BonnyDoon Clos du Gilroy Calif Grenache TW (Cuvee Tremblement de Terre) 1989: Med.light color w/ considerable bricking; very light Grenache/strawberry some pencilly/cedary/oldRed slight smokey/tobaccoy/mushroomy rather complex nose; rather tart/tangy/metallic fairly strong pretty/strawberry/Grenache light tobaccoy/smokey/cedary/mushroomy flavor w/ light/drying/whispering tannins; med.long tart/tangy/metallic strong Grenache/strawberry/perfumed some tobaccoy/mushroomy/cedary finish w/ light/drying tannins; clearly drying out a bit and somewhat tired but an amazing amount of strawberry/Grenache fruit still there and a pleasure to drink if you want a quiet/pretty wine.
A wee BloodyPulpit:
Most of this Grenache came from an old vnyd (Besson Vnyd) in the HeckerPass/Gilroy area that no longer exists. The Cuvee designation refers to the Oct 17 LomaPrieta earthquake whose center was not far from this vnyd. The grapes for this wine were in the press when the earthquake struck. A piece of history here.
Tom
Interesting to see this note. BD was one of the first wineries that got me interested in wine. I don’t know if my palate changed, but they’ve completely slipped off my radar screen. I don’t see much about them these days.
Tom,
The Besson Vineyard still very much exists. We see nearly 40 tons off that vineyard every year, including a small lot of Grenache for our La Marea label (we just released our first wine, the 2012), Grenache for Birichino, old vine Zin for Birichino, some Pinot Noir, Mourvedre for Rose and some Syrah. The last three are vines less than 25 years old. But the Grenache is still in full swing, and gets distributed to several Bonny Doon alums (myself, the Birichino boys, Jim Moore of Uvaggio, and - I believe - Angela Osbourne).
Ian
Chris, Randall drastically downsized the brand with the sale of his larger-production labels (Big House). He is still very much in the biz, and making some good wine. Based on some recent bottles, I’d say he’s regaining some focus. Syrah, Cigare Blanc, and the ridiculously refreshing Vin Gris have been recent highlights.
Ian,
I’m aware that Besson still exists, mostly from the Birichino label. But my recollect (maybe from Randall himself) was that all the very old Grenache there
had been pulled. Correct me if I’m wrong. Maybe it’s MaryCarter’s vnyd I’m thinking of.
Tom
I would agree. After dismissing the wines for years, a recent version of this wine was a real eye-opener - perhaps the 11. Anyway, it was a dead ringer for an old-school, red-fruited Cotes du Rhone - the kind of Grenache that has become tragically rare. That wine made me excited to try the others - some very strong stuff there. I feel like Mr. Graham realizes he lost his way a little, but he has definitely found his way back with recent vintages.
Ian,
MaryCarter’s vnyd was down there in the Gilroy area as well. In '69-'70-'71, DavidBruce made Grenache/Carignane/PetiteSirah/Zin from her vnyd of old-vine stuff.
Regular/LateHarvestDry/LateHarvestSweet/Essence for most of them. All w/ alcohol at 15%+ and above. Some of the blackest/most extracted reds ever made in Calif.
One reviewer in SanDiego (JohnBrennan) predicted they’d reach peak drinkability about 2028. They were all mostly dead & gone by the late '80’s. So much for reviewers.
Randall recounts (in his book) how he tracked down on of the '70 Grenaches so he could see how a serious Calif Grenache would age.
The vnyd was ripped out not long after he made those, according to David. Don’t know it’s exact location, though. David would remember.
The wines were not vnyd-designated on the label.
Tom
I wanted, for clarity’s sake, to include comments the frighteningly well-informed Mr Wes Barton & Bedrock’s Mr Morgan Twain-Peterson, MW, posted on the “Santa Clara San Benito Wine Heritage” thread regarding the “Mary Carter Vineyard”:
“Tom was wrong about the ‘Mary Carter Vineyard’ being ripped out. It’s being restored, and was the source of the one-off Carignane from Left Bend. You might want to ask the folks at Bedrock about it…”
- Wes Barton
“We have been working with the Gregory family for three years now starting the process of restoring the beautifully situated vineyard off of Redwood Retreat Road. Unfortunately the blocks of Grenache are beyond restoring along with an older block that had some CS in it as well. That said, the Zinfandel and Carignan blocks are making huge strides and the wines from them are promising. Our first Heritage wine from the vineyard, a blend of the Zinfandel and Carignan and a few other interplanted varieties, will be released in the Spring as ‘Vineyard Under the Mountain Heritage Wine’ (which is what the new owners want to call it). There is also a block of mixed Petite Sirah that still goes to Storrs Winery I believe.”
WOW, 4 year delay, and quite the bit of new info!
I’m excited to see this come back though, as I recently was given a bottle of 93 Cigar Volant and 93 Old Telegram that I was planning on blind tasting a bunch of people on (I’m cruel, I know).
Yup, Ian…it always surprises/amuses me when somebody dredges up one of my posts from yrs ago. Sorta like when I
get on my FaceBook feed a notice that today is so&so’s BD and I should give him a BD greeting…even though the guy’s been dead for
over 5 yrs. That’s one of the beauties of the InterNet…we’re all immortal on the InterNet. And brilliant.
Tom
I have seen other wineries who offered vineyard-designated “Besson” reds and whites in the past: Monte Verde Winery (2009 Grenache), Odonata (Grenache Blanc, Grenache, Syrah), etc.
The “Besson Vineyard” is perhaps the best known old-vine site associated with Grenache in the Santa Clara Valley.
Had 2 bottles of the 2010. My reaction was decent quaffer, but not much more. Still have a bottle of the 85 Cigare Volant in my cellar ( been there forever) for which I have no positive expectations other than it being a little slice of history.
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