There is, in my view, no other region in California that compares to the Santa Cruz Mountains for producing wines of distinctive terroir expression. Something about its mountain soils and mix of sandstone and greenstone, plus the lush surrounding herbs that encircle its tiny vineyards and impart their own distinctive “air-oir” gives each vineyard a unique stamp. The area is moderated by heavy Pacific influence but also lifted above the fog so that it enjoys plenty of cool direct sunlight, the perfect recipe for the grape to express itself.
The nose is instantly alluring. One expects from your basic Grenache a simple strawberry aroma, but here we have in support of its bright fruitiness an intriguing collection of melon, droughty “garrigue” herbs, saddle leather and Asian spice. The mouth is medium bodied with fine tannins and energetic minerality.
As a result, the wine is more complex and intriguing than a simple picnic wine but is certainly suitable for an outing in some summer meadow with a basket full of chicken and three-bean salad with sun-dried tomatoes. Its tannins are solid, so it would serve well with a steak. It loves game, from venison to quail and is magic with Hunanese stir-fried beef in garlic black bean sauce.
2019 WineSmith Grenache, Santa Cruz Mountains
Specs
Vintage: 2019
Varietal: Grenache
Vineyard: Bates Ranch Corralitos sub region, Santa Cruz Mountains, 10th leaf of experimental planting
Clark Smith is an MIT drop-out who wandered out to California in 1972 and sold wine retail in the Bay Area for several years, where he acquired a love of Bordeaux, Burgundy and all things French and observed first hand the California winery explosion in the 1970s. After a three-year stint at Veedercrest Vineyards, he secured enology training at UC Davis and spent the 1980s as founding winemaker for The R.H. Phillips Vineyard in Yolo County. In 1990, he founded WineSmith Consulting and patented a group of new winemaking techniques involving reverse osmosis, spinning off Vinovation, which went on to become the world’s largest wine production consulting firm over its 17-year history.
Frustrated with California’s winemaking trends, Clark started WineSmith Cellars in 1993 as a teaching winery to make Eurocentric wines to explore traditions beyond the mainstream, expanding for his winemaking clients the range of possibility for California fruit. Choosing to create long-term partnerships with committed growers rather than growing his own grapes, Clark has become a renowned expert on Cabernet Franc, having vinified twenty vintages from a wide variety of sites.
Teaching at Napa Valley College gave him access to the Student Vineyard for Faux Chablis and his Pauillac-style $100 “Crucible” Cabernet Sauvignon. From Renaissance Vineyards in North Yuba County he has made a sulfite-free Roman Syrah and also produces a Pinot Noir from Fiddlestix Vineyard in the Santa Rita Hills in a delicate, age-worthy Côtes de Beaune style. These wines are vinified in an ancient beat-up warehouse in Sebastopol, California.
WineSmith wines are noted for their longevity, classic balance, structural integrity, minerality and understated soulfulness. They often are aged extensively prior to release. When drinking a WineSmith wine, always ask yourself “What is this wine trying to teach me?” Clark is a vocal advocate of living soil and graceful longevity, and generally avoids excessive oak, alcohol, or extended hang-time. He is not shy about employing new tools when they are needed, such as alcohol adjustment to bring fruit into balance or micro-oxygenation to build refined structure, but always fully discloses techniques which are controversial and is outspoken in explaining his rationale.
His book, Postmodern Winemaking, is the culmination of four decades of reflection on wine’s true nature.
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
I was surprised to find that my lab rat assignment was a four year vertical of Winesmith Grenache grown in the Santa Cruz Mountains on the Bates Ranch.
I will ask Clark to discuss the vintage conditions, terroir, tarweed and “air-oir”.
I poured the wine in four identical glasses, waited 30 minutes and tasted at 60-65 degrees, from the youngest to oldest.
The 2019 and 2021 are medium garnet and clear. The 2022 is a light garnet and clear and the 2020 is a dark garnet and translucent. The garnet had a slight orange undertone.
