Fulldraw Vineyard, Paso Robles
$89 (Wine Club Reorder Price: $80)
If you haven’t jumped on the Grenache bandwagon yet, now is your chance. It’s a versatile grape that can be bright, fruity, and easy drinking or it can be serious, complex, and bold. I call it an “anytime wine” as it can be sipped on a sunny summer afternoon or something you curl up next to the fireplace with in winter.
Chasing Windmills is a tiny project made by TOR Wines in Napa Valley. They had an opportunity to get some fruit from the famed Fulldraw Vineyard located on the West side of Paso Robles. TOR has been playing around with Grenache for years, but until now they never found a Grenache that inspired them as much as their Beckstoffer Napa Cabs.
The Fulldraw Vineyard originated in 2012 when owner Connor McMahon jumped on the opportunity to acquire a 100-acre vineyard site in the Templeton Gap on the West side Paso Robles. With six years of winemaking and farming experience at the adjacent Booker Vineyard, he understood that with its limestone soils and cooling maritime influences, this was a place where the Rhone varieties he loved would thrive. Many top wineries use Fulldraw fruit in their wines and it is a privilege to share this bottle of Grenache with you – after all, only 170 cases were made.
This is a powerful and sophisticated Grenache, the 2017 Chasing Windmills features strawberry and raspberry flavors and is seamlessly balanced. It’s packed with dark red fruits and a subtle mineral note that lifts the wine to keep it light – it’s a beautiful example of new world Grenache done right. They added a “touch of pepper” with 2% Syrah which deepens the color to the beautiful ruby red you’ll see in your glass.
This wine’s medium body, juicy fruit flavors, and high alcohol enable pairing with a wide variety of foods and cheeses, but I think the ideal meal would be a grilled tuna steak with a side of roasted veggies and mac & cheese.
Taylor Morgan – April 2021
Bacchus & Venus Wines 