GSM Blend/Rhone Blend

One of my favorite Rhone varietal producers in California.  It is a blend of 61% Syrah, 24% Mourvedre, 13% Grenache and 2% Viognier.  This wine gets extended barrel ageing.  In my experience, the extended barrel ageing requires more patience and cellaring and this wine is very young.  That said, for those who like big, ripe in your face wines, there is plenty to like now.  For others, a bit of patience will be amply rewarded.  Inky purple in color, opaque and shimmering bright.  The nose has black raspberries, char, black pepper, violets and slight roasted meats.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins

Great value!  This is a GSM blend of 44% Syrah, 29% Grenache, and 27% Mourvèdre.  Ruby/purple in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has black raspberries, black cherries and smoke.  Medium bodied.  Light tannins.  On the palate, this drinks easy.  Black raspberries with smoked meat notes.  Nice finish.  A great choice for a wide variety of occasions.  Perfect for pizza night.  Drink over the next few years.  

This is a GSM blend from California.  Torrin makes great wines.  They are huge and really should go seven to ten years from vintage prior to opening, but it depends on how you like 'em.  It is a blend of 40% Syrah, 33% Mourvedre, and 27% Grenache.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is great with black raspberries, boysenberries, plums, black cherries, char, black pepper and spice.  Full bodied.  A bit of black licorice with air.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, this is dense.  Slight alcohol noticeable but that smooths out with about an hour of air.  Lois of black and blue

This is a blend of 48% Syrah, 22% Petite Sirah, 17% Grenache, 6% Mourvedre, 4% Tempranillo, and 3% Roussanne.  Wonderful wine that is just entering its prime drinking window.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is great with black raspberries, black cherries, spice, chocolate and char.  Lovely full bodied, almost seamless texture.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, loads of fruit but plenty of energy to keep it from being burdensome.  Layers of black raspberries, black cherries with underlying gravel and char.  Delicious.  Long finish.  This drinks great on its own and would w

From the excellent 2007 vintage, this winery consistently makes some of the better Gigondas wines.  Ruby/brown in color, clear and bright.  The nose is nice with cherries, black raspberries, black pepper and slight dried flower note.  Medium to full bodied.  Light tannins.  On the palate, black raspberries, some cherries, spice and some earthiness.  Good finish.  This seems to be at peak, but will probably start declining soon, so, drink up.  A nice wine with braised lamb of beef.  

Nice to revisit this.  Back in the day, this was our house wine ($20), but then it was awarded the Wine Spectator WOTY and overnight, the price doubled and that was that.  New vintages are around $65, so it hasn't gone up a lot in 20 years since.  Too bad, because while this might not be a top CdP, it is a very nice wine and this one has held up great.  Ruby in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose has cherries, and Provencal spice.  Light to medium bodied.  Tannins completely integrated.  On the palate, cherries with some char.  Moderate finish.  Drink up if you have any.  A nice wine

This is a blend of 67% Syrah, 21% Grenache, and 12% Terret Noir.  Purple/ruby in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with black cherries, black raspberries, black licorice, spice and smoke.  Medium to full bodied.  Well balanced.  On the palate, this drinks very easy.  Black cherries and black raspberries with a bit of black licorice and pepper.  Nice finish.  An interesting wine but also an enjoyable one.  Drink over the next seven to ten years.  This is nice on its own and will work well with food.  A nice choice for a burger or meatloaf.  

This is a blend of 59% Syrah, 23% Mourvedre, 15% Grenache and 3% Viognier coming from California's Central Coast.  The EABA means it got extra barrel ageing than their regular release wines.  In fact, it saw 22 months in French Oak (50% new).  Typically, extended ageing wines seem to need more time in bottle to come around as well.  This one does.  That said, it is a ripe, delicious, hedonistic wine right now.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose needs some air, then shows black raspberries, blueberries, plums and black cherries along with spice, roasted meats, slight floral

Great showing for this bottle at age 17.  Purple in color with some ruby swirls, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is great with plums, black raspberries, worn leather, slight dried floral note and spice.  Full bodied.  Tannins mostly resolved.  On the palate, this is deep and complex.  Flavors of plums, raspberries with some spice.  This bottle is clean with just a bare touch of funk.  Nice finish.  Seemingly at peak, these bottles probably should be consumed in the next five to seven years.  Great on its own, this works better with food.  Chili or beef stew would be a nice match.  

This is in a lovely place right now.  Deep ruby in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose is great with cherries, slight black cherries, violets, spices and just a hint of funk.  Full bodied.  Light tannins.  Great energy and balance.  On the palate, this is complex, layered and delicious.  Cherries and black cherries with some char, spice and earthiness.  Long finish.  This is just about at peak right now and should be at this level for five to eight more years, but this will drink well for another five to ten after that.  Great on its own, this will work