2015 Grenache - Lobo Creek Estate Vineyard

CORKED! Unfortunately every once in a while you'll pop a cork and realize that something is wrong. In this case, something was very wrong. A strong, pungent smell of wet cardboard and rotten green apple wafted from the bottle immediately. Textbook TCA (cork taint), which had rendered the wine completely undrinkable. Such a sad happening, especially when you were really looking forward to the bottle!

We originally tried this wine last year at a small tasting room in Malibu and were very impressed. The wine showed surprising restraint along with great complexity and verve. It comes from the tiny Malibu Coast AVA, a moderate climate locale just north of Los Angeles with significant marine influences. Crunchy red fruit, great acidity, and a distinct note of volcanic soil are what we remember about this 2015 Grenache by the now defunct Lobo Creek Estate Vineyards. Hoping we can track down another bottle to revisit this fun wine again soon!