WineSmith Mixed Reds 4-Pack
Sold by: Winston Winery
$79.99 $180.00 56% off List Price
2014 WineSmith Grenache, Santa Cruz Mountains, Bates Ranch
2010 WineSmith Cabernet Franc, Lake County
Crickets today; what’s up with everyone?
Time change all mixed up?
previous offer notes where Clark joins in speaking on the woot release of the CF a year ago.
I’m sitting on plenty of both, or I’d be all over these. Well, I could use additional Grenache if someone wants to split.
I was thinking the same thing. i’ll rile clark here shortly. that’ll get things rolling.
[QUOTE=rjquillin, post:3, topic:715014]
Crickets today; what’s up with everyone?
Time change all mixed up?
Yeah, not even that one guy who bashes Clark at every opportunity?
Hi all! It’s quite due tothe act that our WineSmith team has been working on another project and thought the woot was planned for a different day.
I posted the following yesterday evening in “What are you drinking tonight”:
2006 Winesmith Cab. Sauv. Mokelumne River. Winesmith, you’re a genius!
By the way, I grew up swimming in the South Fork of the Mokelumne River. I know…nobody swims in the South Fork.
So, even though my cellar overfloweth…I’m in.
[grape]
My notes from the grenache offer
I was given the opportunity to finish kyles bottle bottle on Wednesday night.
Quick background.
My two favorite varietals are Syrah and Grenache (in that order.) I drink predominantly California wines and don’t have much experience with old world Grenaches and Grenache blends. I do enjoy Spanish Grenacha quite a bit I think it more closely resembles new world wines than the old world wines produced just north of it.
I drank this on its own late in the evening after a busy evening packing for a long weekend away.
Notes:
Visual- clear pale ruby, surprisingly light for a California Grenache. No sediment.
Nose- very aromatic perfume quality to it, full of fruit and definitely comes across as young. Black cherry, strawberry, baking spices, hint of vanilla. Really beautiful nose.
Palate- the wine is dry, medium bodied, edging towards light bodied. Tart acidity, no tannins to speak of. Balanced well for food not for sipping. Very flavorful. Cherry, strawberry, tart red fruit possibly raspberry. The tartness kind of leaves a sour note in the finish that is not really my cup of tea. My guess is with appropriate food it’s fantastic.
This is very different from Grenaches from California that I typically enjoy, if tasted blindly I would have been convinced it was north coast Pinot noir. If I had purchased it here with out lab rat notes I would have been unsure of what to think. The most similar Grenache I have had is from inspiration vineyards who used Grenache instead of Pinot noir one year to fill in for Pinot when his fruit source dropped out. It was made in a very similar style.
Thanks for the opportunity to flex my palate a bit and try something different.
Good description. This is not a power wine, but I do think it’s got more dimensions than your typical Grenache fruit bomb, and I attribute that to it Santa Cruz Mountain provenance, which imparts some herb, carob and leather notes and a lively minerality to the finish, which has also held back its development so it is just coming into its own now and will last and improve for a decade or more despite its diminutive stature. Though my first Grenache, I liked this wine enough to pour it as a shared cup at my recent wedding. There is also a methode champenoise sparkling wine from the same vineyard that’s pretty incredible - alas too small a lot to put on woot.
Regarding the Can Franc, you guys know this wine so well it scarcely needs describing. It’s a typical Diamond Ridge Lake County CF, where the clean air and high UV dispels any bell pepper, so we just have the bright white cheery aromas accented by varietal cinnamon and droughty herbs like sage and bay laurel. These wines take forever to resolve, so we gave this 78 months in neutral French oak. This is the wine I’m known for.
My apologies for chiming in so late. I’m in rural Kentucky teaching and consulting with 45 local winemakers, and could not get a signal until now.
There are winemakers in Kentucky?? 
I, too, would be in for this if I didn’t have already. Got enough of the CF (assuming this is possible in the first place) but if an extra bottle or two of Grenache was hanging around we’d probably help.
Hi all,
Just so happened to see what was on woot today and to my surprise, my good friend Clark Smith’s wines.
Both wines are delicious, as mentioned above the Grenache could be compared to a Pinot in the sense of its lighter body, strawberry and cherry as well as perfumy aroma, and “buzzing minerality” that is very classic of SCM AVA.
One little secret note if you don’t know already, Clark took a portion of these grapes and made a “blanc de noir” sparkling wine. Amazing stuff and only made about 100 cases. I suggest you give the office queen Sandra a call to get your hands on some of that special wine. New Year’s eve is coming up soon!!!
It came out so delicious he’s making more this year. We just tasted the base wine together the other day.
And Kentucky is not even on the ship-to state list!
Been away from Woot for too long. And the day I login, great wines from WineSmith. A treat indeed!
Just call Sandra at the winery. We can ship just about everywhere. 707-332-5552 M-F 9AM - 4PM Pacific time.
So good to hear from you Mike! Got a late email alerting Winesmith on Woot. Nice to see this offering. Interested in how things are in Sonoma, we will be heading there next week. I’ll call Sandra to schedule an appointment. See you all then. Thanks again for all your wonderful offerings. Love Winesmith!!!
I had that sparkling at his wedding reception. Goes great with choral music!
Ron - or Klez - if you’re still up for the grenache, I’ll get a set. I bought the grenache 3 pack in August and have enough, but I don’t have any 2010 Cab Franc.
I could help.
Looks like you’re covered either way. Just let us know.