I’m in a state they ship to, but can get the website to work.
Send me your login.
I thought I asked first?
I’ll split the shipment and send 1 of each to you Mark so we each have an “even” 3 bottles.
Just got my letter today…
Am I correct in thinking the Third Twin brand will grow to include the the Syrah, Grenache, etc coming from the Third Twin vineyard? Or will Third Twin always be primarily about the Graciano?
Eric,
In the offer letter they talk about other wines becoming available in the future. The vineyard seems to be 15 acres with 3 clones of Syrah and a little Petite Sirah. No mention though about what exactly will be offered in the future.
Order in.
Pretty pumped to check these out.
would someone be willing to take a pic or scan the offer letter? My order is in, but I never saw the snail mail offer - always enjoy reading these.
Also, I noticed in the “ship to” states listed above, Oregon is not listed, but I had no trouble ordering with OR as my shipping address.
OR was added after I requested it, much to my surprise and appreciation, thank you
Cool, thanks for requesting it! 
I will attempt to post the letter here:
"The Third Twin
Gracias for reading yet an additional essay from us winos in good old Oak View. I have been told that I have a tendency to be wordy - as a language challenged foreigner I would have never imagined to hear that – and here now I will have a big task to simultaneously explain and still remain concise. Quite a while back (I no longer recall exactly how long ago) Elaine and I acquired a gorgeous property not far from the quaint little town of Los Alamos, not all too far Northeast of our Eleven Confessions vineyard. We didn’t look for land, we didn’t intend to buy it, we didn’t want more to deal with and yet BAM we bought it. In the end it was an odd, but happily fortunate happenstance that brought us to it. In order to avoid chastization for frivolous word dimensions I’ll avoid the delicious quirky details, but let me just say that there was an existing 15 acres of beautiful vineyard already on it (three different Syrah clones and a little bit of delightful Petite Sirah too) and all own-rooted to boot. Of course, that is a risky proposition because of the danger of phylloxera, but boy oh boy… if one can avoid thinking of that gamble… then ownrooted is definitely my favorite. Plus, the climate in that area is one that dreams are made of. Certainly so if your name is Manfred. Up the hill, at the highest point of the ranch, we found a fantastic, superbly sandy – and I mean deeply, deeply, deeply sandy - unplanted spot. Naturally we couldn’t leave that alone and so we planted an additional vineyard block there…comprised of Syrah (big shock I bet), Grenache, Mourvedre, Petite Sirah, Viognier and – of all things - a grape variety called Graciano. Why? Well, we have winemaking and grape growing friends all over the world and obviously that includes Spain. Over a rather extensive period of time I have heard many of our Spanish buddies mention it and in a pretty darn enthusiastic manner. But for a number of reasons the variety has become rather scarce and it is particularly tough to find wine from it in a pure or near-pure form. But that’s a game E & M are made for. And so, we found it, we loved it, we loved its apparent potential even more and we felt it was indeed rather Rhone-like. Surely someone (God or some vine bureaucrat?) made a mistake somewhere along the line and it appeared we should nullify that obnoxious error and show where and what it was always meant to be – a Rhone staple. Officially (just that word is annoying) it is a red wine grape that is grown primarily in Rioja. The vine produces a low yield (that’s probably why it never became as popular as it should be) and is a late harvester (ditto).
Generally, the wine it produces is characterized by its deep red color, strong aroma and ability to age well. Graciano thrives in relatively warm, arid climates. Amazingly, stunningly, annoyingly to a mild degree, bewilderingly there suddenly have been reports that mistakenly Graciano has been sold and planted when the intention was Mourvedre. Especially around the Paso Robles area the “reports” claim. Now Graciano doesn’t look like Mourvedre as a plant in the field and it sure as heck doesn’t taste like Mourvedre by any stretch of the imagination. We appreciate Mourvedre very much and of course we have planted it too, but we did not get Graciano by mistake. We loved it, we wanted it, we found it, we wanted to show what we can do with it, we planted it and now we’re offering it… to YOU. We have only 1.33 acres planted and so there is very, very little of it. Frankly so little that it’ll likely disturb some wonderful, valued folks because we clearly don’t have anywhere near enough… at all… to offer some to all. The above-mentioned vineyard is called T T T . That is the brand name too. Because of the scarcity of wine for this particular brand there are a limited number of states that we are licensed to ship to. These states are CA, DC, FL, GA, IL, MA, MN, NY, OH, TX, VA, WA and WI. If you live in a state we are not allowed to ship to, we recommend you use a forwarder in California and have them get the wines to you. One we are happy to recommend is: AERO PACKING in American Canyon, CA (707)554-2088 Eventually there shall be other and more wines from this ranch and this brand, but more on that at the appropriate time. To make things somewhat user friendly to those who will get their lips on this Graciano, we decided to put together a four-bottle box of two vintages – 2014 and 2015. And yes, these are the only Gracianos we have made thus far. Here now are some more details about the two particular wines and notes from Jeb Dunnuck and Antonio Galloni too. It may sound a tad used car salesman like or grossly self-serving, but everyone who has managed to taste these treats has adored them. This also includes the great Lisa Perrotti-Brown from THE WINE ADVOCATE. The 2014 Graciano is a cuvee of 90% Graciano and 10% Mourvedre (that’s actual Mourvedre, not more Graciano). It was completely destemmed and spent 27 months in barrels. None of them were new.
