Grenache Through the Years: A Study of Delectation
July 03, 2025
By Chelsea Franchi
Wine, at its very core, is about joy. Even within the most lauded, serious, imposing bottles, there’s a spark of elation to be found and savored. There is joy in the wine itself, of course – but just as much in the hearts of those who share it. There’s an intimacy in the act of buying a bottle, bringing it home, and tucking it safely away. To bring wine into your home is, in essence, an investment in future happiness - a promise of something special to look forward to.
You hold that bottle in your mind, imagining the occasion or meal where that particular bottle will elevate the experience. And finally, when the time comes: the pop of the cork punctuating the conversation and laughter, the cheerful burble as the wine is poured, the clink of glasses raised in celebration. The tasting, and the discussion that follows. These rituals are so simple, yet so full of feeling and care. And all of it is steeped in happiness.
Some wines, I believe, carry that joy more effortlessly. And dear reader, may I present to you one of the most joyous: Grenache. We adore Grenache here at Tablas Creek. We love it in the vineyard. We love it on its own, we love it in blends. We love it young and we love it as it evolves with age. Grenache offers remarkable range and depth, delighting us with its many expressions.
So we were thrilled when varietal Grenache was chosen for this year’s Vertical Tasting event, which will be held at the winery on Sunday, July 13th. Every year, we do at least two reflective tastings and host them as events: the ten-year retrospective Horizontal Tasting, where we explore all the wines we made in a given vintage (you can see Jason’s blog on the 2015 Horizontal Tasting here), and a Vertical Tasting, where we taste every vintage we’ve produced of a selected wine.
Before these events, we get the team together to taste through the wines so we can choose the vintages we want to showcase. In addition, Jason takes the opportunity to update the vintage chart and the blog. The rest of us take the opportunity to have an epic day at work.
This year, with Jason in Italy enjoying a well-earned vacation (not to worry, he’ll return in time for the event!), I was joined by Amanda, Craig and Kaitlyn from the cellar and Austin and Gustavo from the vineyard. Together, we embraced the serious business of having fun at work, tasting through 15 vintages of Grenache and picking our favorites to share with those of you who can join us at the event.
Our notes on each of the wines are as follows:
2006 Grenache (90% Grenache, 10% Syrah) – Our first varietal Grenache offered a nose of cedar, dried rose petals, and membrillo. On the palate, dried fig, olive, allspice and a yerba Buena mintiness. The palate showed lively, playful acid, but the wine didn’t have much tannic grip. It’s pleasant, especially with the energy brought by the acids, but we all agreed its best to enjoy this wine sooner than later.
2007 Grenache (90% Grenache, 10% Syrah) – The nose showed rich forest floor and chocolate covered cherry with fruity floral character reminiscent of hibiscus flower. On the palate, anise seed, violets, red delicious apple, coffee grounds and a refreshing lift that made us think of mint chip ice cream. We all kept coming back to this wine and sharing more tasting notes. What a treat.
2008 Grenache – A nose full of baked fig, damp pine needles, cherry compote, green tea and dried blueberries. On the palate, matcha, wild berry preserves, potpourri, clove and bitter chocolate. Complex and moody in all the right ways.
2009 Grenache – Freshly baked berry pie, sun warmed bramble thicket, goji berries and acai, eucalyptus on the nose. The mouth is delightfully old-world and full of herb-crusted meat, olive tapenade and teriyaki. There’s an immensely appealing saline quality to this wine that we all really enjoyed.
2010 Grenache – This wine made a mess of my tasting notes in the best possible way; there’s no organization and the descriptions are simply an excited profusion, which is an excellent analogy for how I felt about the wine. Make what you will about these notes, I guess? Cool, minty, and fresh. Chocolate, balsam, red cherry. Cracked pink peppercorn, apple skin, grilled plum. Lavender fields! Iron! Sandalwood, salted watermelon and chocolate-covered strawberries. Blood orange, clove, violets. This felt like a turning point in the style of wines – a little nimbler and more vivacious. This wine is vibrant and alive and utterly gorgeous.
