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Wine Recommendation
T-Vine Cellars
2004 Grenache(Napa Valley)
Well-tanned, popular, and a smooth talker, Grenache is the hit of any party. A key ingredient in the wines of the southern Rhone Valley in France, most notably in Chateauneuf-du-Pape and in Cotes-du-Rhone wines, it also plays a leading role in many of the wines of the Languedoc-Roussillon and Provence. Known as Garnacha in Spain, it plays a blending role in Rioja and Priorato, and is often bottled as an excellent value single varietal in Navarra. Better Australian versions are deeply colored and brooding.
While most often used as a blending grape in California, or as the base of inexpensive box or jug wines, owner and winemaker Greg Brown has crafted a most exquisite expression of the varietal from his perch in Napa Valley. On par with the best single varietal bottlings from around the world, specifically from Spain and Australia, this benchmark American version has intense notes of cherry cola, strawberry jam, and freshly ground black peppercorns. Broad and rich with lively acidity and very soft tannins, the wine gives immense pleasure now, but should mellow nicely over several years. Only 700 cases produced.
Reviewed January 25, 2007 by Catherine Fallis.
Other reviewed wines from T-Vine Cellars
The Wine
Winery: T-Vine Cellars |
The Reviewer
Catherine Fallis
Founder and President of Planet Grape LLC, a company committed to bringing the joy of wine, food, and good living into the lives of everyday people, Catherine is creator of the “grape goddess guides to good living,” a series of books, television presentations, seminars, and e-learning programs. The fifth woman in the world to become a Master Sommelier, grape goddess Catherine Fallis is still very much down-to-earth. |