Lot 922 2021 Santa Barbara Pinot Noir
We have to admit that whenever there is a Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir on the table, we know we’re at the right table—belonging there just as much as the Russian River Pinots, the Sonoma Coast bottles, and dare we say, the Burgundies! (Shhh!). Cooling Pacific Ocean breezes and limestone-rich soils create the perfect conditions for growing Pinot Noir, and it just might be the best place in the U.S. for this variety. Our new release today, Lot 922 2021 Santa Barbara Pinot Noir is no exception.
If you want to know why our passion for Santa Barbara Pinot Noir runs so deep, the answer patiently rests under the cork and capsule of Lot 922—a Santa Barbara Pinot Noir from the brilliant 2021 vintage. We struck Pinot gold here, having sourced this wine from a 25+ year veteran winemaker and grape grower of the region who has worked with super-star brands like Geyser Peak in Sonoma, Canyon Road, and the Davies family’s Schramsberg label—sure, you might know their sparkling, but what about the Davies Pinots?! They are mind-blowing, but also $55+ a pop. And with all due respect to the other regions, with Lot 922 priced at just $16 a bottle, after one taste you’ll agree that it’s the definition of mind-blowing!
Not only will your jaw drop at the price, but you will be thrilled with Lot 922 as it dances and sings on your palate. This wine draws you in with a fantastically fragrant nose of red berry fruit, earthen tones, and baking spices. It is soft, creamy-textured with an irresistible mid-palate depth of dark, juicy, succulent candied red cherry and strawberry fruit. Toasty oak spices and hints of vanilla round out the finish completing this not to be missed Pinot Noir.
Watch or listen as Chris Lafleur, Sommeliers Creed for Cameron Hughes walks us through a tasting.
Wine Tasting Video Highlights:
00:00 Introduction
00:17 Pinot Noir from Santa Barbara
00:37 In the Glass
00:54 On the Nose
01:50 On the Palate
02:39 Wine and Food Pairing
03:07 Where does this fit in your cellar?
Tasting Video Transcript:
00:00:08:00 – 00:03:48:08
Chris Lafleur says
Hi, everyone. Welcome back to the CH Wine Tasting Room. It’s Chris Lafleur your super sommelier, tasting some Pinot Noir from Santa Barbara County. This is Lot 922. So Santa Barbara County, we’re a little bit more southerly than places like Monterey or even Napa and Sonoma by a lot. And some people will say, well, that it’s a warmer climate.It’s going to be, you know, not great for Pinot Noir. But I say, you know, without the mountains on the western edge there, you get a lot more coastal influence. So you get a longer growing season overall and it’s great for grapes like this. Let’s go ahead and see what it looks like right away. You see it’s fairly pale, very clear.
I can see my hand right through it, but it’s leaning a little bit red and pink, like it’s still kind of youthful and very concentrated, even for a wine that is so light. I know those those sound backwards, but trust me, I am a sommelier on the nose. Oh, boy. It’s deep. It’s deep on the nose. It’s a core of red fruit with maybe a touch of black.
But really, we were driven by strawberries, cherries and raspberries, maybe even a touch of rhubarb. And if there’s any black fruit here, it’s leaning into the realm of, like, blackberry. But this is a wine that is deep. It is ripe. Maybe a little extra ripe. It feels very fresh. And while there are some other notes to it, like there’s some mushroom here and a little forest floor, but just a little there’s a little bit of vanilla bean here, but really well-integrated.
This is driven by being big, ripe and fresh. And I think that’s a fun expression for Pinot Noir. Now, I should tell you, as are smelling this and enjoying it together, this is a wine that is made by somebody with 25 plus years of experience in the industry making good quality Pinot noir. So if that’s not going to sell you on why this is so integrated and why I think it’s so cool.