Faint strawberry and garrigue on the nose of all of the wines. This is a cool climate grenache, soft and juicy is not in its vocabulary. TA 6.7, 13% alc, tart, with moderate herbal notes, moderate tannins and minerality. Medium body and a very long herbal, peppery finish.
Very minor differences in the wines: 2019 had softer tannins and a more ethereal mouthfeel. 2020 had more body, 2021 has a more pronounced tea aroma. 2022 is so pale that the structure is a surprise.
These wines will complement an herbed roasted chicken or pork dish.
International Grenache Day is this week if you’re looking for a reason to celebrate.
I will check in to read Clark’s participation, should be interesting.
Thanks to the Home Office for this special opportunity.
Greetings, Casemates homies. Today is a special treat for me to show off one of my favorite varieties. Here’s a video about it that will answer many questions:
@winesmith Your mention of the 2018 Grenache Dry Rosé reminded me that I had bought a case in anticipation of using it for one of my daughter’s weddings. However, upon tasting at the time I didn’t feel it was quite the thing to use. I probably opened 2 bottles earlier, but remembered that I had 1 or 2 on a rack (out of the box) waiting to try. So, tonight I pulled one out. Although my sense of smell (and therefore taste) is still lacking, it seems very nice (and my wife agreed).
Great video! Thanks for taking the time to make it. My cellar is fully loaded right now, but it seems like a case I’d really enjoy. I’ll have to sit and think about this one a bit.
In my opinion, though it is the youngest, the 2022 is the most drinkable and the least likely to age well. This is because throughout the State, the first five days of September hit 115F, which destroyed the phenolic strength, leaving us with deliciously fruity wines without much stuffing. This apples to just about any California red of that vintage. They’re easy to spot. I’m not saying to avoid them - they’re wonderful. Just don’t bother cellaring them.
On the other hand, the older vintages are still quite youthful. The 2019 and particularly the 2020 will repay as much as an additional decade in the cellar. They both have quite a bit of vibrant palate energy characteristic of SCM.
These two vintages are particularly marked with an earthy carob or cocoa element that brings a complexity. It took us years to track down the source. When visiting the site in 2018, one of our investors noticed a white flower growing throughout the vineyard which we later identified as tarweed. It is so called because it has a tarry creosote coating on its stem. This gets into the air and is taken up on the wax cuticle of the grape.
My colleague Barry Gnekow coined the term “air-oir” for this phenomenon that contributes to sense of place. In the Rhone, the mix of wild Provencal herbs imparts a similar earthy note the call “garrigue.”
Air-oir isn’t always a good thing. The grapes of the Napa Valley floor get coated with diesel exhaust because of the millions of tourists that drive up and down the valley. Other examples include vineyards next to a feed lot or an almond orchard. Barry uses flash detente to remove these odors. But in the case of the Bates Ranch, we really treasure the tarweed complexity and miss it in drought years when we don’t see it in the vineyard. 2022 is such a year. It’s a juicy strawberry nose that’s more delicious than profound.
We really loved the 2014 Bates Ranch and still have 1 sitting in the cellar for a special occasion. How do these compare? I’m excited to see your grenache offered again!
@knlprez These wines are really of the same ilk as the 2014. The 2019 is most like it, though denser. We also have some of the 2017 around, which is really the closest. I agree with the Lab rat descriptions of these four vintages, each of which has its own personality, due the the differing weather conditions, though none stray too far from the style of the 2014.
Like my friend msten, I too got the Golden Ticket for the 4 year WineSmith Grenache vertical. Unfortunately, I got hit with a cold late Saturday night and have been nursing it ever since.
Thankfully, feeling much better by this evening and was able to do a Midnight tasting with my lovely wife, after I rousted her off the couch, where she had fallen asleep watching one of her vapid “Housewives” shows.
Tasted through the wines and took some notes but need to get some sleep - work in the morning! Will post the lab rat report ASAP tomorrow from work. Shhh, don’t tell my boss!
