THE WINE
Blend: 100% Grenache
Vineyard & AVA: Paper Street Vineyard, Willow Creek District, Paso Robles CA
Alcohol: 15.5%
Aging: Enjoy now, or lay down for 10-15 years
THE SONG
Blessed & Free by Kane Brown featuring H.E.R is an ode to finding hope and peace amid the struggles of hard times. When I listen to this song, it allows me to see the beauty in the struggle, and reminds me that the low points are the best opportunities to grow. Life is a journey, and I feel the most grateful when I learn of my own strength by having it tested. I know that no matter what happens, I’m still blessed and free. The years I’ve spent as a winemaker came with highs and lows. It’s challenging when you're young and dreaming of one day making your own wine. I pursued my own path, and with the Songs label, I’m making single varietal wines in a new and unprecedented way. Blessed & Free is a Grenache unlike any other!
VINTAGE NOTES
2019 will go down as the greatest cool-weather vintage of the decade, maybe even further back than that. Cool vintages produce excellent wines. Fruit hangs on the vine longer, developing more complexity, revealing more depth of character, leaner fruit profiles, and more prominent minerality in the finished wines. It’s like God copy-pasted the 2011 vintage, then erased all the problematic weather events that plagued us eight years ago. The 2019 vintage that our region has been releasing will be cherished now and for years to come, as they are lively and approachable at the moment, while possessing the litheness to age gracefully for another decade or more.
VINIFICATION
Fermented on native yeast, 33% whole cluster, on skin for 14-18 days. Aged for 22 months in 265L Hungarian & French oak barriques, 100% new.
TASTING NOTES
100% Grenache from Paper Street Vineyard. On the nose, bright cherries, orange rind, hints of cedar and toasty oak are reminiscent of an Old Fashioned cocktail. The palate further elaborates the cherry and orange notes, while introducing cranberry, christmas spices, and warm rhubarb pie. This grenache finishes long with mint, warm spices and fresh herbs. This wine reminds me of the color, complexity, and lush richness of a fine Chateauneuf-du-Pape, even without the help of syrah or mourvedre!