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described it like this: this inky colored beauty is reminiscent of a Hermitage from Bessards blended with a modern styled Chateauneuf du Pape. Black fruits, charcoal, spice, pepper and hints of violets all flow to a seriously concentrated, textured, opulent and layered beauty that has ripe, yet present tannin and a sensational finish. It’s a big wine, no doubt, but like all of Manfred’s wines, stays light, graceful and balanced on the palate. I’d like to think I could improve on that, but sadly I fear I can’t and so I’ll say, “let’s stick with it.”
The 2015 Graciano is an even more inspired concoction of 88% Graciano, 7% Mourvedre and 5% Petite Sirah. Here some 19% of the fruit was fermented whole cluster (with the stems) and it too got trained for 27 months (coincidence? yes) in barrel. And here some 53% of the barrels were new and all French. of VINOUS had this to state: The 2015 Graciano The Third Twin is a total stunner. Wow. Unctuous, ripe and explosive, with tremendous fruit density and aromatic depth, the 2015 simply has it all. Layers of fruit unfold in this glass as this extravagantly rich, opulent wine shows off its personality. Although not especially subtle, the 2015 simply has it all. Dollops of Mourvedre and Petite Sirah round out the blend. Readers who can find the 2015 should not hesitate, as it is truly magnificent. Sadly, there are just under 67 cases to go around. Please do not miss the WOW, plus he accented the poem with 98 points.
My own notes are embarrassingly simplistic and un-encompassing, but I scribbled down: VERY dark. Attractive, fairly forward nose of mixed berries, some pine and spice. Very good mouth – full and big and rich, but playful. I could drink it all day, but then where would we be?
Whenever one works with a new grape variety it is always a thrill. It is exciting, energizing, stimulating, thought provoking and more than a bit un-nerving all at the same time. One can have a million ideas in one’s head, but trying to turn these ideas into a reality and into something enticing and desirable is a whole new bowl of wax. But I think we have made pretty good inroads and to say that we have fallen in love with Graciano might be the understatement of the year.
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I know Elaine feels that way too and so does our son August, who also helped fashion these gems. I should also emphasize just how much I adore this great, great vineyard ranch called . I beg you to please keep your ears and eyes and mouth open for more wines from this grape nirvana. You won’t be disappointed, that’s for sure.
We have had many, many people contact us about these wines for quite an extensive period of time. Really since the first reviews of the 2014 Graciano was published. Because there was so exhaustingly little of it we didn’t quite know how to actually sell it. We are struggling with this conundrum even now, albeit just time has helped us emotionally and psychologically deal with it. But I am sure you can appreciate that these treats won’t last at all. So, as is always done – but more emphatically with this – please, please, please… do not delay if you plan on securing a box. Instead please place your order most simply online at www.thethirdtwin.net – but no later than November 21, 201 . Naturally we’d be happy to accept your mailed check as well should you prefer that ancient method. Past that date they will be gone, gone, gone. And that would be a crying shame for you, your loved ones and for us.
It is uncannily difficult to tell you just how grateful we are that you are out there, for your interest, your incredible and heart warming loyalty and for allowing us, indeed encouraging us to make wines, even fairly unknown ones like Graciano for you. I wish there was an equally meaningful way to your kindness to show you our gratitude. But other than us trying our best with the wines, it is tough to figure what that would be.
All the most delicious wishes from,
Elaine & anfred Krankl
PO BOX 38, OAK VIEW, CA 93022 TEL 805-649 8813 FAX 805-649 8902 e-mail: wines@thethirdtwin.net"
Thank you Charles!
You bet Eric! Enjoy - Manfred’s letters are always a FUN an entertaining read.
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I have a PDF of the letter as some of the text did not post correctly above. Can someone assist me with directions on how to link or attach a PDF here on Berserkers?
They really are fun to read, which is why I was disappointed to have missed the mailer. The text you posted is pretty darn good, but if you still want to upload the PDF, on the post, scroll down to the “options” section, and click the “attachments” tab, the pick the file and upload!
On shipping eligible states, I would check with Stacy if you live in a state that was not originally listed in the letter/email. They added NV and, based on the above, added OR also.
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Also added MO.
Well damm. Maybe i should have asked before lining up a 3rd party shipper to AZ.
Still worth a quick email probably.
Are any of their other wines <60 cases? Maybe inaugural grenache or pearl catcher. I can’t wait to try this wine!