Graziano

Greg Graziano is one of Mendocino’s busiest winemakers. In addition to his own four labels based primarily on vineyards in Redwood Valley and Ukiah Valley, he also makes an annual version of the county’s proprietary (and challenging) “Coro” red blend as well as the whole line-up of Bordeaux blends and varieties produced at Yorkville Cellars in Yorkville Highlands. Then there are various consulting projects on top of that.

Somehow he manages to focus when he’s in the cellar, because I can’t recall a bad wine from Graziano’s hand. (I’ll never forget a white blend from a few years back called “Sesso”; apparently none of the label-approval authorities in Washington speak Italian or they would have banned a wine called “Sex” – despite how fabulous it tasted.)

Recently Graziano released a 2003 “Grenache Noir” under his eponymous Graziano label. The “Noir” is a warning to anyone expecting a rosé or light-weight quaffer. The wine is bright ruby in color and offers the whole package of Grenache aromas, including warm red plums, ripe rhubarb, white and black pepper, garrigue (the scent of hot summer hillsides covered with brushy vegetation) and soft earth after an afternoon rain. In your mouth, the wine adds luscious chocolate and raspberry layers, good wood warms the frame, and the center settles down on your palate for a long linger. A late burst of raspberry sweetness makes it all complete. Grenache like this combines the best of the Old World and the New World in a compelling gustatory package.

Reviewed June 20, 2006 by Thom Elkjer.