On another note, I’m interested in splitting a few cases of red in the $12-20 range. I just bought the Donati ‘Ezio’ Cabernet Sauvignon and am willing to split it if there is interest. I live in Portsmouth.
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations)
WineSmith Grenache Day Vertical - $70 = 25.92%
Just to irritate @chipgreen, a Reverse Wine Snob review of the 2019, from June 2024…
The nose on the 2019 Winesmith Grenache is really something! Opening with enticing strawberry and black cherry you’ll also find cloves and all kinds of different spices and herbal notes that will keep you swirling and sniffing over and over again.
Taking a sip reveals a fruity and delicious wine. Featuring more strawberry and black cherry plus some plum in the mouth, it also has notes of licorice and mint, a very smooth mouthfeel and great balance.
It ends dry, very long and lasting with a savory and a bit grippy finish. This one is good right from the first pour but also continues to develop in the glass and into day 2 and even into day 3 where it might be even better, believe it or not!
This is a great example of the variety that is drinking wonderfully now, but also has the capacity to age for another decade(!) or so. It makes a great pick for your Thanksgiving table too.
You can watch a video of Clark talking about the wine here…
Yes I know a video of all four above…
Notes on the '21 from Joel Butler, The WineKnowLog (?)
2021 Grenache Bates Ranch Vineyard, Santa Cruz Mountains Much lighter, less dense garnet-brick ruby like 2014, but even lighter towards onion-skin. Smoky-earthy, savory bouquet more reminiscent of Sierra de Gredos in Spain; funky, with less red fruit aromas than in 2018/17. Medium body, solid flavors, with black cherry-pomegranate fruit, light but firm tannins and good acidity. The vineyard shows consistent savory, loam and kirsch notes across the vintages. Moderately rich finish, with solid, not too scratchy tannins adding light grip and structure. Sweet red fruit notes on finish; sour cherry, cooked strawberry are enhanced and given more dimension by the herbal(garrigue-like) scents that arise with aeration. Well focused, if still capable of aging about 3 years yet ready. Quite tasty. 6.7TA, 3.73pH, bottled 7/2025. Now 2029 12.9% ** $30 Jan 2026
Previous offer of the 2019 on Sept 16, 2022 right here
Might be another previous offer of the '19 hiding somewhere around the time of the RWS offer…
Golden Ticket received for WineSmith’s 4-year Grenache vertical! Grenache is a varietal that I quite enjoy and should probably drink more of. Happy to have this opportunity! I have made a point of collecting a number of verticals over the years, but rarely sit down and taste them side by side in this manner.
Bottles and corks from each, starting with the 2019 from left to right. You can see that the wine has penetrated the 2019 and 2020 corks more than the 2021 and 2022. Note that the 2019 cork appears to be composite, unlike the others.
Wifey and I tasted the wines in reverse order, to get a sense of how they change as they age.
2022
Light in color. Had to take a deep sniffy-sniff to detect the Strawberry/Raspberry nose. Tart cherry/strawberry palate with pronounced acidity. A little bitterness on the back end. Lighter style of Grenache with little to no tannins.
2021
The 2021 was the lightest in color of the wines. It had an earthier nose than the '22. Strawberry, garrigue and… geranium? My LW thought she detected some smoke and I know there were fires in 2021, but I was unable to detect any smoke taint. I explained “garrigue” to her, which mostly refers to underbrush, and suggested maybe that’s what she identified but she is stickIng with “smoke” while qualifying it with “but not in a bad way”. Smoother, with a little less acidity than the '22. Loamy, red berry palate. Very light tannins on the finish.
2020
Darkest of the 4 vintages, the 2020 has a nose of Strawberries and Violets with a hint of spice. Similar palate with some herbaceous notes that carry through the finish. More integrated than the newer vintages, this wine has come together nicely. Moderate tannins on the finish.
