In France’s Rhône Valley, the grape is known as Grenache. In Northern Spain’s Rijoa, it’s called Garnacha, which explains why Earl Jones labels his bottlings as such. There’s a resurgent interest throughout the Pacific Northwest in the variety, and Abacela has 5 acres planted and has been bottling it as a standalone wine since 1999. The 2013 vintage, interrupted in the second half of September by torrential rains, produced this wine with aromas of black cherry, Marionberry taffy, chocolate-covered pomegranate, clove-flavored NECCO Wafer, vanilla and menthol. Those lead to bright flavors of red currant jam and strawberry/rhubarb compote, backed by a nice grip of tannin and a finish of cherries, chocolate and blueberry.
Rating: Recommended
Production: 291 cases
Alcohol: 14.2%
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