Garnacha/Grenache

Deep garnet in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose is earthy with some "merde" notes along with cherries and black cherries.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, black cherries with some earthiness.  A bit drying on the finish.  Great energy and balance.  This is about at peak but should offer up five to ten more years of top drinking.  This is great on its own, but better with food.  This would be great with cassoulet or a vegetarian bean based cassoulet.  

This is a blend of 55% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 15% Merlot, and 10% Marselan from the Rhone Valley, France.  Purple in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has cherries, some black raspberries, slight olives and spice.  Soft texture.  Medium bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, red fruits with some spice/black pepper.  Moderate finish.  This drinks well on its own and will work with many foods.  The Kermit Lynch website suggest fried chicken and that sounds like a good match.  Drink over the next three to five years.  

This is a 60/40 blend of Grenache and Syrah from southern France.  Purple in color with ruby hues.  The nose is deep with black cherries, black raspberries, spices and slight anise.  Medium bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, flavors of black cherries.    Solid finish.  This is drinking well now and should continue for another two to three more years.  It is nice on its own but probably better with food.  A nice choice for Pizza night (no Pineapple).  

This is a blend 60% Garnacha Tinta,and 40% Viura from Rioja, Spain.  Light but intense pink/orange in color, clear and bright.  The nose is lovely with cherries, strawberries, minerals and slight citrus.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, this has nice balance with good fruit.  Cherries, slight black cherries, strawberries and also some minerality.  Good finish.  This is very food friendly and should work well with most foods and it drinks well on its own.  A nice pairing with Sauteed vegetables over rice.  Drink over the next year or two.  Nice value.

A blast from the past.  100% Grenache made into a full throttle dessert wine.  This spend a long time in barrel prior to bottling.  18.5% abv and NOT fortified.  At age 21, this was singing.  Mostly brown but with some red hues, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has raspberries, dark chocolate and a bit of spice.  Full bodied.  Viscous.  On the palate, this is slightly sweet.  Deep and complex.  Contemplative.  This seems like its at peak but should have some time left.  Really a special wine.  Congrats to Tim Spear.  

Summertime is always a great time for rosé, but of course, all year long is even better. Rosé should always be low alcohol with light, bright fruit, and a wine that works with a variety of foods, and should be a wine that is not overly complicated. Côte Mas, which I have reviewed for several vintages, is a consistently good, inexpensive rosé that works well pretty much whenever. This iteration is comprised of mainly Grenache with Cinsault and Syrah. It offers bright strawberry, cranberry and pomegranate, light rhubarb and fresh cherry.

One of  the best Grenache wines made in the USA but it does have a very different profile.  Served blind to a group of experienced tasters, no one guessed Grenache although there were some Syrah guesses.

This is 80% grenache with 10% Syrah and 10% Cinsault.  It is a more traditionally styled CdP.  Garnet in color, mostly clear and bright with some purple swirls.  The nose has black cherries, cherries, black raspberries, slight floral notes, and spice.  Medium bodied.  Light tannins.  On the palate, this has flavors of black cherries, black raspberries, slight earthiness and spice.  This seems about fully mature but should drink well for another five to eight years.  Better with food, this worked well with assorted pizzas.