TN: Spanish Garnacha Blanca - wow

[Kent_Comley]

@larry schaffer

One other thing about Spanish Garnacha Blancas - they tend to have a bitter edge due to the phenolic nature of the variety’s skin.

Cheers.

This one not so much, just a touch of citrus rind. Maybe not much pressings in final wine? Quite textural though.

[Barry_Paul_Price]

@Kent Comley

@Barry Paul Price

@Kent Comley

Good work Barry.
It is a screaming value. If it is to your liking I would recommend that you buy a couple more and bury them for a decade. You will be amazed at the transformation and additional complexity that the cellaring affords.

You read my mind.

If only I could read my wife’s…

Maybe, maybe not!

[larry_schaffer]

@Barry Paul Price

@larry schaffer

One other thing about Spanish Garnacha Blancas - they tend to have a bitter edge due to the phenolic nature of the variety’s skin.

Cheers.

No bueno por mi.

It doesn’t have to taste that way, my friend One must know how to deal with it!!!

[MChang]

What kind of white riojas are you buying? There’s tons of good ones for $10-20 and even ldh is 20-30.

@Barry Paul Price

@larry schaffer

@Barry Paul Price

Would be curious to try a Spanish grenache blanc. I haven’t been crazy about the Cali expression of the varietal, but I do tend to love Spanish whites of various varieties and blends. Maybe it’s the winemaking style, perhaps the climate, or just the different grapes.

I’m curious about what you have not liked about domestic versions of this variety?

I would say that we’re still someone in the infancy of this variety here, and defining what it is is not quite there yet.

Thanks for playing

And you know me, I LOVE trying interesting varietals and LOVE seeing US wine growers and winemakers experiment so I still try it repeatedly to see different expressions and evolution of it.

My memories are not super detailed, to be honest, Larry. I do recall having one at Cornell Winery Tasting Room (made by a Central Cal producer) that had a simplistic fruitiness of melon and white grape with a slightly bitter citrus-rind finish that I was not fond of.

Another time, it seemed like an incomplete, imbalanced expression neither as complex and textured as roussanne nor marsanne, nor as crisp and light and clean as a sauv blanc or many italian whites. That leaves it in no mans land for me, with simplistic fruit and weight, and either no real interesting finish or a bitter one. I’ve tried it very chilled, cool, ambient room temp, and verging on lukewarm and in no case have I craved more.

In any case, it hasn’t impressed me yet, nor delighted me. Even when in a blend where it is the main variety, I suaully don’t love it. This is probably why I liked that Tablas Creek’s Cote and Esprit were often made with more Roussanne (Or combined Roussanne/Marsanne) than Grenache Blanc.

But I am always game to continue trying. And I will likely try it again at some point.

For now, Grenache Blanc just doesn’t hold a candle to the dynamics, body, ageability and value Central Cal Roussannes and Marsannes bring at half the price of a white rioja. Yep, I find Central Cal Roussannes and Marsanne remind me of some white riojas (despite varieties being different).

Which is also exactly why I want to see what these Spaniards are doing with Grenache Blanc, since they know it well. I tend to love what they do with white riojas and that’s one of the 9 grapes they can include, if I am not mistaken.

[Andrew_Hamilton]

Cheers for the note Kent. Sounds like a white that would suit my palate and the price point is definitely good. I reckon I’ll grab a 3 pack and give it a go!

[Barry_Paul_Price]

@Mich@el Ch@ng

What kind of white riojas are you buying? There’s tons of good ones for $10-20 and even ldh is 20-30.

Hi Times charges $40 for the 2003 ldh tondonia blanco, according to wine searcher. And it’s worth it, I think. Hey man, let me know which riojas you recommend and where to pick em up. I am totally game at $10-20 if it’s been recommended.

[Kent_Comley]

@Andrew Hamilton

Cheers for the note Kent. Sounds like a white that would suit my palate and the price point is definitely good. I reckon I’ll grab a 3 pack and give it a go!

Good work Andrew. I hope that you enjoy it. It is nice to take a detour every now and then.

[bob_parsons_alberta]

Sure sounds like white I could get into…as I tuck into a Roussanne from the CdR.

[MChang]

There are bottles of ldh gravonia for $20-25.

There are interesting 100% young viuras from cvne, puelles, and vivianco for $10 and marques de murietta blanco is about $20. The laventura is an interesting one for $20 as well.

@Barry Paul Price

@Mich@el Ch@ng

What kind of white riojas are you buying? There’s tons of good ones for $10-20 and even ldh is 20-30.

Hi Times charges $40 for the 2003 ldh tondonia blanco, according to wine searcher. And it’s worth it, I think. Hey man, let me know which riojas you recommend and where to pick em up. I am totally game at $10-20 if it’s been recommended.

[larry_schaffer]

Just note that many of the wines being mentioned here are not Grenache Blancs or even dominated by that grape. Just an FYI . . .

