2018 Grenache, Spear Vineyard

What a journey this wine has had.  Thanks to COVID this wine got to spend an extra year in barrel before we could bottle it and I have to say it benefitted from that experience.  This wine is meant to show off the leaner, lighter side of Grenache and that extra time in barrel seems to have helped it develop even more of that spicy, woodsy character Grenache is known for.  Not from the barrels themselves, but just pure varietal expression.   The fruit comes from a steep hillside block that faces due South and it gets shrouded most mornings by ocean fog that then recedes mid-day and lets the sun do its magic before returning again in the late afternoon.  We treated this wine in the same way we treat our Pinot Noir… Gently.  We use small 1.5 ton fermenters, no new oak, 25% whole clusters and a whopping 40 months in barrel.  This is special stuff.