Back around 2014 an L. A. attorney named Matt Austin and his designer wife moved to Washington to take up winemaking. They bought a dillapidated house on five acres planted to mostly nebbiolo and aglianico and have since added 8 acres of mostly white grapes. Their goal is to produce balanced wines with good acidity and modest alcohols at the fresher end of the spectrum (than what is typical in WA).
My first encounter with a Grosgrain wine was a barely-pink lemberger pet nat which all the geeks I knew went crazy over, myself included. I've since picked up every white from him I see, including a wonderful albarino and a barely-pink grenache rose. I was mostly unfamiliar with the reds. So when I learned he was going to do a dinner at a local wine bar called The Vault, I signed up. Here are the wines he poured:
2020 Grosgrain Semillon Les Collines Vineyard
Medium yellow with bright flavors of quince and yellow apple. Bright and thankfully not as rich as many WA semillons are, with a long finish. 50% of the grapes were fermented on the skins and the wine was aged in clay amphorae, concrete egg, neutral barrels and SS. Only 12.4% alcohol. Perfectly paired with spot prawns and baby chanterelles on a tangy white sauce. I ordered some. $30.
2018 Grosgrain Vineyards Chardonnay French Creek Vineyard Yakima Valley Matt's first vintage. And where I found a previous bottle of this 15 months ago to be "unapologetically new world", this one was lighter in color and, blind, I'd have guessed Macon. It leans French, but sunny warmer France with classic chardonnay nose and flavors. Liked this a lot, I ordered some. 13.2% alcohol. $33.
2020 Grosgrain Vineyards Petit Grosgrain Walla Walla Valley Red Blend
Deep garnet red, this is a Cotes du Rhonish blend which changes with every vintage, and in 2020 the syrah and grenache were joined by tempranillo. It's a balanced and fetching combination, especially at 13.8% alcohol. That I didn't order any was just a cellar decision--I don't need more medium bodied American reds. $39.
2020 Grosgrain Vineyards Grenache Red Heaven Vineyard Red Mountain
Very unusual in the glass: pale, frumpy brownish salmon red color and very cloudy/obviously unfiltered with red apple skin nose and ciderish flavors. Very different from the vivid red-currant light red of the '18 a friend brought to a blind tasting a few years back that had a table of afficionados guessing Sicilian frappato. Anyway, I didn't dislike this--and in fact I asked for a second pour--and there's increasingly a place for lighter reds at my table, but at the same time this isn't what I love about grenache, and others present who aren't familiar with grenache per se were disappointed that it wasn't a classic style red wine. A deliberate and brave choice by the winemaker, but it's a handsell and doomed for regular retail. $39.
2018 Grosgrain Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Seven Hills Vineyard Walla Walla Valley
Balanced Cabernet typicity with medium intensity and tannins. Fits in well with this winemaker's goal of making fresh but sophisticated wines for current drinking, though no rush on this one. Liked it but at $50+, I have better options.