2004 Wente Vineyards Grenache Small-Lot Livermore Valley - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Livermore Valley (2/1/2013)
An exasperatingly fantastic bottle of wine. Gorgeous red fruit, almost what I’d call red “pinot” fruit, that sort of raspberryish fruit but not at all sweet or candied, maybe even a hint of cranberrry. Despite 14.7 listed ABV and a definite prickle at the back of the throat, this is only medium bodied and very fragrant/hightoned/floral, and doesn’t come off at all as overripe. Also some garrigue on the nose; very savory in the mouth. Just enough tannin for structure but this is basically resolved and peaking (though this was still singing on day 2, so no rush to drink up). I’ve never had the Rayas grand vin, but I’ve had Fonsalette and Pignan and this bore a distinct resemblance to both.
I bought this for $5, and it was better than all the other bottles I’ve had this week that were one or two orders of magnitude more expensive. How infuriating. There are no great wines, only great bottles . . . (92 pts.)
Posted from CellarTracker