OK, I finally tracked down the recent Garnacha Blanca I enjoyed so much. It was the 2012 Celler Pinol Raig Raim white from Terra Alta which is the most southern part of Catalonia. Blended with 20% Macabeo, $19 Cdn. Pale yellow color, aromatic nose of peach, mineral and pear. Was quite dry in fact, smooth and good length with fair acidity. Have another bottle handy for more comprehensive notes!
The Ch. Des Tours CDR Blanc is 100% Grenache Blanc. It’s ripe, rich and quite low in acid (at least in the vintages I’ve had - 07, 08, 10), but it is very interesting and complex.
Craig, would be of interest to put yours and mine side by side!!
i have tasted dozens of GBs from different wineries, and aside from Larry’s, I really like Daou’s.
Yup and yup.
Sans Liege’s Call To Arms is a different take on GB. Sometimes called a white wine for red wine lovers, some vintages 16%. My wife loves it.
Villa Creek and Kinero both make an excellent GB.
And for something completely different, rumor has it Ledge is making a 2014 Late Harvest GB, a blend of oak and SS aged, that is off-dry at 16%.
I prefer Saxum GB. 
Was at Tercero tasting room recently and tried Larry’s GB for first time - me likey. Have really liked Currans in the past but I have not seen it around lately as well. Not much experience with others but would like to try some others.
What the heck is Sarum?
If Andrew meant Saxum, Justin does not make a white AFAIK.
But, the Ledge winemaker Mark Adams is an assistant wine maker at Saxum.
Kinero winemaker is Anthony Yount of Denner.
I just had two bottles of the 2013 Curran GB in the last week, it’s excellent. Curran has made one of similar quality and price to Tercero’s (which is to say, a terrific wine and a terrific value), but in the past, Curran’s was slightly riper and more crowd pleasing. The 2013, though, is more bony and more taut, and really great as well.
I’m telling you, you could hardly find a better “house white,” domestically or internationally, for $20-ish than Tercero and Curran GB. Truly delicious, complex, balanced, food friendly, and a hit both with wine geeks and civilians, good on release but hold up well for at least several years and probably longer, they have it all. I think the best comp internationally in terms of style, price, quality and versatility would be the best Loire chenins in that price range.
Anyone who hasn’t tried these wines should put them high on the list to acquire.
Reynvaan has a killer Grenache Blanc.
Tom Lee
I was not really looking for a white Grenache but imagine my surprise when I came across a new arrival downtown…'tastes like an aged Riesling Bob". 2012 Altes Herencia, Terra Alta and the price was $13 Cdn! Stay tuned.
?
A Grenache blanc that is simply incomparable is Mounir Saouma’s white Chateauneuf du Pape.
Blind, I think it would be hard not to think in the vein of chalky Puligny Montrachet.
In '09 and '10, it had an intensely coiled mineral backbone, unlike anything I had ever tasted prior for Grenache blanc.
It is aged for over two years in barrel, another head scratching detail without a parallel in the region. Not even Beaucastel VV is aged over a single year in barrel. (please correct me if i’m wrong…)
There is certainly something to Mounir’s reductive (read do nothing but let them peacefully sleep), and maximal lees exposure winemaking style for white wines. There is an intensity and density in his LeMoine whites that is knife and fork style white Burgundy, with impressive layers of flavor and a degree of minerality that is in a very very special class. The radical success of his CdP blanc is clearly an extension of the same approach/style/touch…
As far as i’m aware, just about anybody who has tried the stuff has come away with !!! impressions. Critics, cellar tracker, you name it. Zee proof eez een zee pudding.
Yes yes, the obligatory disclaimer: I import his Chateauneufs.
But what purpose does this serve? Why can’t it simply be a delicious grenache blanc? A good Rhone does not need, or should it, be compared to white Burgundy.
I think I know where you’re coming from Markus, but it is more of an anecdotal free association flavor reference than validating the Grenache BECAUSE it reminds me of chalkier high toned white Burgundy.
Purpose. ?
To communicate in terms that people can relate to in their own flavor experience. I guess. Because i’ve never had a Grenache blanc that tasted like this.
On the domestic front- some other excellent examples:
Two Shepherds- they consider GB to be their flagship variety. They are making one with and one without skin contact from Saarloos vineyard in the Santa Ynez Valley. Definitely more of a high acid take on GB.
Two distinct examples from Washington, both from the iconic Yakima Valley Boushey Vineyard. Syncline & Two Vintners. The aromatics on the Syncline in particular are off the chain.
Ch. des Tours has been mentioned, but surely white Rayas is the benchmark (mostly) Grenache blanc? White Fonsalette too.
Does anyone have any thoughts on how the cuvée has changed since Emmanuel Reynaud took over from Jacques? I’ve never had white Rayas made by Jacques.
Simply incomparable to what? Have you tasted top Grenache Blanc based wines from the Roussillon? Sorry but the whole post reads like a shelf-taker. Perhaps the disclaimer should have come first. However, I’d certainly seek it out if it’s reasonably priced, which CNDP rarely is.
+1