I mean, the only thing left to do is taste it and confirm. Really hard to spit that one. The mouthfeel is excellent. It’s got a nice ripping acidity on the bottom, but on the palate, it is silky, it is smooth, it is languorous, it’s got great fruits that are red and strawberry and cherry. And while it does feel a little bit tartar on the palate, because the acidity coming through, it doesn’t feel like it’s lessened, lessening the fruit.
The fruit is still very deep with a very strong core of ripe red fruits on the palate. There’s also a touch of vanilla bean, like we mentioned on the nose, and it does seem to be a little stronger on the palate. I especially feel it on the finish, but I think it’s integrated very well, again, showing a hand with a lot of experience here.
So what do you do with a wine like this? Well, I think that you entertain with it. This is a great wine to pass around at a party. I also think if you’re having a barbecue in the summer with a little asparagus and some mushrooms and maybe a tenderloin, I mean, you know, not that we put all of those on the barbecue, but you could tenderloin, medium rare is perfect with this wine sprinkle a little peppercorn is some chimichurri and you’ve got to win that is very rounded for a delightful dish.
So where does this wine fit in your cellar? I think that this is a wine that you probably want a couple of bottles of minimum, because this is something that I think will change a little bit over time. The ripe fruit will integrate even more fully with the oak and the tertiary notes. I think this is something that in six months you’ll find very interesting.
You can drink it Now, certainly it’s certainly ready to drink, but I think it’ll become more interesting from here. It is December 20, 23, so think about in the summer of 2024. This is a great wine to open, but like I said, more than one bottle because as you open it in the summer, you’re going to again want to see how it evolves when we get into the colder months once more.
So make sure to get a couple, go to the website, click twice minimum on this bottle and I will see you at the next glass.
Lot 858 2020 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
As always, Sonoma County continues to be a source of incredible values – Napa’s larger, more laid-back neighbor continues to offer superb quality for price relative to its more famous peer – an enticing fact in these new days of inflation (and a welcome relief to our pockets). The Alexander Valley AVA is the largest and most fully planted wine region within Sonoma and has been producing critically acclaimed Cabernet since Rodney Strong sold the first vineyard designated Sonoma Cab in the mid 70s.
Lot 858 is a single-vineyard designated Cab under its original label from the region’s benchlands, planted to gravel and sandy loam soils. After harvest and press, the wine was aged in 40% new French oak with the balance aged in first and second pass French oak for well over 20 months. The result is a wine screaming for attention in an otherwise written off market (considering all the attention its Napa neighbors command to this day).
Watch or listen as Chris Lafleur, Sommeliers Creed for Cameron Hughes walks us through a tasting.
Tasting Video Highlights:
00:00 Intro
00:24 Alexander Valley Cab
01:39 The Color
01:40 The Nose
02:14 The Palate
03:13 Drink now or cellar?
03:51 Food and Wine Pairing
Lot 863 2019 Russian River Valley Chardonnay
Defined by the fog bank that blankets the region, and home to rare ancient sandstone seabed soils, the Russian River Valley is known the world over as a preeminent, cool climate winegrowing region, famous in equal parts for its Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays. The latter is on offer today exclusively to this list’s members, another tasting room-only casualty from the early days of Covid shutdowns that we grabbed to pass the savings on to you!
Lot 863 is a pinnacle example of this region’s ability to bring its fruit to exceptional maturity and not be marred by being over-oaked. A 60/40 oak and stainless blend that saw malolactic fermentation, it’s equally enjoyable for the diehard ‘classic Cali Chard’ fans and the ‘varietally correct’ camp of stainless-steel Chard lovers, culminating in one of the most balanced, beloved, and approachable expressions of Chardonnay we came across from the 2019 vintage. Add in blue chip estate pedigree and a winemaker with decades of experience with the fruit of this region, and you have one of the best Chardonnay values all year.
Watch or listen as Chris Lafleur, Sommeliers Creed for Cameron Hughes walks us through a tasting of this Russian River Chardonnay.
