WTN: '05 Cedarville Grenache

Had this up at the winery last weekend and really liked it. Popped a bottle tonight for further investigation. 15.3% alcohol.

Medium red color. Nose has a lot of cherry in it with a little strawberry jam, leather, and some toastiness. Upon opening, there's a fair amount of high-toned strawberry flavor with some darker fruit and restrained oak. As it sits open, the strawberry flavors settle down a bit and balance out with darker fruit flavors. There's a firm mid-palate with a lush character that's balanced with good, tart acidity. Finishes with mild tannins and a little lingering strawberry jam flavor.

In the past, Cedarville's grenache has always been tasty and well made, but something of a lightweight. This edition has much more depth to it. There's still some light strawberry character but there's much more to it than just that. IIRC, these are some of their youngest vines, so perhaps they're starting to come along now. In any case, this is their best grenache yet. They aren't up to CdP status yet, but they've made a pretty good move in that direction.

[Jenise]

Good to read--I visited there once on your suggestion, and the wines truly were in a class by themselves for the area. Unfortunately, also a bit pricey for the area, but that obviously hasn't hurt them. In fact, considering the perversity of the American wine buyer, it possibly helps.

In the past, Cedarville's grenache has always been tasty and well made, but something of a lightweight. This edition has much more depth to it. There's still some light strawberry character but there's much more to it than just that. IIRC, these are some of their youngest vines, so perhaps they're starting to come along now. In any case, this is their best grenache yet. They aren't up to CdP status yet, but they've made a pretty good move in that direction.

Mike, I'm probably preaching to the choir here, but keep in mind that all but a few CdPs are blends of Grenache with other grapes. Unless your standard for comparison is Rayas or the handful of other Grenache monocepages, it's an apples and oranges comparison.

Mark Lipton

In the past, Cedarville's grenache has always been tasty and well made, but something of a lightweight. This edition has much more depth to it. There's still some light strawberry character but there's much more to it than just that. IIRC, these are some of their youngest vines, so perhaps they're starting to come along now. In any case, this is their best grenache yet. They aren't up to CdP status yet, but they've made a pretty good move in that direction.

Mike, I'm probably preaching to the choir here, but keep in mind that all but a few CdPs are blends of Grenache with other grapes. Unless your standard for comparison is Rayas or the handful of other Grenache monocepages, it's an apples and oranges comparison.

Mark Lipton

Yep. It's a bit of apples to oranges, but I think there's still a direction that they're aiming for and this one shows some real progress in that direction.

Good to read--I visited there once on your suggestion, and the wines truly were in a class by themselves for the area. Unfortunately, also a bit pricey for the area, but that obviously hasn't hurt them. In fact, considering the perversity of the American wine buyer, it possibly helps.

I think they're pretty much priced in line with the rest of the better producers in the area, at least these days. We went to Holly's Hill, Narrow Gate, Sierra Vista, and Cedarville last Sunday and I think they were all in the same range. $18 - $30 for most wines, with one "prestige" bottling at over $30, but nothing over $40.

EDIT: I stand corrected. I checked prices and $29 - $30 is the top for all of them.

I do not consider Cedarville Grenache to be a lightweight. The wines a substantive, have good fruit, but the extraction is not as overbearing as some other producers' grenache. For $22 or so, it is terrific value.

I have this bottle in my drink queue. Cedarville is one of my must buys each year, though I now only buy the Grenache, Cab and the Viognier. They are great values and always reliably good to very good. Plus, good people.

As an update, half of the bottle sat overnight on the kitchen counter with a cork in it. It drank at least as well today as it did yesterday. Maybe better.

[Jenise]

they're pretty much priced in line with the rest of the better producers in the area, at least these days. We went to Holly's Hill, Narrow Gate, Sierra Vista, and Cedarville last Sunday and I think they were all in the same range. $18 - $30 for most wines, with one "prestige" bottling at over $30, but nothing over $40.

Maybe they've held their prices while everyone else's went up? My best recollection when I visited Fairplay and Amador with Kriss Reed about ten years ago, was that Cedarville's wines bumped or exceeded the $30 ceiling where other top producers (Karly, Sobon, Vino Noceto etc) were $20ish.

Jenise.. everything I buy from them is in the low to mid-20s, though I do buy from the mailing list, which gets one a discount. I just checked their website, and the highest price is $29 for the Cab (that is for current releases). In the world of wine today, the prices are more than fair for the quality, thought YMMV.