Freddy R. Troya

9.1

Dusty Nabor — Grenache 2021
Spear Vineyards, Sta. Rita Hills, California, USA 🇺🇸

Overview
Crafted from 100% Grenache sourced from the renowned Spear Vineyards in Sta. Rita Hills, this small-production wine beautifully captures the freshness and elegance that define California’s premier cool-climate Grenache region.

Aromas & Flavors
Bright raspberry, wild strawberry, red cherry, cranberry, and pomegranate are complemented by subtle white pepper, dried herbs, rose petals, and delicate mineral notes.

Mouthfeel
Medium-bodied with vibrant acidity, silky tannins, and remarkable balance. Juicy, energetic, and effortlessly drinkable, the wine finishes long, fresh, and inviting without sacrificing complexity.

Food Pairings
Grilled salmon, roast chicken, pork tenderloin, charcuterie, wood-fired pizza, or herb-roasted vegetables.

Verdict
A beautifully balanced expression of Sta. Rita Hills Grenache that showcases purity of fruit, freshness, and finesse. Approachable enough for casual enjoyment yet refined enough to satisfy seasoned wine lovers.

Did You Know?
Sta. Rita Hills is one of California’s coolest wine regions, where strong Pacific Ocean influences allow Grenache to develop vibrant acidity, bright red fruit, and remarkable elegance while retaining exceptional freshness.

🍷 Personal Pick
This is simply one of those bottles that’s impossible not to enjoy. Fresh, juicy, impeccably balanced, and dangerously easy to drink, it’s the kind of wine I’d happily open with friends without overthinking the occasion. Sometimes the best wines are the ones that disappear from the bottle the fastest. — a day ago

Ken Venezio

9.2

Loads of cherry on the nose. Plum, cranberry and raspberry on the palate. Shows a desirable tartness and full mouth feel throughout the finish. We loved visiting the winery and love this 100% estate single clone Pinot. — a year ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.3

2020 vintage. Splendid nose and excellent color. PNP. Medium heavy body. Massive attack of blackberry and plum at the tip of the blue lines spear. A mega-fave St. Emmie producer in the $35-$40 strike price. Fleshy now and wish I had enough storage/discipline/ca$hi$h to park a couple of cases straight into darkness for a decade plus to trace performance/unfolding/defensive posture. Alas, I am undone. 12.10.24. — 2 years ago

Jason Keefer

9.0

Great gruner pet nat, would have never guessed the grape due to the balance! Perfect with spicy Thai! — 4 years ago

Kendall Johnson

9.2

Deep, sweet berries #familytime — 5 years ago

Miriam De Lyon

9.2

Lovely; balanced. — 5 years ago

with Nikki

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.2

2022 vintage. Medium body. Some dirtiness but finishes on the pretty side of the Grenache ledger. 3.23.26 — 4 months ago

Pinotman /// Andreas

9.4

Upon opening unreadable, tart and harsh. Needs about 2-3 hours to open up. Super earthy. Tons of sediment. Very herbaceous. Black forest thyme. Black cherry. Elderberry galore. A tour de force really. Still a ton of tannins - to much? Give it 5 more years? A wine on the edge - tip of the spear. As some of these high end E & M‘s are. I like their wines but not fully convinced of the 2015‘s. Same as with the 2015 Burghs. The hype might not pan out. 24 hours later - this wine needs potentially 10 more years of age - hard to say - mellowed out - orange zest, port wine characteristics, cranberry - still a little rough but for the E&M fans a treat. — 7 months ago

Kapyrick Wine

9.2

v17. Very good!! Big and bold. Soft, toast and dried herb nose. Round deep, black cassis, blackberry and soft plum fruit. Smooth, chocolate and tight leather finish. Nice! — a year ago

Gil Castro

8.9

I think more time in the bottle will do. This one justice. Still too young tasting to be unleashed. — 4 years ago

Brandon Boesch

9.4

Great wine! Tons of spice and pepper, there’s a meaty flavor, tart berries, great finish that brings you back for more. — 5 years ago

Jim McCusker

9.3

Excellent, but will get better with a little more time in the bottle. — 5 years ago

with Vanessa

Delectable Wine

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9.3

The 2018 Pinot Noir (Santa Barbara County) is an absolutely gorgeous appellation-level wine. The purity of the flavors alone is just stunning. Sweet red cherry, mint and blood orange take on shades of translucence. Light on its feet and yet beautifully layered, the 2018 has so much going on. It is an elegant and alluring wine from the first taste. Vineyard sites are Radian, Spear, La Rinconada and Sanford & Benedict. Don’t miss it. (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, August 2020)
— 6 years ago

Pinotman /// Andreas

9.8

Faint - Dijon mustard. I rated this vintage many many times. Very pale. Drink up really. At its peak - this is awesome but will not get better. Quite oxidized. Profound orange 🍊 notes / Inter-dispersed with fading dark cherry. Incredible well balanced at this point. „Tip of the spear….“. Super complex back palate - what the hell is this? Tumeric, ….boy am I glad i have an Argon line at home to be able to taste this for days. Last bottle. — 5 months ago

Jake Hajer

9.1

A beautiful if lean Chardonnay that really needs a few years before opening. My wife didn’t like it and European with a European palate. Mineral, slate, smoke, orange pith, unripe pomegranate. Give it a few years and caramel will emerge and it will be beautiful. — 9 months ago

Raul Puga

9.5

Wow. An out of nowhere find that’s ridiculously good. Perfect with BBQ @ Priedete BBQ in Los Alamos — a year ago

Martin Sher

8.9

Ya know - not horrible with some very spicy pizza. — 3 years ago

Ryan Taylor

9.7

Great acid, lemon and Granny Smith Apple. — 4 years ago

Jammer

9.0

Had another bottle on 1/30/22 and it held up. Lovely and very drinkable. — 5 years ago

Rich Huber

9.5

This is obviously a young wine. But with that said, it’s like no other Pinot you will ever have. Buttered toast with jam on the nose and a nice balance of fruit on the palate. The wine lingers in you mouth and finishes dry. — 6 years ago