93 points, Editor's Choice Wine Enthusiast
Our GSM is a classic example of why the sum is better than the parts - Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre. The art is in the blending.
Winemaking Notes While the vintage started out appearing to be bountiful, by the time flowering and fruit set has passed, yields actually ended up much lower than normal. This limited our traditional practice of Phased Picking across a spectrum of maturity, to really only two picks of Grenache, and one each for Syrah and Mourvèdre. Hand-picked and field-sorted fruit was sorted again at thewinery and then gently destemmed (no crushing) followed by transferring without pumping to small open-top fermenters. Fermentation commenced naturally after 3-5 days of cool soaking at 55-59F. Manual punchdowns, or pumpovers, were done 1-3 times a day, primarily to disperse and distribute heat. Total skin contact ranged from 12-15 days. After tank draining, gentle basket pressing was done on all lots with primary and malolactic fermentation then finishing in barrels. Cooperage was a mix of long air-dried (3+ years), low to medium toast French oak, including our 600 and 900 gallon French oak Foudre casks. Barrel aging, The Wine With a ruby core that leads to a vibrant pink rim, the wine seems to want to jump out of the glass. The aromas start to fill the room right at opening with notes of strawberry compote, fresh green moss and a salinity reminiscent of the seaside in winter. On the palate there are brighter flavors of Pomegranate, fresh strawberry complimented with notes of green moss/forest floor and black pepper. The finish lingers into milk chocolate covered almonds and umami notes of a blueberry tart all wrapped up in powdery tannins. CCOF Certified Organic Technical Notes APPELLATION: Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County VINEYARD: 100% Wine Creek Ranch, Quivira's home vineyard, CCOF-certified organic COMPOSITION: 50% Grenache, 30% Syrah, 20% Mourvèdre ABV: 14.3%
