2014 Tercero Verbiage (Rouge) - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County (3/22/2023)
A Berserker day wine. Wow. I don't know what I paid for this, but it was absolutely worth it. It was a little rough but still complex with a delicious flavor of berries, earth, herbs and all sorts of other stuff right out of the bottle, but after two hours in the decanter, it exploded with flavor while the roughness disappeared completely. It became extremely smooth with an excellent of any mouth feel. The blend is 46% Grenache, 30% Syrah, 20% Mourvedre and 4% Cinsault, so a classic Châteauneuf blend. In my opinion, this is the kind of wine that shows the greatness that California warm weather and terroir can do to grape varieties. These are grapes that flourish in warm weather. Larry Schaffer, the owner and winemaker, does a great job of blending these different grapes into a seamless whole. And don't be scared off by the screw cap. All it does is make it easier. I don't know what the oxygen penetration is on this particular variety of screw cap, but whatever it is, it works very well and seems to put in just the right amount to age the wine at 9 years old. (92 points)
Yes!! I opened my Verbiage Rouge two weeks ago and was blown away as well. The first glass was bright and fresh exhibiting all Grenache and Cinsaut, but after several hours the Mourvedre started to show up and add more complexity. I always love the texture on Larry’s wines and this was no exception. The long, acidic finish with hints of orange peel was really amazing. I need to find more of this!
[quote=“S_Rash, post:2, topic:299001, full:true”] . . . The long, acidic finish with hints of orange peel was really amazing. I need to find more of this!
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Yes, I forgot to mention the acidity. Biting but not searing. No flab in this wine. I got a bit of citrus at the start, which might have been just the acidity.
Thanks for the note on this wine - a favorite of mine as well. I really dig working with each of these varieties separately and bottle each separately, but it’s fun to put them together and see what they do ‘collectively’.
And I am glad to follow the progression of this wine - now in bottle for 6 years under screw cap but still has plenty of life ahead of it IMHO.