Tasting Notes The medium body and wonderful aromatics make the Grenache a perfect wine for food or enjoying on it’s own. A great vintage and with a terroir that contributes structure combine here to produce a wine with depth and richness. The 2015 exhibits classic Grenache aromas of fresh and dried wild strawberries, ripe blueberries, and raspberries that are accented by baking spices and a floral lavender underpinning. A Creamy, full mid-pallet and firm yet soft tannin bring it home. And there’s a subtle herbal undertone, the result of the 100% whole cluster fermentation we use. Drink over the next 3 to 5 years.

Vineyard The excellent fruit for this wine comes off of the Mounts Family Vineyard. The Mounts family has been farming this patch of dirt for over 60 years and when Dave Mounts took over from his father, he planted part of the vineyard to Rhone varietals. The vineyard itself lies on the western slopes overlooking the heart of the Dry Creek Valley and the two French Entav clones I purchase for this wine (clone 513 and clone 362) both come from the Vaucluse region of the Rhone valley, home to Chateauneuf Du Papa, Gigondas, and Vacquyras. The soil is a mixture of red clay and river stone that immediately reminded me of the soils you see in those same regions of France that are home to some of the best Grenache’s on the planet and that’s why I make this wine.

Vintage 2015 was an outstanding vintage statewide with moderate conditions throughout the thegrowing season. During the summer, we had an abundance of warm weather that, each night, was tempered by coastal fog and breezes. This daily cyclical temperature swing helped ripen the fruit slowly and evenly. The fruit was ripe and concentrated due to the warm early fall weather, and the crop load was a bit lower too providing great fruit maturity and balanced acids.

Winemaking The fruit was picked the night of September 16th and arrived at the winery bright and early where it was hand sorted and fermented separately with each clone getting a different fermentation regime. Both were 100% whole cluster and cold soaked at 45° for 5 days to allow for color extraction. It was then allowed to warm as native yeast fermentation started. When primary fermentation was complete I softly pressed the wine, keeping the pressed wine separate from the free run. The free run was then moved into once used French oak barrels where it rested undisturbed, not fined, raked, or filtered for 9 months before it was bottled.