2022 Lindquist Family GSM
This wine is 55% Grenache, 30% Syrah and 15% Mourvèdre. The Grenache and Syrah come from the organically farmed Reeves Vineyard in the Edna Valley, the Mourvèdre is from the Demeter Certified Biodynamic Martian Ranch Vineyard in the Alisos Canyon area of Santa Barbara County. I wanted to use the recently approved “San Luis Obispo Coast” appellation for this wine, which requires that at least 85% of the grapes come from that AVA.
The Edna Valley is one of the coolest grape growing areas in California, and the Reeves Vineyard is situated on a northeast facing slope on the western edge of the AVA…so one of the coolest climate areas of the Edna Valley.
Martian Ranch in the Alisos Canyon AVA is considerably warmer but is still considered a “cool climate” site by UC Davis standards. It’s located in Northern Santa Barbara County, about 6 miles east of the town of Los Alamos, and 8 miles north of the town of Los Olivos. It is one of the most picturesque vineyards that we work with and Mourvèdre thrives there.
2022 was a challenging vintage, warmer than normal and with a brutal 9 day heat wave that arrived around Labor Day. Luckily the GSM varietals are all late ripening, so they got through that ok, ripening between September 28th (Syrah), October 11th (Mourvèdre) and October 19th (Grenache).
The wines were fermented and aged separately in neutral French oak barrels for the first 10 months. Then racked, blended and returned to neutral barrels for an additional 4 months. It was bottled in November 2023.
This wine is a beautiful expression of the Grenache grape grown in cool climate, with aromas violets, wild cherries and spice. The Syrah and Mourvèdre are the perfect supporting cast, giving the wine depth, a bit of tannin and earthiness. It is a “drink me now” wine!
Bob Lindquist
November 2024
