2006 GRENACHE “PURISIMA MOUNTAIN VINEYARD”
- Notes Coming Soon
2005 GRENACHE “PURISIMA MOUNTAIN VINEYARD”
This wine is
90% Grenache and 10% Syrah from the Purisima Mountain Vineyard just west of
Los Olivos in the Santa Ynez Valley. Purisima Mountain is owned by the
Beckmen family that owns Beckmen Winery, and in its short history has risen
to the top of the quality ladder in the Central Coast.
2005 was a great vintage on the Central Coast, with some of the best
Grenache and Syrah that I’ve seen from Purisima Mountain. The Grenache
(Tablas Creek clone) was harvested on October 21st with great flavor and
balance. Grenache needs to get a little riper than Syrah to come into
balance and this was harvested at a perfect 25.0 brix.
The grapes
were destemmed then cold soaked for a couple days. Fermentation was done in
small fermenters and punched down manually twice a day. After fermentation
the wine was kept in a fairly reduced state and aged in neutral barrel for
10 months. The Syrah was blended in shortly before bottling in August 2006.
131 cases were produced.
I’m a big
Grenache fan, and we’ve planted six acres of it in the Edna Valley so we can
make more in the future. It’s kind of the Rhone producer’s answer to pinot
noir – silky, seductive, somewhat elusive. Difficult to grow and difficult
to coax a lot of color out of it. This one has a beautiful ruby red color
with sweet fruit and perfumed aromas. The flavors go deep with cherries and
hard spices and hints of herb. I’m sure this wine will age nicely, it
certainly has the balance and stuffing for the cellar, but I think it’s
pretty nice to drink it in its youthful, exuberant state!