2019
Darker than the '21 & '22, but lighter in color than the 2020. Cherry/Strawberry nose with a hint of funk/mushroom. I kept sniffing this one, as it had the most expressive nose of the wines. Well balanced, it seems like all the components have knitted together into a harmonious melange of fruit, earth and light spice, both on the nose and palate. Moderate tannins.
Summary
It was fun to experience this 4-year Grenache vertical from WineSmith. We could really see, smell and taste the evolution of the wines with each year of additional age! We enjoyed all 4 wines, but my personal favorite was the 2019, while my wife preferred the lighter profile of the 2022. Will definitely have to do vertical tastings more often. I suppose that would be a good excuse to break out the Coravin, which we almost never use.
Thank you to Clark, WD, Terry and Alice for bestowing this most Golden of Golden Tickets upon us!
Had to get my order in before writing this. Didn’t want to get shut out.
The wife likes Grenache and especially took a liking to Winesmith and put a major dent in my case while I was away.
Last Fall/Winter i bought a case of Qupe Grenache here and had a blind taste off. She liked the Qupe better BUT its due to the side-by-side comparison, the age difference and as Clark mentioned impact terroir has on Grenache. A few weeks later we the Winesmith version at dinner and she said “I really like this”. So one isn’t really “better” just different.
As usual a different year will go into the kids Christmas case and I will entice them to visit with a meal and the chance to sample a different vintage at our house.
One last thing, Clark’s Sparkling Grenache was exceptional, cant remember the vintage.
Cheers!
I’ve passed on several offers recently in an attempt to limit they number of cases we have to move when we buy a new house, but a Winesmith vertical?? In for a case!
I’ll make room right next my 5 bottles of the 2018. Out of impulsive curiosity I opened a bottle last night after seeing this offer and, wow, I can’t wait to try these others next!
Thanks to @WccWineGirl Alice for diverting to @msten the Lab Rat opportunity she offered to me, but declined as I just don’t currently have time to do a proper Rat Report.
That said, after it went live, I found I had four vintages, all screw top barrel samples with no headspace, from Clark, and two of them are offered here, but I tasted the other two, just out of curiosity.
One vintage older is the '18 that from the pics appears substantially darker than any pictured here. It seems to closely follow the notes from the WKL notes, with garrigue-like notes overlaid by the still persistent cherry/strawberry fruit.
The other I opened, again screw top with no headspace, is labeled as '21 Lot 2, that I understand Clark didn’t bottle. This one is rich with the same fruit profile, but lacks the earthiness described for the others, and is a bit cloudy, but still tasty.
I’ve had a rather limited number of barrel samples, but somehow these all found their way into a dusty corner of the cellar, and emerged quite fresh, lacking any barrel contact.
I guess I really should have accepted that Rat, would have been a very interesting and educational comparison…
WineSmith Grenache Day Vertical
WineSmith Grenache, Santa Cruz Mountains
2019 WineSmith Grenache, Santa Cruz Mountains
Specs
2020 WineSmith Grenache, Santa Cruz Mountains
Specs
2021 WineSmith Grenache, Santa Cruz Mountains
Specs
2022 WineSmith Grenache, Santa Cruz Mountains
Specs
What’s Included
4-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
$480/Case at WineSmith Cellars
About The Winery
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Monday, Oct 5 - Tuesday, Oct 6
WineSmith Grenache Day Vertical
4 bottles for $89.99 22.50/bottle + $2/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $199.99 $16.67/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
2019
2020
2021
2022
I was surprised to find that my lab rat assignment was a four year vertical of Winesmith Grenache grown in the Santa Cruz Mountains on the Bates Ranch.
I will ask Clark to discuss the vintage conditions, terroir, tarweed and “air-oir”.
I poured the wine in four identical glasses, waited 30 minutes and tasted at 60-65 degrees, from the youngest to oldest.
The 2019 and 2021 are medium garnet and clear. The 2022 is a light garnet and clear and the 2020 is a dark garnet and translucent. The garnet had a slight orange undertone.
