Do you believe in magic? It’s hard not to when witnessing Clark Smith’s wizardry. It’s widely acknowledged that he is one of the foremost experts in winemaking and chemistry in the world. While he continues to save the world one wine at a time since the 1980s during his endless consulting, teachings and seminars, his night job, when not making music, is crafting tiny production wines that HE likes to make and drink…

A pale garnet that is misleadingly light in intensity, yet with an inviting core. The nose is loaded with dried raspberry, kirsch, white pepper, lavender, and savory herbs. Medium-bodied on the seamless and elegant palate, opening brightly with vibrant acidity. The endearing texture and the engaging complexity of this Grenache results in surprising length. It would be a perfect accompaniment to wild thyme sprinkled lamb chops over couscous.

What Smith saw in the Grenache he discovered at the Bates Ranch perched high atop the Santa Cruz Mountains, was elegance and purity, which he, magically as one would expect from him, transformed into the bottle and glass as such. This is as graceful with finesse as the best Grenaches of the South of France, sans the heat and higher alcohol burden, most of those possess. One must enjoy it over a couple of hours to appreciate the hidden layers of complexity unfolding right in front of your nose. Another hattrick WineSmith pulled for The Wine Spies is an astonishing 50% savings on this gem of a red. Hurry, grab what you can before “puff” it disappears by hocus-pocus!