Tasting Video Highlights:
00:00 Intro
00:16 2019 Vintage Chards
01:18 The Nose
01:59 The Palate
02:54 Where in your cellar?
Lot 875 2018 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Cameron Hughes Wine Lot 875 is an exclusive Cabernet release from a top Napa house!
Napa Valley is famous the world over for exceptional Cabs, and occasionally, we come across one of the very top houses cutting bait with exclusive, tasting room only, reserve program, or single vineyard bottlings, however, the price isn’t always right. That’s not the case this go around. One of the tightest NDAs we signed late last year allowed us to find the perfect intersection of exceptional wine at an extraordinary value.
Lot 875 is produced by a house that essentially defines Napa pedigree with triple-digits running the cost of entry. All their releases are in the barrels-to-low case count quantities, so exclusive is something they embody to the fullest. As such, the quantity of what we have to offer today is hyper-limited, and all we can tell you about this wine is it’s 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, 100% New French oak aged, and a one-off score from a discontinued program at the original winery. This is a bottle that may seem unassuming but is in fact a collector’s item.
Watch or listen as Chris Lafleur, Sommeliers Creed for Cameron Hughes walks us through a tasting.
Tasting Video Highlights:
00:00 Intro
00:32 On Napa Valley
01:08 The Color
01:38 The Nose
02:30 The Palate
03:16 Where in your cellar?
Lot 860 2020 Lodi Malbec
When we went to source Lot 850 for our program – the spiritual successor to Lot 540 – we were presented with the opportunity to taste some additional wines that could possibly be added in to augment the juice, most notably some Petite Sirah (which became Lot 861) and some Malbec. Both were identified by our in-house team as awesome expressions, and as they say, the rest is history!
Lot 860 is as equally nurtured by our Napa team and barrel program as its sister wines and showcases a more Bordelaise lean than one would expect from traditionally fruit-forward Lodi wines. In part, this was achieved by an early harvest due to the 2020 fire season (and a deft field team knowing to cut before the onset of smoke), however, the real magic was the 12+ months in French oak, making for a more Bordeaux-styled expression in bottle with plenty of nuance and character. This is not like the high-altitude expressions from Argentina, nor is it trying to be like those. This is wonderfully dirty, dusty Malbec with a strong sense of place.
Watch or listen as Chris Lafleur, Sommeliers Creed for Cameron Hughes walks us through a tasting.
Tasting Video Highlights:
00:00 Intro
00:22 Lodi and Malbec
00:51 The Color
01:07 The Nose
02:08 The Palate
02:53 Oak Program
03:29 Where in your cellar?
Lot 850 2020 Lodi Cabernet Sauvignon
When one speaks about a cult following, usually things like the movie Blade Runner, or the “Marquee Moon” album from the band Television come up in context; in our world certain Lots come to mind: 200, 609, 643, 717, just to name a few. It’s been quite some time since we finished the incredible run of fan favorite and often asked about (still, today) Lot 540. Today, we finally bring you the spiritual successor to that cult followed Lot, and considering the inflation we’re all faced with nowadays, at an outstanding price for the members of this list!
Lot 850, much like its predecessor Lot 540, is a Lodi fruit-bomb Cab that we brought in and amped up with a more-refined barrel program (Napa barrels with Lodi fruit – a tried and true pairing, just ask the cult fanbase of the predecessor). Nurtured and completed in-house by our Napa winemaking team, the result is a very approachable Cab that’s just as at home with takeout as it is with a slab of Wagyu direct from Japan (the idea of all that buttery steak umami with a wash of this vanilla-flecked, fruit-forward Cab has a few stomachs rumbling around these parts).
Watch or listen as Chris Lafleur, Sommeliers Creed for Cameron Hughes walks us through a tasting.
Tasting Video Highlights:
00:00 Intro
00:20 Lodi and Cab Sauv
01:16 The Color
01:33 The Nose
02:24 The Palate
03:23 Drink now or lie down?