Faint strawberry and garrigue on the nose of all of the wines. This is a cool climate grenache, soft and juicy is not in its vocabulary. TA 6.7, 13% alc, tart, with moderate herbal notes, moderate tannins and minerality. Medium body and a very long herbal, peppery finish.
Very minor differences in the wines: 2019 had softer tannins and a more ethereal mouthfeel. 2020 had more body, 2021 has a more pronounced tea aroma. 2022 is so pale that the structure is a surprise.
These wines will complement an herbed roasted chicken or pork dish.
International Grenache Day is this week if you’re looking for a reason to celebrate.
I will check in to read Clark’s participation, should be interesting.
Thanks to the Home Office for this special opportunity.
@msten 4 pack surprise…nice!
@msten jealous of the 4-pack rattage!
Are these wines trending to the simple or complex? Is the additional she on the 2019 starting to show in the wine’s development?
Greetings, Casemates homies. Today is a special treat for me to show off one of my favorite varieties. Here’s a video about it that will answer many questions:
@winesmith Your mention of the 2018 Grenache Dry Rosé reminded me that I had bought a case in anticipation of using it for one of my daughter’s weddings. However, upon tasting at the time I didn’t feel it was quite the thing to use. I probably opened 2 bottles earlier, but remembered that I had 1 or 2 on a rack (out of the box) waiting to try. So, tonight I pulled one out. Although my sense of smell (and therefore taste) is still lacking, it seems very nice (and my wife agreed).
Great video! Thanks for taking the time to make it. My cellar is fully loaded right now, but it seems like a case I’d really enjoy. I’ll have to sit and think about this one a bit.
In my opinion, though it is the youngest, the 2022 is the most drinkable and the least likely to age well. This is because throughout the State, the first five days of September hit 115F, which destroyed the phenolic strength, leaving us with deliciously fruity wines without much stuffing. This apples to just about any California red of that vintage. They’re easy to spot. I’m not saying to avoid them - they’re wonderful. Just don’t bother cellaring them.
On the other hand, the older vintages are still quite youthful. The 2019 and particularly the 2020 will repay as much as an additional decade in the cellar. They both have quite a bit of vibrant palate energy characteristic of SCM.
These two vintages are particularly marked with an earthy carob or cocoa element that brings a complexity. It took us years to track down the source. When visiting the site in 2018, one of our investors noticed a white flower growing throughout the vineyard which we later identified as tarweed. It is so called because it has a tarry creosote coating on its stem. This gets into the air and is taken up on the wax cuticle of the grape.
My colleague Barry Gnekow coined the term “air-oir” for this phenomenon that contributes to sense of place. In the Rhone, the mix of wild Provencal herbs imparts a similar earthy note the call “garrigue.”
Air-oir isn’t always a good thing. The grapes of the Napa Valley floor get coated with diesel exhaust because of the millions of tourists that drive up and down the valley. Other examples include vineyards next to a feed lot or an almond orchard. Barry uses flash detente to remove these odors. But in the case of the Bates Ranch, we really treasure the tarweed complexity and miss it in drought years when we don’t see it in the vineyard. 2022 is such a year. It’s a juicy strawberry nose that’s more delicious than profound.
@winesmith
We really loved the 2014 Bates Ranch and still have 1 sitting in the cellar for a special occasion. How do these compare? I’m excited to see your grenache offered again!
@knlprez These wines are really of the same ilk as the 2014. The 2019 is most like it, though denser. We also have some of the 2017 around, which is really the closest. I agree with the Lab rat descriptions of these four vintages, each of which has its own personality, due the the differing weather conditions, though none stray too far from the style of the 2014.
UPCOMING
Like my friend msten, I too got the Golden Ticket for the 4 year WineSmith Grenache vertical. Unfortunately, I got hit with a cold late Saturday night and have been nursing it ever since.
Thankfully, feeling much better by this evening and was able to do a Midnight tasting with my lovely wife, after I rousted her off the couch, where she had fallen asleep watching one of her vapid “Housewives” shows.
