Good looking wines in Desire Lines’ new release including two completely new offers:
2019 WINDS OF CHANGE RED WINE, CALIFORNIA
The 2019 is a delightfully approachable blend built around Syrah (73%), with the addition of Mourvèdre (10%), Carignan (8%), Grenache (6%), and Petite Sirah (3%), all from vineyards near and dear to us in the windy areas of California that keep us coming back for more (think Petaluma Gap and the Oakley Sands) along with older plantings of Rhône varieties that should be far more popular than they are. Strawberry and red cherry fruit compote on the nose complemented by savory notes and a subtle spice, with fine-grained tannins on the palate and a terrific juiciness and succulence.
2019 EXPERIMENTAL SERIES NO. 3 – WILEY VINEYARD RIESLING, ANDERSON VALLEY.
Wiley Vineyard is colder than Cole Ranch with a prominent marine influence from the nearby Pacific Ocean, giving a wine that’s relatively more taught and laser-focused. Because the two wines are made so similarly (whole cluster pressing with cold settling in tank, followed by fermentation in neutral barrels, where the wines are left on fine lees until bottling in the summer) the difference between the wines is simply vineyard expression. Whereas Cole Ranch is extravagantly perfumed and exotic in the glass with a bracing tension and viscousness on the palate, Wiley is pure and lean on the palate (3 g/L RS) and characterized by lemon citrus, resinous herbs, and a slight brackishness on the nose. In other words, it tastes just as it should – like Riesling from a cold, maritime vineyard at the edge of ripening in the Deep End of Anderson Valley.
2018 GRIFFIN’S LAIR VINEYARD SYRAH, PETALUMA GAP
2019 LICHAU HILL VINEYARD CABERNET SAUVIGNON, PETALUMA GAP
I’m excited to try the new red and the new Riesling since I love their Cole Ranch one. Pricing is, as always, super reasonable and Emily is always such a friendly help with orders.
Love their take on Griffin’s Lair. The 2015 was delicious but still quite young in November. Going to open a 2016 tomorrow to check in and celebrate the release.
I was all excited to buy until I saw the shipping cost. $10.00 a bottle to ship 4 bottles to the east coast. $40.
If any of you are buying a case, the cost is $30.
Yep - $30 for six or more … and both the Red and the Riesling are $22 a bottle … putting together a six pack was not hard or costly. I’d like them to stay in business so I can keep drinking their great wines.
In for Griffins Lair, Winds of Change, and the Riesling (which I also wishlisted). I’ve never had anything from this producer so thanks everyone for the recommendations!
The new California appellation red table wine sounds irresistible!
"2019 WINDS OF CHANGE RED WINE, CALIFORNIA
…which brings us to a new wine for us! Introducing our 2019 Winds of Change Red Wine which is, quite simply, Desire Lines – our whole journey – captured in one bottle. The wine is our ode to California’s cool and windy places, where some of our favorite varieties take on new life—Syrah becomes lithe and perfumed, Carignan becomes vibrant and rich, and Mourvèdre smells like a strawberry pie cooling on the windowsill on a sultry summer night
"The 2019 is a delightfully approachable blend built around Syrah (73%), with the addition of Mourvèdre (10%), Carignan (8%), Grenache (6%), and Petite Sirah (3%), all from vineyards near and dear to us in the windy areas of California that keep us coming back for more (think Petaluma Gap and the Oakley Sands) along with older plantings of Rhône varieties that should be far more popular than they are. Strawberry and red cherry fruit compote on the nose complemented by savory notes and a subtle spice, with fine-grained tannins on the palate and a terrific juiciness and succulence.
“The blend is pulled from barrels that show a little softer and less tense than those that we choose for the vineyard designates, rendering a wine that is both fresh and rich, textured and round. We’ve lovingly referred to this as our ‘back the truck up’ wine. I have no doubt that this wine will benefit from time in bottle as well, just like its vineyard designate-brethren, but all the same the wine is built to be more immediately user-friendly. As we say on the back label – may this wine be a wind of change for these underrated varieties that we love so much!”
Wow, that’s a great endorsement. Would you say these wines are be ready to go right now or do they need aging? I’m assuming the former for the winds of change and the latter for the Griffin’s Lair. No clue for the Riesling!
The vineyard designates usually benefit from a few years of bottle aging, although last year’s Evangelho was delicious right away (it may have since shut down although I have not checked in on it recently).
Agreed…the Shake Ridge usually has a short window just after release that’s similar to the Evangelho with a longer decant, but haven’t checked in on them in the mid-term
We aim to strike a balance between immediate charm and the capacity to evolve and improve with age, at the expense of the wines occasionally showing a little closed and modest on pop and pour (as a reminder – decant, decant, decant!).
He also notes about the Winds of Change red:
We’ve lovingly referred to this as our “back the truck up” wine. I have no doubt that this wine will benefit from time in bottle as well, just like its vineyard designate-brethren, but all the same the wine is built to be more immediately user-friendly.
2016 Desire Lines Syrah Griffin’s Lair- USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (2/10/2021)
Dark and brooding. The nose is classic Griffin’s Lair, with all those wonderful earthy/briny notes of the Syrah, with a slight sweet grapiness.
Decanted for 3 hours, this is still showing a bit of tough tannin, so youthful as expected, but the middle of the tongue picks up wonderful meatiness and olive, again classical styled take on Griffin’s Lair.
I won’t be opening another for awhile, but no harm in checking in with a long decant. Beautiful CA Syrah. Well done Cody.