04:02 Where in your cellar?
Lot 951 2020 Lodi Zinfandel
If we could tell you who made this Lodi Zinfandel and where it was supposed to end up, you’d be RUNNING, not walking to the Lot 951 purchase page. The winemaker has produced iconic labels from Oak Knoll in Napa, and Kenwood in Sonoma, and did a stint with Orin Swift Cellars. He knows Zinfandel like the back of his hand and Lot 951 2020 Lodi Zinfandel shows you exactly why he’s one of the best.
You’ll want to pop the cork on this Zin repeatedly and at this price point (only $15!) we highly suggest six bottles to start because the delicious factor is through the roof, courtesy of 50-year-old vines from Lodi, one of California’s premiere regions for growing Zinfandel. Everyone knows that Lodi is famous for Zin for a reason – they consistently bring out the best of the varietal in their old vines.
Back to Lot 951. This Zinfandel might steal the spotlight on your Thanksgiving table. It will assuredly upstage the Turkey. It might even outshine dessert. You will be delighted as it ushers you from chopping onions and peeling potatoes to washing dishes after your meal. The entire time you’re socializing with family, as you swirl this Zin, you’ll release a heady bouquet into the air of bright strawberry and cherry fruits laced with vanilla and sweet cedar.
Gorgeous, lifted, highly aromatic strawberry and cherry fruits mingle with notes of vanilla and sweet cedar. Medium-bodied and generous with silken red berry fruit, refreshingly tart acidity, stony minerals, and nuanced baking spices. Structured, energetic, and above all, delicious. This is an ideal Thanksgiving red with the kind of balanced acidity that makes it a perfect wine to cut through the richness of gravy-smothered side dishes, the char of roasted veggies, and to match the juiciness of a perfectly prepared turkey—or roast beef or glazed ham. If you go with glazed ham, you’ll find the meat brings out a kind of toffee and espresso note in the wine. Not a parlor trick, but you can take credit for it anyway!
Watch or listen as Wanda Mann, Wine Writer and Educator, walks us through a tasting and discusses this exciting sparkling wine.
Tasting Video Highlights:
00:00 Intro
00:35 Lodi wine region
00:46 The Color
01:26 Nose and Palate
Lot 921 2020 North Coast White Wine
You could drink any old Chardonnay or Pinot Grigio. Or, you could fill up on this an EXTRA-ORDINARY, rare blend.
This one was a blast to put together! Here’s the inside scoop on how Lot 921—a deliciously rare white blend—came to be. In early 2020, our viticulturist, Zeke, picked up the phone to find out a host of unique varieties originally destined for a master blender of kitchen-sink grapes was backing out of a deal. The caller offered Zeke Chardonnay and Bianchetta Trevigiana (an Italian variety) from Carneros, Viognier and Pinot Grigio grapes from Sonoma Mountain, and Grenache Blanc and Albariño from the Suisun Valley, east of San Francisco.
Zeke conferenced with the winemaking team to find out if they wanted all those varieties, and their collective thinking was immediately affirmative. They reasoned that if this legendary master blender was planning to bottle all those grapes into one blend—the Cameron Hughes team should do the same. It’s so rare that we get to flex our creative muscles with whites from California. It’s usually either Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc. But not Lot 921. This white HAS IT ALL. The creaminess and ripe tropical and orchard fruit of Chardonnay; the zesty-bright acidity of Bianchetta Trevigiana; the fleshy, juicy, floral-driven qualities from Viognier and Pinot Grigio, balanced by the soft, silken, and highly aromatic notes from Grenache Blanc and Albariño. The result is pure aromatic magic. Lot 921 is a wine you could smell all day and night. And at $16 per bottle, you should drink plenty of it, too.