Cheers.

[Andrew_Hamilton]

Three pack is en route Kent! I’ll chime back in once I’ve had a look.

[GregT]

Kent - it’s probably better-known in the US as being from the S Rhone, but there are a few of them in Spain, since Garnacha is originally from Aragon. Therefore there’s a lot in Cariñena of course, and in other places relatively nearby, like Monstant, Priorat, Navarra, etc.

You have to be careful with it though because it can be really flabby. When you taste along side say, an Albariño from Rías Baixas, the latter often had more acidity and zip. We used to import a few that were pretty good, but you have to choose carefully. It is often blended, particularly with Macabéo, and I think that’s what gives it the bitter notes people mentioned - it’s a telltale quality of Macabéo to have a slightly bitter finish. The Tondonia is nothing like a representative version though.

As far as labeling laws, the wine has to comply with the requirements of the local DO as well as the general Spanish and EU rules. If you’re importing, it has to be at least 75% to have a monovarietal designation, but not for blends - you can put the varieties on the label as percentages or not.

I haven’t had a lot of these grapes as California iterations, so can’t say much about how they do here as opposed to Spain, but people will figure it out.

[larry_schaffer]

This variety actually shows good acidity here in CA relative to the Rhone - the grapes are usually picked with pHs in the 3.1-3.3 range in my area.

Cheers.

[Tran_Bronstein]

Get the Remelluri Rioja from Spain if you can. A mostly Garnacha Blanca blend that is absolutely delicious. Pricy at $80 CDN but totally worth it.

[Kent_Comley]

@GregT

Kent - it’s probably better-known in the US as being from the S Rhone, but there are a few of them in Spain, since Garnacha is originally from Aragon. Therefore there’s a lot in Cariñena of course, and in other places relatively nearby, like Monstant, Priorat, Navarra, etc.

You have to be careful with it though because it can be really flabby. When you taste along side say, an Albariño from Rías Baixas, the latter often had more acidity and zip. We used to import a few that were pretty good, but you have to choose carefully. It is often blended, particularly with Macabéo, and I think that’s what gives it the bitter notes people mentioned - it’s a telltale quality of Macabéo to have a slightly bitter finish. The Tondonia is nothing like a representative version though.

As far as labeling laws, the wine has to comply with the requirements of the local DO as well as the general Spanish and EU rules. If you’re importing, it has to be at least 75% to have a monovarietal designation, but not for blends - you can put the varieties on the label as percentages or not.

I haven’t had a lot of these grapes as California iterations, so can’t say much about how they do here as opposed to Spain, but people will figure it out.

Greg,
Thanks for the info. I actually had a Grenache blanc from south of France a couple of nights ago, will need to check details. Was a bit less tensile than this wine, with a hint of RS on the back end. Pretty decent nevertheless.
Cheers,
Kent

[GregT]

It’s usually blended there too, and often used in fortified wine in places like Rivesaltes. I’m going to check out a few from CA this weekend - it would be interesting to see the dif Larry describes, which is a bit of a turnaround from the stereotype of CA vs European wine.

[Andrew_Hamilton]

Kent, thanks for the recommendation. I looked at a bottle of this last night and my experiences were very similar to yours. Nose opens with melon and stone fruits. Palate is taunt, integrated, well balanced, medium length and finishes with a nice acidic/dry finish. To me there’s nothing out of place and it’s perfectly aligned with my palate preferences. Excellent food wine too, abv only 13%. I reckon I’ll have a chat with my SO and put a case order in and follow your lead re the house staple. This would be great with seafood in summer I suspect. It paired very well with the chicken and leek pie we had last night.

Good looking out Kent!

[larry_schaffer]

@GregT

It’s usually blended there too, and often used in fortified wine in places like Rivesaltes. I’m going to check out a few from CA this weekend - it would be interesting to see the dif Larry describes, which is a bit of a turnaround from the stereotype of CA vs European wine.

And???

[Kent_Comley]

Glad you liked it Andrew. Always concerns me when people actually take my recommendations!

[GregT]

And???

Aha - he checked in on the thread!

Came back to see you a couple times but missed you. Didn’t have much Grenache Blanc actually, but as you suggested, Epiphany’s was good. We were a little limited because one guy had medical issues and the others were jet lagged. Your rosé was, as expected, the one to beat and nobody in the neighborhood really did so. I did find a couple places I didn’t know - Kaena made a good rosé from Grenache - very crisp and without that bubblegum note that some of the poorer examples show. And The Story of Soil was totally unexpected - I figured I’d get a load of BS but they were completely unpretentious and had good wines - their Grenache was tart, not jammy, and a real surprise. It actually reminded me of something from Priorat with the acidity backing up the fruit. I’m going to stay in touch with them.

And of course, your wines were across the board as expected. Had the Marsanne just last night matter of fact. It seems to have more weight than many whites. As some of my companions put it, a white for red lovers.