2003 PURISIMA MOUNTAIN GRENACHE

Santa Barbara CountyGRSB

There is something about grenache that is truly compelling, and in some way it reminds me of pinot noir. Like pinot, the color is ruby, not dark. And, like pinot, the point of the wine is exotic aromatics, zesty flavors and copious fine tannins, not syrupy richness. And also like pinot, the best examples are usually the product of extremely low yields.

The flowering of the grenache at Beckman’s Purisima Mountain Vineyard went horribly in the spring of 2003, so the grapes for this wine yielded a tiny one half ton per acre. The clusters, if you could call them that, had hardly 15 berries each, so they looked like a mass of stems dotted with a few berries. I had my doubts that we could make anything of quality from them; however, the wine turned out spectacularly well. Brimming with the aromas of raspberries and possessing a savory palate impression that just doesn’t quit, this wine has a personality that is irresistible.