We’re pouring Lot 921 side-by-side with Sole Meunière or Coq au Vin Blanc, as the creamy fruit will complement the butter and cream of these dishes, while the bright acidity will cut through it. You could also enjoy it alongside fish and chips.
Watch as Wanda Mann, Wine Writer and Educator, walks us through a tasting and unravels the mysteries of this fantastic white wine blend.
Wine Tasting Highlights:
00:00 Introduction
00:20 Mysteries of a White Wine Blend
00:26 The Color
00:47 On the Nose
01:08 On the Palate
01:57 Great for Pairing or as an Aperitif
Tasting Video Transcript:
00:00:08 –> 00:02:19
Wanda Mann says:Hello, Wanda Mann here in the CH Wine Tasting Room with the really fun white wine blend from the north coast of California. This is Lot 921 2020 vintage. It’s a bit of a mystery. It’s not revealing too many of its secrets on the label white wine blend. But we’ll delve into that a little bit. But let’s look at that color.
I don’t know about you, but I see that and I think California sunshine, really golden in the bottle. As you can see. Nothing to hide, but also get a little closer so you can see the color there. In bright, kind of a burnished gold. It’s sunshine. It’s walking on the beach it’s just relaxing, it’s just chilling out. Oh, on the nose.
That same happy feeling. It’s very flirty. It’s peachy. It’s floral. I get a little bit of grassy ness, some lemon zest, a little bit of lime. This just feels like sunshine is just the smell is easygoing. It’s pretty is just like, just sip me already and stop talking. So that’s what I’m going to do.
Wow. A lot of flavor, a lot of texture. Again, I’m getting that peach on the palate. Maybe there’s some here. There’s a body to it. So I’m guessing maybe some Chardonnay is what I’ve been told. And a little bit of Pinot Grigio and that peachy-ness. Definitely the Viognier and that grassy note coming from the Sauvignon Blanc. So I’ve unraveled a little bit of the mystery, but the real mystery is how do you make something this delicious at this price point?
I love this wine because sometimes we say, Oh, I just want a simple white wine. And we think that means, oh, they didn’t really have to do much, but to take those grapes, put them together at this price point to create a really nice drinking experience. And what I love about this wine is you can enjoy it by itself or it is food friendly, I would think soft cheeses, a fresh ceviche, shrimp cocktail.
There’s so much you could do with this wine, but really just to sit and enjoy and even the dead of winter, if you want to imagine that you’re walking on the beach in California, in the sun, this is a great little virtual escape. So drink well and enjoy. Cheers.
Lot 925 2021 California Rhone Blend
When we get our hands on a downright delicious Red Blend, it gets us extremely excited. After all, the art of blending is the secret behind some of the world’s greatest red wines—Bordeaux and Châteauneuf-du-Pape come immediately to mind.
We can’t wait for you to get your hands on this Lot 925 2021 California Rhone Blend because it fits right into that savvy red blend category, and its parts definitely make for a more expressive, cohesive whole.
Patterned after the best southern Rhône reds, Lot 925 marries Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre (the classic GSM Rhône blend!) into a ripe, juicy, complex sipper that leverages the various micro- and meso-climates across California, where each of the varieties ripens optimally (areas like Sonoma, and Contra Costa County). Not only that, but the winemaking was in impeccable hands: this Lot’s source winery is a long-time family producer that set up shop in the early 1980s and has been a leader among the “Rhone Rangers” movement in California ever since. Over the decades, they’ve racked up dozens and dozens of 90+ critic scores, along with Gold Medals and Best-In-Class awards from numerous wine competitions.
In Lot 925, the Syrah brings spiciness and blue fruit deliciousness, Grenache supplies rich fruit weight and floral magic, and Mourvèdre layers in warm baking spice aromas and structure. We are keeping a case around because it’s one of our favorite dinner-prep sippers (plenty of sipping in between dicing carrots, onions, and potatoes, and several more sips after the roast chicken goes in the oven). At only $13 per bottle, this is a screaming deal to have stocked up in your cellar for whenever you need a food-friendly red.
