'08 Grenache

TASTING PROFILE AROMAS: The wine opens with earthy spice and dried cherry notes. As it breathes the scents of candied cherries, sandalwood and rose petals mixed with mulled wine spice waft from the glass. FLAVORS: Full of red fruit flavors, dried cherries, red currents, quince jam and Asian spice predominate. The wine has a long mid palate, is round and full bodied with supple tannins and has Bridlewood’s trademark clean finish.

This is a wine made for a warm summer evening. The style is dry and fresh, with moderate acidity and a refreshing yet full finish. The fruitiness and texture go with everything from cranberries to salmon! Grenache with its Rubenesque clusters of cherry colored berries that can be tart, over ripe, light colored or dark, thinly tannic to phenolicly; any of which can result in character flaws and require both experience and focus to produce wines of distinction. Grenache does not like new oak and the varietal is aged in older neutral barrels or large format casks in the old world. At Bridlewood we follow that tradition using both the 1,200 gallon French oak casks to maintain fruitiness and the smaller 540 gallon Foundres to add structure. Fermentation is done in 1 ton fermenters punched down twice a day without temperature control to increase extraction using both cultured yeast for fruity aromas and wild yeast to add structure and complexity. The wine is racked once after malolactic fermentation to remove solids and then bottled after 8 months of aging and binned for 6 months to allow for the development of bottle bouquet and softening on the palate.

Cases Produced: 509