Been really questioning how much I like any new world Grenache lately. Maybe they are just too young, but I have not really loved any of the recent ones I have had. This includes SQN, Cayuse, Gramercy, Maison Bleue, and others. I like the Syrah’s from the same producers, so not sure you can attribute it to overall style.
I just find them all too fruity, candied, and cloying, with none of the depth and earth of a great Grenache driven CdP for example.
edited to add “candied”
Four words for you: A Tribute to Grace.
I like almost none, for exactly the reasons you gave. For blends with a good amount of Grenache in them, I like Bonny Doon Cigare Volant (but find it a bit expensive for what it is), and I really like the new Cigare Volant Reserve.
I’ve heard good things about these, but man the price point is up there.
I like Outpost, Tercero, and and Wind Gap quite a bit.
I also like Alban, but the price point is also restrictive.
Nicora makes a great one called Euphoric. Epoch has a couple, Sensibility and Veracity, that are good too.
The Bonné article is excellent. Most important producers for me, and reasonably priced, are Tercero, Pax/Wind Gap, Jemrose, Bucklin, Tablas Creek, David Girard.
i enjoy Villa Creek Garnacha and Idle Cellars Grenache, $50 and $28 respectively.
I tend to like grenache more than syrah from the new world. Not because it tastes like CdP, which it doesn’t, but just for what it is.
I’m encouraged to be finding more styles of it these days as well, such as A Tribute to Grace (extremely light colored, feminine, floral), Tercero (a medium style which is less about ripe or sweet fruit flavors, but more of a serious and dense character), Denner (more intense purple berry style, with graphite and spice), Alban (intense ripe fruit driven style), etc.
It’s still in more of an exploratory stage overall, and there are hits and misses, but I’m enjoying the journey.
Very few, and hence wouldn’t actively seek others or even try them at a tasting. Indeed I find old world grenache led wines pretty hit and miss, excepting decent success in Gigondas.
This is very nice stuff!
Broc Cellars Cassia and Hobo Wine Company Sceales Vineyard are both very good. Both very balanced. They changed my thinking about how Grenache can express itself in California.
I happen to like CA Grenache though most of the time have a preference for old world Grenache. However, in my opinion Manfred Krankl is a genius when it comes to Grenache - the SQN Grenache bottlings to my taste are among the world’s very best. In fact, recent bottles of Naked Truth and Ode to E last week were spectacular, with the Naked Truth once again showing as one of my favorite grenaches from anywhere. Incredible depth and layers BUT still quite young. The 2004 In the Dark is in a great place but the 05 Atlantis, though terrific (had that last week as well), needs more time.
Often, I do think that the CA grenaches (the best ones) need time to show their best and develop complexities (anything younger than 2005/2006/2007 from SQN needs time for instance and I think the same for Saxum, Alban and their like as well). So, not sure whether the above comments are based on experience with wines closer to release or not.
Would we expect the best of the Rhone to be showing their greatness already from the last handful of vintages released or would we expect 2007 and younger to ideally need more time? Are people popping the 2010 Rhones and finding greatness and developed depth/complexity or are they finding them young and primary (as may be expected at this stage)?
So does Booker and Tablas Creek and I believe so does Saxum.
To answer your question Dan, most of what I have tasted is 2007 and more recent. Hence the question as to whether these will develop more complexity and lose their candied nature if I just wait them out.
I do like some of the Tablas Creek stuff, but I attribute that in part to the blending- they just seem to have more depth and complexity than the varietal labeled stuff I have been trying.
When you say “Grenache driven CdP”, do you mean a wine from CdP that is 100% Grenache, or just a GSM blend that is predominately Grenache? That could be one of the key distinctions, in that the Grenaches you listed are all 100% Grenache, so they shouldn’t be compared directly to CdP blends.
I am thinking of wines on the more Grenache driven side of things. That can include 100% Grenache wines like Rayas, Barroche Pure, but also wines like Clos des Papes that are blends, but are primarily Grenache.
But yes, I am thinking about wines labelled Grenache here (not that that necessarily makes them 100% Grenache, mind you)
I’ve liked Unti’s Dry Creek grenache. Really don’t have much experience with other producers.
LOVE the topic and love the discussion. Jon Bonne’s article is a good wine, and certainly shows the diversity of soils and climates that grenache can excel at,
Domestic grenache, and CA grenache in particular, has somewhat of an ‘identity crisis’ IMHO. The vast majority of it is cropped and picked to make higher volumes wines that show very little resemblance to the variety itself. (As proof, in 2013, nearly 60K of the 66K tons of grenache crushed in CA came from the Central Valley).
Therefore, you tend not to see many CA grenaches labeled as such. On top of that, due to labeling laws, most winemakers blend in a good dose of ‘other things’ in order to darken the wine and/or add more ‘structure’ to the wines.
Man, if someone tried to do that with Pinot domestically they’d be lynched (!!!) but it’s kinda become what’s ‘expected’ of domestic grenaches.
I understand the concept of ‘too much fruit’ or ‘too candied’ - grenaches that come from warmer climate sites bring forth this crazy candied strawberry element to me, that can be wonderful in small doses, but too much if made front and center.
But there are plenty of pockets of places where grenache is grown where it 1) does not crop at 10 tons to the acre; 2) is cool enough to develop other characteristics in the grape and the subsequent wine and 3) with newer clonal materials providing winemakers with smaller clusters and smaller berries, changing the juice to skin ratios.
Even with all of this, many winemakers choose to stick grenache into new oak barrels - something that, to me, really covers up the delicateness that the grape brings forward.
I’ll be part of a grenache seminar at Rhone Ranges this Sunday in Richmond where we’ll be pouring 8 different varietally labeled grenaches from as far south as me (my 09 Larner Vineyard Grenache) and as far north as Oregon (unfortunately, there are very few WA wineries that are members of Rhone Rangers). Can’t wait!
In addition to some that have already been mentioned that I dig - Tribute to Grace, Villa Creek, Girard - search out Beckmen, Jaffurs, Kaena, and Stolpman . . .
Cheers!
Couple of names come to mind that I’ve enjoyed in the recent past.
McPryce Myers
Tribute to Grace
I know you said new world but some Spanish vintners are also killing it with grenache.