2012 Grenache – Warm and cozy on the nose: spiced graham cracker, chocolate ganache and fresh, juicy black figs. On the palate, cranberry jelly (from the can, for those of you with inquiring minds), sea spray, coffee beans, honeysuckle and chaparral. This wine was focused and precise and had impressive grip and length.
2013 Grenache – The nose is spicy and rich with Campari, macerated black cherry, ground black pepper, toasted orange peel, and dried sage. The palate is opulent, plush, deep and dark, full of bloody iron, warm red earth, pomegranate, herbs de Provence and spiced plums. This wine feels like it could go for miles.
2016 Grenache – The nose opened with orange oil, dried wildflowers, and cured olives. On the palate, it carried a distinctive crunchiness. Descriptions like pomegranate, underripe strawberry, and apple Jolly Rancher were thrown around in an effort to describe the beautiful brightness the wine possesses.
2017 Grenache – One of my favorite vintages across the board, and this wine didn’t disappoint. All the descriptors were “sweet”, but it was a magnificently balanced wine. Mountain sage, sugared strawberries, torn basil, and marzipan all showed with aplomb on the nose. The palate was plump, generous, and complex, showing fig paste, maple syrup, lemon oil and candied violets.
2018 Grenache – This wine felt like it was telling a story from the property. It was classic and pure and so essentially Tablas Creek. The nose is warm and comforting with pomegranate juice, watermelon, and rosemary oil. The palate leapt with bright acidity. Pops of fresh cranberries, plum skin, fresh ripe raspberries and rhubarb.
2019 Grenache – On the nose, fresh blueberries, toasted brioche, cocoa powder and those hard strawberry candies that come in a wrapper that look like a strawberry. You know what I’m talking about, yes? On the palate, olallieberry, Asian pear, luxardo cherry and cranberry juice. Still young and full of immense promise.
2020 Grenache – The nose showed grilled peaches, strawberry gallet and fresh thyme. The palate carried notes of raspberry preserves, chewy black licorice, and a bowl of fresh pomegranate seeds. This one was wound pretty tight and felt tannin-bound; I’d decant next time.
2021 Grenache – The nose burst forward with aromas of fresh mixed berries, bruised mint, coconut crème and cassis. On the palate, meat drippings, vanilla bean, sugar snap peas, hibiscus tea and fennel. Chewy and delightful, I wanted to bring this one home to enjoy with dinner that very night. This one would be something special to share with any group.
2022 Grenache – Candied everything on both the nose and the palate. On the nose, candied strawberry, candied violets, black currant. The palate never came across as sweet as there were enough green and savory aspects to keep the sweetness in check. Aperol, garrigue, green tea, salted watermelon, and freeze dried strawberry worked together seamlessly to create a really gorgeous experience.
2023 Grenache – Marionberry, sandalwood and red current filled the nose. The mouth was gorgeous and seemed to melt into the palate while still keeping its structure. Salted fruit, anise, milk chocolate, and warm oak leaf and a sweet herb note. Lovely.
Tasting through nearly two decades of Grenache reminded us why we love it so much. All of the wines showed, in varying degrees, what we know to expect from this beloved variety – the trademark playfulness, chewiness, and vibrancy - but there were a few surprises. There was nothing linear about this tasting, and while we all walked in fully expecting to overuse the word “strawberry”, that was far from the case. These wines showed a dazzling array of styles which were all threaded together by the Tablas Creek signature. To provide a representative sample of some of our favorite wines from the tasting, we’ve tentatively chosen the following vintages to show at the event: 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2017, 2021, and 2023.
I very much look forward to sharing these wines with those of you who can attend the Vertical Tasting. And even if you’re not able to join us in person, I hope you’ll get the chance to open something special that sparks your own joy.