2022 GSM, 3L box, 13.8%

Varietals: Grenache (42%), Syrah (41%), Mourvedre (17%)

Winemaker Notes:   We love our GSM program.  As true Rhône aficionados, we are striving to emulate our favorite wines from this region, the sturdy, rustic, everyday drinkers that go so well with food.  The first year we made a GSM was in 2011, which was a famous vintage for Oregon because it was unusually cold and wet.  We picked Grenache in late October and the Mourvedre during the second week of November. I was worried that the cool year and the underripe Mourvedre would make for a less than stellar year. However, even early on, as I started playing with the blend, I could tell that the reason that GSM is such a great wine, is that, like our Rose’ and Pistoleta, the varieties complement each other.  The secret is that the wine is more than a sum of its parts.  The blend is better than any single component.   

2017 was a great year for the GSM.  It was warm and even, and it was a particularly great year for Grenache, with a long ripening period.  Two new sites for Grenache gave us outstanding blending components and put Grenache as the headliner of the blend.    

Tasting Notes: Round, bright, with caramel undertones, subtle spices and warm, red fruit notes.  There is a lip-smacking quality in the mid palate and a richness that carries through the finish.  

Fruit Handling: 100% whole berry, cold soaked 48 hours

Fermentation: Fermented in small, 1 ton bins, punched down, gently pressed at 0 B.

Aging: Racked to barrel day after pressing.  Aged in large, 92 gallon neutral French Oak barrels and 60 gallon barrels, 14% new.  Lees stirred regularly throughout the first quarter.