2020 SALENGO GRENACHE
TASTING NOTES
This wine has a silky entry and an intriguing acid profile that complement the red fruits – strawberry, cherry, cooked cranberry – and spices such as clove and fennel along with the green herbs driving this wine. Abundant, subtle aromas and flavors like blood orange, rose petals and perfume will become more noticeable as this wine ages. Bright acidity in this wine provides a juicy finish and savory character that combine with fine-grained tannins and a pepperiness which will develop into a more luscious mid-palate as this wine ages.
This Grenache is a great wine to be enjoyed by itself, any season, and will also pair well with a variety of foods from wild game to creamy cheeses.
PRODUCTION NOTES
The Grenache comes in from the highest elevation in the Coble Ranch Vineyard. It is harvested from a very special four rows that have a soil transition gravelly loam and rich clay soil, which contributes to this wine’s complexity. These soils help produce a complimentary balance of minerality and red fruit characteristics with a touch of earthiness. The grapes were harvested in the early morning to maintain cool temperatures to preserve the integrity of the fruit and aromas found in this delicate wine.
Once received at the winery, the Grenache is optically sorted and fermented in a small lot. Optimizing the time on the skins for a concentrated fruit and tannin profile, the Grenache has an extended cold soak before fermentation to extract more flavor, then was punched down by hand 2-3 times a day to control fermentation temperature with the goal of preserving delicate aromatics in this wine that present as red fruits like strawberry, cranberry, pomegranate and wild strawberry. After the wine was fermented to dryness, it was then pressed in a traditional basket press and aged in neutral French oak barrels before bottling. This wine was aged one year in bottle before release.
2020 was a year the presented several challenges in many ways: the pandemic, a series of very hot spells (after several years of little rain) during the growing season, and the devastating fires in Northern California. Luckily, the grapes were harvested two days before the fires broke out in 2020. This variety can present with gamey flavors along with the various spices and herbs you find in this vintage. The wine has a translucent raspberry hue and is light, delicate on the palate with a more noticeable tannin profile and slightly subdued fruit.