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:
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.
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!
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.
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:
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.
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!
Ordering a case. Will share Boston/So NH Area.