REBEL GRAPE SOCIETY
February 2021
THE PANACHE OF GRENACHE
Grenache is a very old traveler, traversing the globe as one of the world’s most planted varieties. It may originally be Spanish (Garnacha) or may come from Italy’s Sardinia; both countries mention a Grenache-ish grape in the 1500s and argue the name comes either from Italian vernaccia for “vernacular” aka “local grape” or from Catalan garnaxa for “regal gown”. Whatever its roots, it’s been around long enough to mutate a few times and create distinct varieties- most notably Grenache blanc, which is actually genetically identical to Grenache Noir. It shares the exact same DNA make-up but expresses itself as a white grape–ain’t nature grand?
Grenache truly loves the Mediterranean sun, showing its best in the Châteauneuf- du-Pape blends of the Southern Rhône, on the eastern shores of Spain, and on sun-baked Sardinia, not to mention how expert it is at playing rosé! It tends to be a heavy producer and late ripener, making higher alcohol wines that are usually light on color, soft on tannin and acid, but big on aromatics and velvety texture.
Grenache is no new-comer to California either, the first recorded plantings were made in the 1850s and then it boomed post-prohibition. Those hearty yields and ample sugars made it a super star throughout the Central Valley and a major piece of the sweet jug wine fad of the early 20th century. Grenache, along with its Rhôney blending buddies, gained new respect and notoriety in the ‘90s thanks to the Rhône Rangers movement, led by Randall Grahm (and a handful of other folk) who especially believed in the flash and sassy panache of Grenache.
This month’s Rebel Grape Society features three very different, very fresh approaches to the ancient grape:
- Rootdown crushes Grenache Blanc grapes and soaks them on the skins for six hours before a very hard pressing in order to extract tannin, texture and aromatics.
- Birichino throws out all the rules and plays with Grenache’s ability to do just about anything; making first a red, then a rose, and then blends and bubbles them for a peculiar pet-nat.
- Jolie-Laide layers in 100% whole-cluster spice to the classic confectionary red fruity Grenache bodaciousness, giving the light-bodied grape more tannic girth.
– Kevin Wardell, February 2020
ROOTDOWN
GRENACHE BLANC
Mike Lucia is the root in Rootdown, a truly homegrown Healdsburgundian who has dedicated his life to getting down with wine. His own label began in 2016- the culmination of years of dedication, first at the Fresno State Enology program and then making wine for Copain, Goldeneye, and consulting for small, premium brands. He began with a few bottlings dedicated mostly to rosé craft, but he has expanded to a repertoire of 9 wines along with two new labels, “Cole” and “Esokay.”
Rootdown focuses on single-vineyard, varietally-correct wines that lead with terroir transparency rather than the overtly fruity norms. With his wife and partner Jill, Mike acquired the Cole Ranch Vineyard in Mendocino last year (itself its very own wee AVA), and is planting it mostly to Savoie varieties- Jacquere, Altesse and Mondeuse- hoisting that REBEL GRAPE SOCIETY flag high up on his mountaintop. He takes an organic approach to viticulture, and a curiosity-centric approach to winemaking, always playing with “What if?” All while getting down to the root of the matter: soil, terroir, and expanding varietal potential.
Early spring citrus flowers open up on the nose, with a subtle fresh pink eraser underneath. Bright and zippy with crunchy bites of asian pear and white melon, along with kiwi and starfruit swirling in the glass. There is a refreshingly clean and bright river rock minerality that draws the finish to a pretty pumice-stone punctuation point, and even a note of confectionery chalkiness, sorta like the “Fun Dip” stick.
John Locke and Alex Krause are the “naughty” boys behind Birichino (well, in Italian, at least) – an outfit that describes their approach as striving for “perfume, poise, and puckishness.” We do so love alliteration. The Birichino boys joined forces in 2008 in Santa Cruz after a (combined) four decades making wine in California, France and Italy. This sparkling is complex (both in the winemaking process and in the glass) and is a pet project (ha!) with only about 60 cases made.
The journey begins in the century-old Grenache vineyard tended by George and Martha Besson in the Hollister hills. This old vine fruit is then stored in small picking bins in a cool barn for a “rest” of 9 to 12 days. The grapes are destemmed when the stems have lignified (dried out), then blended back with the stems and fermented on skins for 6 weeks, which is about a month longer than average, then pressed and aged in old oak. This is repeated for 4 vintages, then the fifth harvest Grenache is pressed right away to make a pale dry pink- with a small amount frozen as sweet juice. The pink is blended with red “solera” wine while the frozen stuff is thawed out and starts fermenting- then the whole lot is bottled together under crown cap and refermented in bottle.
Got all that? Then you do deserve a glass (or two) of this truly puckish pet-nat.
This is a quixotic wine that won’t be easily quantified, starting with a nose of fresh cut grass and feral herbs, leading to a lambrusco-like serving of juicy red berries. This tips into a flamboyant carnival ride, with fun house mirrors of red licorice and cherry fruit and wet earth tones, and complete with candied apples and cotton candy. The ride zips up tight at the finish with a touch of tannin and a pretty herbaceous bite and a touch of effervescent sweetness. Goes down too easy.
JOLIE-LAIDE
GRENACHE
The term “jolie-laide” (french: beautiful-ugly) may be a term of endearment, or perhaps a romantic description for finding beauty in the otherwise ugly, or maybe it’s a name for that intriguing type of imperfect blemished beauty. Any which way, it i’s not a reference to winemakers Scott and Jenny Schultz, who are both just absolutely lovely. Jolie-Laide rose out of Scott’s time in the service industry: building restaurant lists and pouring and selling wine inevitably led to his deep fascination with winemaking and vit in California. When he became assistant to Pax Mahle at WindGap Wines, he started working with renowned vineyards and fairly obscure grape varieties, all while building his small brand which has become a darling of the nerdy wine world.
The two describe their process as “hands and feet on,” harhar. The Provisor Vineyard is a picture-perfect site in the rolling hills of Dry Creek Valley just outside of Healdsburg. This teeny organically farmed plot of just 3 acres of Tablas Creek clone Grenache gains complexity from the red gravel clay loam soils and warm temps and cool nights; the Goldilocks combo for Grenache. The grapes are crushed à pieds, fermented whole-cluster, and aged in old barrels for 10 months.
The nose is a surreal perfume of spring violets, rose petals, red raspberries and cinnamon sticks; this is proof positive that Grenache is a luscious aromatic grape in the right hands (and feets.) The palate is loaded with cherry, raspberry, and red vine licorice, and the whole cluster adds a touch of exotic spice and sandalwood to the mix. Fragrance just abounds in this wine, and while the palate is light and elegant upon entry, it finishes with a kick of seriousity. While at first this beauty seems a quaffer, it stands up with plenty of backbone proving itself as maximum jolie, nothing laide.