Watch as Katy Long, Director of International Wines for VWE walks us through a tasting of this California Rhone Blend.
Tasting Video Highlights:
- 00:00 Intro
- 00:12 Lot 925 Info
- 00:32 The Color
- 00:47 GSM Rhone Blend
- 00:57 On the Nose
- 01:25 The Taste
- 02:02 Wine Pairing
Video Transcript:
Katy Long
Welcome back to the CH Wine tasting room. I’m Katy Long, and today I have a beautiful Red Blend from California. This one is lot 925. It feels a little bit like the East Bay and that’s a bit of a California reference for some of my friends out there. This wine is a blend and it is coming from across California where we have these beautiful, diverse microclimates, these massive climates where all of these grape varieties ripen optimally.Take a look at that color. It’s purple, it’s ruby, and it’s inky in the glass, kind of staining the glass a little bit. So I love this blend. It is comprised of Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre so greater than the sum of their parts. Each of these grape varieties is contributing something to this particular blend and it is awesome.
So Syrah is kind of known for those dark, maybe blue fruits like blueberry, maybe a hint of leather, perhaps in black pepper. Grenache, on the other hand, brings these really beautiful, lifted red fruit flavors. So I’m thinking strawberry, maybe even some raspberry. And then Mourvèdre provides not only that tannin that structure, but also a hint of earthiness and maybe some cocoa or mocha in the scent.
Let’s give it a taste. Mm. That wine is juicy and mouthwatering all at the same time. Wow. There’s so much going on in there. The fruit is really ripe. It’s that blue fruit, that raspberry and blackberry hint that plum. The tannins are firm and definitely present, but they’re smooth and really integrated. So it’s a really well balanced wine.
And what I love about blends is that it’s almost like there’s something in there for everybody. So whether you’re having folks over for dinner or if you’re popping over to their house, this is one you’re going to want to have by the case. I know I say this all the time. I say to get a case of wine stock up.
But with this one, I think you should get two cases. And there’s a reason for that. This wine is so versatile. You’re going to want to have a bottle whether people show up unexpectedly, if it’s a Tuesday night in this wine is going to go not only with whatever cuisine you can throw at it, but whatever occasion you’re going to want to serve it.
So having a couple extra bottles on hand, you’re going to definitely be thanking me later. And I invite you to drop a note in the comments and tell me so tell me what you enjoy it with. And in the meantime, I’m going to say cheers.
Lot 915 2021 California GSM Blend
The tried-and-true blending of Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre grapes (“GSM” for short) has been at the heart of the best reds from Southern France—especially Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Vacquereys, and Gigondas. There’s just no denying the winning combination of power, elegance, flavor, silkiness, and intensity that those three varieties deliver when they’re brought together.
But as Lot 915 2021 California GSM will prove, Southern France isn’t the only place where GSM blends thrive. These three grape varieties handle the California sun and heat without breaking a sweat—retaining balance and acidity as they reach perfect ripeness levels. Grenache and Syrah bring the layers and complexity of flavors, while the Mourvèdre provides the structure and backbone to the wine. It’s truly a wine where the sum can be greater than its parts. This wine is sourced from a variety of vineyards within California, meaning we can bring you an unbeatable price for your next on-hand red wine perfect for your next barbeque or any Tuesday night dinner.
Lot 915 is a deep red in the glass. Explosive flavors lift from the incredible nose, calling to mind a basket of raspberries and a bit of bramble intermixed with rhubarb, dried purple flower petals, and rosemary. The aromas alone are difficult to resist. All this re-emerges on the supple palate in a delicious and heady mix of crunchy red fruit and seductive flavors of cherry and even some blueberry, along with floral, black pepper, and baking spice hints.
At $13 price, getting this wine is an easy decision: buy a case or two—some to drink now and some to enjoy over the next 3-5 years.
