2021 Epoch Sensibility

Dusty and floral, the 2021 Sensibility, a varietal Grenache, wafts up with a spicy blend of cedar shavings, minty herbs and dried strawberries. This possesses a pretty inner sweetness and cooling acidity that work in perfect contrast as ripe wild berry fruits swirl throughout. It cleans up beautifully, minerally, intense and mouth-watering, as hints of lavender pastille slowly fade. The Sensibility is a seductress.

The 2021 Sensibility Grenache from the Paderewski Vineyard was fermented in concrete tanks and matured for 17 months in concrete and neutral puncheons. The nose is bursting with pure layers of raspberry, strawberry, blackberry, powdered sugar, lavender and salami with spicy undertones. The medium-bodied palate is bright and juicy with restrained yet expressive flavors, powdery tannins and a long, spicy finish. It will benefit from 3-5 years in bottle. 501 cases were made.

Brought up 50% in concrete and the rest in neutral puncheons, the 2021 Sensibility offers gorgeous aromatics of ripe black cherries, mulberries, flowery incense, spice, and hints of chalky minerality. Medium to full-bodied, beautifully balanced, elegant, and finesse-driven, it's another brilliant wine from this estate. Epoch continues to pull heavily from their estate Paderewski Vineyard, but they’re also releasing new cuvées from their York Mountain estate as those vines come online. I expect this trend to continue. Looking at the wines reviewed here, I was able to taste all their 2020s now from bottle, and they’ve clearly produced some of the top wines in this challenging vintage. If there’s any smoke in these wines, I was unable to find it, and they have remarkable purity in their aromatics and ripe, polished tannins. I was also able to go through the 2021s with winemaker Jordan Fiorentini, and there are some legit genius wines in here that are as good as anything out there. I’d wager these 2021s are some of the finest wines produced from this estate, and I can’t wait to try them again from bottle next year.