rockstars who have worked with Olsen Grenache: Betz, Gramercy, Kevin White, Maison Bleue, B. Leighton. Bob Betz himself said the following about his latest release of Besoleil: The story of Bésoleil begins with our long-held belief that a precise marriage of soil and site can produce a profound expression of Grenache in Washington… While the Grenache in the earliest vintages of Bésoleil was sourced from various vineyards throughout the Columbia Valley, two sites in particular (Olsen Vineyards in the Yakima Valley and Upland Vineyards on Snipes Mountain) have excelled as uniquely distinctive for Grenache. These two sites are the sources for the entirety of the Grenache in Bésoleil today. So yeah, when we had the opportunity to go long on Grenache from an A+ vintage and an A+ vineyard, we didn’t hesitate. This was raised in large puncheons, mostly neutral (20% new) for 18 months, and clocks in at 14.6% listed alc. The nose contains fruit layers both primary (fresh strawberry) and maturing (fig, dried raspberry), alongside complexities of hot-stone minerality and green savories of garrigue and Castelvetrano olive. The extra bottle age shows itself texturally on the palate, where all rough edges have been sanded down by the power of time, leaving a supple beauty that saturates the palate with its rich mix of fruit and earth notes. This feels like it’s in early- to mid-peak drinking, a wonderful time to access a wine.

• By Paul Zitarelli
  Full Pull & Friends, 8/29/2018

  (Full Pull & Friends Grenache Olsen Vineyard (FPF-23)) Hello friends. We have a new wine today from our popular Full Pull & Friends negociant label, and it is extra-exciting for a pair of reasons. Number one, it’s our first FPF Rhone blend since April 2014, and our first-ever Rhone from the winery partner we’ve dubbed “Winery Alpha” (our partner for several Cabernets, several Chardonnays, and several Bordeaux blends). Number two, it’s the first FPF red we’ve been able to offer at a TPU price lower than $29.99 since our 2012 Bacchus Vineyard Cabernet Franc ($26.99 TPU) in June 2014: One point worth remembering about any FP&F wine: this is a special bottle, exclusive to our list members. Outside of the Full Pull list and tasting room, there is no place else to source this; it is a one-off treat for our list members. Originally offered Feb 14, 2018, and here are excerpts from the original: Grenache from Olsen is some of the most prized fruit in the state. A smattering of Rhone rockstars who have worked with Olsen Grenache: Betz, Gramercy, Kevin White, Maison Bleue, B. Leighton. Bob Betz himself said the following about his latest release of Besoleil: The story of Bésoleil begins with our long-held belief that a precise marriage of soil and site can produce a profound expression of Grenache in Washington… While the Grenache in the earliest vintages of Bésoleil was sourced from various vineyards throughout the Columbia Valley, two sites in particular (Olsen Vineyards in the Yakima Valley and Upland Vineyards on Snipes Mountain) have excelled as uniquely distinctive for Grenache. These two sites are the sources for the entirety of the Grenache in Bésoleil today. So yeah, when we had the opportunity to go long on Grenache from an A+ vintage and an A+ vineyard, we didn’t hesitate. This was raised in large puncheons, mostly neutral (20% new) for 18 months, and clocks in at 14.6% listed alc. The nose contains fruit layers both primary (fresh strawberry) and maturing (fig, dried raspberry), alongside complexities of hot-stone minerality and green savories of garrigue and Castelvetrano olive. The extra bottle age shows itself texturally on the palate, where all rough edges have been sanded down by the power of time, leaving a supple beauty that saturates the palate with its rich mix of fruit and earth notes. This feels like it’s in early- to mid-peak drinking, a wonderful time to access a wine.

• By Paul Zitarelli
  Full Pull and Friends (+Sodo Club Experience REMINDER), 2/14/2018

  (Full Pull & Friends Grenache Olsen Vineyard (FPF-23)) Sodo Club Experience REMINDER: From Feb 15-17, Full Pull list members will have club member privileges at all of our neighboring wineries: Den Hoed, Kerloo, Latta, Nine Hats, Rotie, Sleight of Hand, Structure, and Waters. That means some/all of: waived tasting fees; discounts on purchased wines; access to club-only bottlings. All you have to do is show up to our warehouse, get a Full Pull wristband, and then venture forth to our neighbors. As you’d expect, it’s going to be a busy weekend, so if you intend to pick up wine as well, please do schedule a pickup so we’re ready for you. ----- Hello friends. The past few years have been relatively quiet on the Full Pull & Friends front. Just three releases in 2017 (two of which are sold out), and today marks our first new FP&F release since last May, more than eight months ago. It also marks a milestone for FP&F: our first varietal Grenache. One point worth remembering about any FP&F wine: this is a special bottle, exclusive to our list members. Outside of the Full Pull list and tasting room, there is no place else to source this; it is a one-off treat for our list members. Originally offered Feb 14, 2018, and here are excerpts from the original: Grenache from Olsen is some of the most prized fruit in the state. A smattering of Rhone rockstars who have worked with Olsen Grenache: Betz, Gramercy, Kevin White, Maison Bleue, B. Leighton. Bob Betz himself said the following about his latest release of Besoleil: The story of Bésoleil begins with our long-held belief that a precise marriage of soil and site can produce a profound expression of Grenache in Washington… While the Grenache in the earliest vintages of Bésoleil was sourced from various vineyards throughout the Columbia Valley, two sites in particular (Olsen Vineyards in the Yakima Valley and Upland Vineyards on Snipes Mountain) have excelled as uniquely distinctive for Grenache. These two sites are the sources for the entirety of the Grenache in Bésoleil today. So yeah, when we had the opportunity to go long on Grenache from an A+ vintage and an A+ vineyard, we didn’t hesitate. This was raised in large puncheons, mostly neutral (20% new) for 18 months, and clocks in at 14.6% listed alc. The nose contains fruit layers both primary (fresh strawberry) and maturing (fig, dried raspberry), alongside complexities of hot-stone minerality and green savories of garrigue and Castelvetrano olive. The extra bottle age shows itself texturally on the palate, where all rough edges have been sanded down by the power of time, leaving a supple beauty that saturates the palate with its rich mix of fruit and earth notes. This feels like it’s in early- to mid-peak drinking, a wonderful time to access a wine.