2009 Martian Ranch & Vineyard Grenache

Community Tasting Notes (4) Median Score: 79 points

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  6/7/2013 - wineshlub wrote: 80 Points

  Spicy berry aroma. Smoke and red fruit flavors which continue into the lingering finish.
  
  Smoke not as dominant as the last bottle, but very much there. Those that like smoky Pinotage from South Africa might like this. There's good fruit underneath, but it is somewhat masked. I find the smokiness to be a fault the way I find overoaking of wine to be a fault, which is a shame because I like everything else.
  
  As far as I can determine there were no fires in the region these grapes came from, so this has to be a result of the winemaking process. Which might be one reason why the former winemaker at this estate is the former winemaker.

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  3/23/2013 - vegasoenophile Does not like this wine: 69 Points

  Can barely detect red berry under the massive amount of smoke on this wine. Heavily charred, burnt aromas. That's about all that's there. Palate enters with cedar dust and tart red currant and pomegranate and cherry, but it's overtaken by a heavy handed amount of oak toast. Perhaps this is too delicate a wine for heavily toasted barrels or something, but it's just liquid smoke in a wine bottle. Some herbal tones on the aftertaste and I think it could be interesting, but perhaps light to no toast on the wood.

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  1/14/2013 - Kyleolsondesign wrote: 79 Points

  Surprisingly smokey.

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  12/28/2012 - wineshlub wrote: flawed

  Popped and poured. Dark berry aroma. Plum flavors with a strong smoke component. Nice, rich pomegranete finish. Good flavors overall, but the smoke is there to a degree that is out of balance and masks the other flavors. Tainted by the La Brea fire? I don't know but it's a possibility.
  
  I go back and forth on this. Smoky flavors, whether a natural result of the vinification process or from outside taint, can be tolerable and the affected wines can be quite good. If the smoke were dialed back just a little bit in this wine I would be willing to consider it a feature rather than a flaw, but it's a little too far over the line.

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