Grenache often promises a spicy good time — candied and carefree, with jubilant fruit. It’s a bright, wine, without the heft and deep color of more stringent reds.
In the hands of Gregory Graham, however, the varietal also develops a refined and worldly character.
This is evident in his 2009 Gregory Graham grenache. Along with cheerful aromas of red cherry and fresh raspberry, one finds indications of old world opulence — ripe fig, chocolate, heather and gorse with distant drifts of smoldering charcoal.
A sip reveals a grenache of substance. There are bright notes — ripe red berries, for example. Enthusiasm ripples over the palate like confetti. But these are bolstered by baritone impressions of dried strawberries and raspberry jam. A beat of fig and milk chocolate, a scent of vanilla, dusty spice and parched citrus zest urge the party along.
It’s a gorgeous grenache, something Graham achieve through a few nifty tricks.
He begins by shuffling things in the field. The vines are planted in sparse volcanic soil and he thins to one cluster of grapes per shoot. Once he wrests everything to the crush pad, he siphons off about 10 percent of the juice — the old saignee method.
“Grenache is always about concentration,” Graham explained. “We make the vines work a little more.”
The effort provides the bright varietal with a contemplative nature, as well. A turn in a mix of French and American oak, both new and more neutral, lends even more depth.
“This wine — if you don’t do it right in the vineyard and winery, you’re disappointed,” Graham said.
No worries. Graham is a meticulous winemaker. And the 2013 Gregory Graham grenache will not disappoint.