Tasted through the wines and took some notes but need to get some sleep - work in the morning! Will post the lab rat report ASAP tomorrow from work. Shhh, don’t tell my boss!
@chipgreen and the “wall” of wine!
@chipgreen love your tags! How do you make them? What do you do with them when you’re finished? Are they a keepsake or landfill?
@KitMarlot
I use these tags from Amazon. I keep them after using both sides, storing them in their original boxes.
Ordering a case. Will share Boston/So NH Area.
@telcomman I’d be interested in 1 of each, could meet up in Seacoast NH area, I’m down that way a good bit.
@telcomman @telcomman I would do one of each if there is enough.
On another note, I’m interested in splitting a few cases of red in the $12-20 range. I just bought the Donati ‘Ezio’ Cabernet Sauvignon and am willing to split it if there is interest. I live in Portsmouth.
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations)
WineSmith Grenache Day Vertical - $70 = 25.92%
Just to irritate @chipgreen, a Reverse Wine Snob review of the 2019, from June 2024…
The nose on the 2019 Winesmith Grenache is really something! Opening with enticing strawberry and black cherry you’ll also find cloves and all kinds of different spices and herbal notes that will keep you swirling and sniffing over and over again.
Taking a sip reveals a fruity and delicious wine. Featuring more strawberry and black cherry plus some plum in the mouth, it also has notes of licorice and mint, a very smooth mouthfeel and great balance.
It ends dry, very long and lasting with a savory and a bit grippy finish. This one is good right from the first pour but also continues to develop in the glass and into day 2 and even into day 3 where it might be even better, believe it or not!
This is a great example of the variety that is drinking wonderfully now, but also has the capacity to age for another decade(!) or so. It makes a great pick for your Thanksgiving table too.
You can watch a video of Clark talking about the wine here…
Yes I know a video of all four above…
Notes on the '21 from Joel Butler, The WineKnowLog (?)
2021 Grenache Bates Ranch Vineyard, Santa Cruz Mountains Much lighter, less dense garnet-brick ruby like 2014, but even lighter towards onion-skin. Smoky-earthy, savory bouquet more reminiscent of Sierra de Gredos in Spain; funky, with less red fruit aromas than in 2018/17. Medium body, solid flavors, with black cherry-pomegranate fruit, light but firm tannins and good acidity. The vineyard shows consistent savory, loam and kirsch notes across the vintages. Moderately rich finish, with solid, not too scratchy tannins adding light grip and structure. Sweet red fruit notes on finish; sour cherry, cooked strawberry are enhanced and given more dimension by the herbal(garrigue-like) scents that arise with aeration. Well focused, if still capable of aging about 3 years yet ready. Quite tasty. 6.7TA, 3.73pH, bottled 7/2025. Now 2029 12.9% ** $30 Jan 2026
Previous offer of the 2019 on Sept 16, 2022
right here
Might be another previous offer of the '19 hiding somewhere around the time of the RWS offer…
fwiw
Despite all the wine I have stacked up, I couldn’t say no to a four pack.
Now to hide it from SWMBO when it comes in…
I was certain I posted this picture with the report. Maybe a mod can move it.
[mod: yup, just a bit slow here, fast and furious at work]
Golden Ticket received for WineSmith’s 4-year Grenache vertical! Grenache is a varietal that I quite enjoy and should probably drink more of. Happy to have this opportunity! I have made a point of collecting a number of verticals over the years, but rarely sit down and taste them side by side in this manner.
Bottles and corks from each, starting with the 2019 from left to right. You can see that the wine has penetrated the 2019 and 2020 corks more than the 2021 and 2022. Note that the 2019 cork appears to be composite, unlike the others.
Wifey and I tasted the wines in reverse order, to get a sense of how they change as they age.
2022
Light in color. Had to take a deep sniffy-sniff to detect the Strawberry/Raspberry nose. Tart cherry/strawberry palate with pronounced acidity. A little bitterness on the back end. Lighter style of Grenache with little to no tannins.
