2012 God Only Knows Grenache
Estimated value
Buying options
Tasting notes
The 2012 Grenache God Only Knows is complex, expressive and sitting squarely in its peak drinking window. From the high-density (1,815 vines per acre) Armada Vineyard, planted in 2001, it was matured for 21 months in used French demi-muids and foudres. It has highly nuanced aromas ranging from raspberry and strawberry to wildflowers, iodine, charcuterie and aniseed. The medium-bodied palate is just as complex and perfumed. It’s structured by soft, powdery tannins and fireworks of fresh acidity and has a long, layered finish. 493 cases were made.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jeb Dunnuck
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
(aged in used puncheons from René Rostaing): Medium bright red. Wonderfully perfumed aromas of ripe raspberry, kirsch , garrigue and potpourri, complicated by a saline element. Leanish, penetrating flavors of purple fruits lifted by violet; not at all a red fruit style of Grenache. Quite tightly wound and firmly tannic, with a finishing perfume that struck me as Burgundian.
Structured and backward, the 2012 Grenache God Only Knows Armada Vineyard offers lots of framboise, black cherries, bouquet garni and spice to go with a full-bodied, seamless, elegant feel on the palate. It picks up more and more tannin with time in the glass, and needs 3-4 years of cellaring, but should keep for 15 years or more. Jun 2015, www.robertparker.com