Watch as Chris Lafleur, Sommeliers Creed for Cameron Hughes walks us through a tasting of this California Rhone Blend.
Wine Tasting Video Highlights:
- 00:00 Introduction
- 00:14 About Lot 915
- 00:28 Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre
- 00:57 Color
- 01:25 On the Nose
- 02:19 The Taste
- 03:09 Where does it belong in your cellar?
Video Transcript:
Chris Lafleur says:
Welcome back to the CH Wine tasting room, everyone. I’m Chris LaFleur, a friendly neighborhood sommelier. And we’re going to be tasting Lot 915 a GSM blend from California. It’s from 2021. So it’s still fairly youthful, but it’s got just enough development to give you a nice little sparkle as you’re tasting. So let’s have a look at it. I think it’s too much to not tell you about what we have here.
This is Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre. For those of you that are not familiar with the GSM blend, this is usually something you see in the south of France, usually in the southern Rhone region. Some of the great ones would be Chateauneuf du Pop. But what we’re talking about here are grapes that handle the heat of the southern Rhone really well.
So here we are in California. I don’t know about you guys. I’m from Canada. Feels pretty warm here to me. So I think these are going to be the grapes that match this climate and give it a little bit of balance. One of the things I love about a wine in this climate is that if you have grapes that adapt to it really well, you maintain acidity, which also translates to maintaining freshness, racing electricity on the palate.
Let’s look at it and I promise we’ll taste it real soon. So you can see this is a semi-opaque wine. If I put my hand underneath of it, I can still see it, but it’s a little bit fuzzy now. It’s not completely opaque. They can see through and it’s not completely clear. So we’re writing that middle, which is kind of where we want to be when you want to ride the tension of this wine on the nose, it’s incredible.
I have to tell you about it. And that’s the only reason I will, because I want to just sit here and smell this on my own. But I’m getting a lot of red fruit, I’m getting raspberries, I’m getting like bramble, crunchy fruits here. I think I’m getting a touch of apple and plum, but also a great note of rhubarb, which is really cool.
I’m also getting a slight lavender hint and that to me says that we’re dealing with proper Grenache. Grenache usually is defined by notes of Grieg, and some people will say it’s because in the south of France you’ve got a lot of scrubby bushes that give you lavender notes in the final wine. But I think this is also a key to showing that Grenache just has this character unto itself because I’m getting it here with maybe a touch of Rosemary.
It’s great. Very well-balanced with Serrano Mourvedre. I normally expect a little more pepper, but this is really Grenache dominated and you can feel it when you smell it. Let’s taste it. I’m not going to take it any longer. I promise. Mm mm. There we go. I’m only spitting because you’re watching. I have other things to do today. Wow, that’s really good.
It feels crunchy on the palate. That red fruit character really coming through. I’m also getting a lot more fennel in a nice than I did before on the nose, and it feels wonderful on the finish. I’m getting some tannins here. Likely from the more veg in the Sierra, so I would say medium. They’re not overpowering, but they’re nice and coarse, a little chunky and I’ve also got a little bit of that lavender rosemary note that we want when we’re talking about a grape-driven wine like Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre.
So I mean that’s incredible to me and I think you’re going to find it good as well. But let’s talk about where it belongs in your cellar. I think this is going really well right now, and I think it can age for a little bit. So let’s say 3 to 5 years for a wine like this one, even though I think it’ll last.
Well past that. I think if you’re going to put this with any kind of food, you want to put it with something weighty as well, but also perfumed a little bit. So let’s say some pork tenderloin with some rosemary to go alongside it for some spice, to give it some lift, some air. And that’s going to meld really seamlessly.
The tannins here, like I said, are just enough that it’s going to offset the richness of that tenderloin. Oh, I can’t stop talking about this wine. It’s incredible. But I think that’s enough to sell you on it. So I’m going to stay here with this bottle and I will see you at the next class.