Mendocino, North Coast, California, USA
Smoke taint, thus a second label release from Navarro Vyds. With global warming and more wildfires in California, are wines like this the future norm for wine drinkers everywhere? Basically there is a nice North Coast Grenache here underneath the smoke. Purple red in color with a dark tint, moderately extracted, very good clarity. Breathe this one in carefully- there’s a nice buttery nose with red fruit there, but the smoke creates an acrid sensation in back of throat that induces coughing. In the mouth, it goes down much better; plum and cherry flavors , perhaps fading with age, followed by a smoke and medium seed and skin tannin finish. Reminds me of something cold smoked on someone’s summer BBQ grill; technically proficient, but you better like smoke. Paired well with coq au vin heavy with white onion and crimini mushrooms. Varietally on point, with much less smoke than the smoked German beers or smoked cheeses I’ve tasted over the years. Well crafted (as in “If life gives you smoked wine grapes...”) After 90 minutes, orange and lemon flavors emerge in finish.
Smoke taint, thus a second label release from Navarro Vyds. With global warming and more wildfires in California, are wines like this the future norm for wine drinkers everywhere? Basically there is a nice North Coast Grenache here underneath the smoke. Purple red in color with a dark tint, moderately extracted, very good clarity. Breathe this one in carefully- there’s a nice buttery nose with red fruit there, but the smoke creates an acrid sensation in back of throat that induces coughing. In the mouth, it goes down much better; plum and cherry flavors , perhaps fading with age, followed by a smoke and medium seed and skin tannin finish. Reminds me of something cold smoked on someone’s summer BBQ grill; technically proficient, but you better like smoke. Paired well with coq au vin heavy with white onion and crimini mushrooms. Varietally on point, with much less smoke than the smoked German beers or smoked cheeses I’ve tasted over the years. Well crafted (as in “If life gives you smoked wine grapes...”) After 90 minutes, orange and lemon flavors emerge in finish.
Feb 15th, 2019
