2015 God Only Knows Grenache

The 2015 Grenache God Only Knows comes from the high-density (1,815 vines per acre) Armada Vineyard, planted in 2001. Matured for 21 months in used French demi-muids and foudres, it opens with soaring raspberry and strawberry perfume plus pure accents of iodine, olive tapenade and desiccated wildflowers. The medium-bodied palate is just as generous, offering highly concentrated flavors without weight. It’s structured by luxuriously powdery tannins and fireworks of fresh acidity and has a very long, layered finish. It’s complex and crunchy despite the hot growing season and is just entering its peak drinking window. 519 cases were made.

The 2015 God Only Knows has found a very happy place in its maturity. Six years since release and direct from the cellar, this bursts from the glass with a seductive mix of wild strawberry, licorice and sweet spice, complicated by more savory notes of white pepper, olive and seared meat. It's juicy to the core and soothingly round with hints of vividly ripe wild berry fruit, mineral stone and earth tones. A core of vibrant acidity maintains fabulous freshness. The 2015 still possesses a tug of adolescent tannins, yet they don't get in the way. This finishes long and savory with an almost salty tinge that lingers on. Fantastic. The 2015 was fermented with 50% whole clusters and matured for 20 months in neutral French oak, demi muids and foudres.

Coming from the Armada Vineyard and a field blend of primarily Grenache, the 2015 God Only Knows is a singular beauty that could come from nowhere else. Its light ruby color is followed by a complex, nuanced bouquet of ripe cherries, sous bois, herbes de Provence, and charcoal/cold fireplace-like nuances. It blossoms with time in the glass, is medium-bodied, has integrated acidity, and fine tannin, and it just glides over the palate and is a joy to drink. It’s going to be better with 2-3 years of bottle age and keep for a decade. The unfortunate news at Cayuse this year was issues with the corks on their 2015 releases. For whatever reason, paraffin wax, which is used to coat the outside of corks, ended up being pushed into the bottle during bottling leaving particles as well as an oily residue in the wines. The only 2015s to be released were the Armada Syrah, God Only Knows, and The Lovers. This is heartbreaking, and I still remember tasting these fabulous wines from barrel. Hat’s off to Christophe Baron and his team at Cayuse for discovering the problem, not releasing faulty wines, and refunding consumers’ money. The 2015s that were bottled showed beautifully, and certainly, the 2016s are also terrific wines.