2021
The 2021 was the lightest in color of the wines. It had an earthier nose than the '22. Strawberry, garrigue and… geranium? My LW thought she detected some smoke and I know there were fires in 2021, but I was unable to detect any smoke taint. I explained “garrigue” to her, which mostly refers to underbrush, and suggested maybe that’s what she identified but she is stickIng with “smoke” while qualifying it with “but not in a bad way”. Smoother, with a little less acidity than the '22. Loamy, red berry palate. Very light tannins on the finish.
2020
Darkest of the 4 vintages, the 2020 has a nose of Strawberries and Violets with a hint of spice. Similar palate with some herbaceous notes that carry through the finish. More integrated than the newer vintages, this wine has come together nicely. Moderate tannins on the finish.
2019
Darker than the '21 & '22, but lighter in color than the 2020. Cherry/Strawberry nose with a hint of funk/mushroom. I kept sniffing this one, as it had the most expressive nose of the wines. Well balanced, it seems like all the components have knitted together into a harmonious melange of fruit, earth and light spice, both on the nose and palate. Moderate tannins.
Summary
It was fun to experience this 4-year Grenache vertical from WineSmith. We could really see, smell and taste the evolution of the wines with each year of additional age! We enjoyed all 4 wines, but my personal favorite was the 2019, while my wife preferred the lighter profile of the 2022. Will definitely have to do vertical tastings more often. I suppose that would be a good excuse to break out the Coravin, which we almost never use.
Thank you to Clark, WD, Terry and Alice for bestowing this most Golden of Golden Tickets upon us!
Had to get my order in before writing this. Didn’t want to get shut out.
The wife likes Grenache and especially took a liking to Winesmith and put a major dent in my case while I was away.
Last Fall/Winter i bought a case of Qupe Grenache here and had a blind taste off. She liked the Qupe better BUT its due to the side-by-side comparison, the age difference and as Clark mentioned impact terroir has on Grenache. A few weeks later we the Winesmith version at dinner and she said “I really like this”. So one isn’t really “better” just different.
As usual a different year will go into the kids Christmas case and I will entice them to visit with a meal and the chance to sample a different vintage at our house.
One last thing, Clark’s Sparkling Grenache was exceptional, cant remember the vintage.
Cheers!
I’ve passed on several offers recently in an attempt to limit they number of cases we have to move when we buy a new house, but a Winesmith vertical?? In for a case!
I’ll make room right next my 5 bottles of the 2018. Out of impulsive curiosity I opened a bottle last night after seeing this offer and, wow, I can’t wait to try these others next!
Thanks to @WccWineGirl Alice for diverting to @msten the Lab Rat opportunity she offered to me, but declined as I just don’t currently have time to do a proper Rat Report.
That said, after it went live, I found I had four vintages, all screw top barrel samples with no headspace, from Clark, and two of them are offered here, but I tasted the other two, just out of curiosity.
One vintage older is the '18 that from the pics appears substantially darker than any pictured here. It seems to closely follow the notes from the WKL notes, with garrigue-like notes overlaid by the still persistent cherry/strawberry fruit.
The other I opened, again screw top with no headspace, is labeled as '21 Lot 2, that I understand Clark didn’t bottle. This one is rich with the same fruit profile, but lacks the earthiness described for the others, and is a bit cloudy, but still tasty.
I’ve had a rather limited number of barrel samples, but somehow these all found their way into a dusty corner of the cellar, and emerged quite fresh, lacking any barrel contact.
I guess I really should have accepted that Rat, would have been a very interesting and educational comparison…
Does anyone know when summer hold ships? Out of town the first 11 days of October.
@free2day33611
The summer offer suggests October, so that doesn’t really pin it down all that well.
just learned that my $20 HUMBUG coupon expired though there is no date on it. sad
@louas
No expiration was stated on the paper coupon, but WD mentioned online that they would expire 1 year after being issued.
First buy in quite a while, looking forward to it.
Anyone in SoCal (San Diego) want to part with a 4-bottle set?