"We're your kind of wine." When I hear that I wonder if the guys really know my kind of wine. You get used to disappointments in this line of work.
When I took the cork out, the color was surprising. This was grenache and carignane. It was transluscent. It had that look of life, of not being worked for extraction. Curious piqued.
If you can't read, here's the fine print: low on tanin. Smoky lamb, cooked plum, strawberry purée. Delicate. Touch of skunk, which is good. Touch of bitter, which is good. cola. Very slight tannin.
I was pretty taken with it.
Intrigued with it.
The wine sees no wood, and is on that vin de soif category, at 12.5% alcohol. Let me repeat that, 12.5%. So I Facebooked with one of the makers, Michael Christian, who gave me the low down.They aim for all older vine San Diego fruit. Not believing in the cabernet route, but in the Rhône varietals, and in old vines. Grenache and carignane from highish altitude and crushed granite.
Not whole cluster, but whole berry ferment. No wood. They say no adds, and it tastes that way. There is inoculation for malo, 'cause they want/need to bottle it early and as it's their first vintage, perhaps, lacked confidence. The guys are in their early 50's but absolutely part of the new wine generation, those who are trying to reign back and to express something local and authentic, whatever that means. They don't know yet, but let's see what they do in the next vintages.
2010, sells for about $24 a bottle. The quantity was 125 cases. Big! But promising.
Alice - i am one of the 4 "conspirators" behind Los Pilares - we are so delighted you liked our wine...and even more importantly WHY you liked it. we excited about our first vintage and looking forward to continuing to explore the possibilities of San Diego backcountry, and with any luck, having San Diegans pay more attention to the wine goodness that our area can deliver . Salut ;-) Pelin
Posted by: Pelin Thorogood | 02/13/2012 at 07:20 PM
Glad I saw this Tweet. Alice, there really are more small vintners in California making wine like this than you realize, thanks to the zooming concept of custom crush, dozen of small guys are doing it.
Two Shepherds launched last year with only 175 cases, 500 this year. The GSM is 2/3 from cool climate RRV, all native ferments, unfined, unfiltered, under 14% and all neutral oak. As are the Grenache Blanc, Marsanne/Roussanne, and Viognier.
( http://twoshepherdsvineyards.com/ )
The reds aren't easy sells to standard consumers, but wine aficionados like them, (though young) and are gaga for the whites.
Pelin - will you be at Hospice du Rhone? love to connect.
Posted by: William Allen | 02/16/2012 at 02:01 AM
just tasted and entered a note in cellartracker: https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1211761. looking forward to trying the next vintage
Posted by: Errolcraig | 05/17/2012 at 12:14 AM
This is my home town and I am so excited to try this wine next time I am there.
Posted by: Sarah May | 05/25/2012 at 02:39 AM