2019 Faethm / Fingers Crossed Grenache

The 2019 Grenache Two Become One has really closed down in bottle. That's a good sign for ultimate longevity, but I would not plan on opening a bottle anytime soon. The purity of the fruit is striking though, as is the wine's energy. This is a dense, opulent and jammy Grenache.

The 2019 Grenache Two Become One comes from four vineyards—The Third Twin, Vogelzang, Bien Nacido and Sebastiano. It is blended with 13% Mourvèdre and 11% Syrah, made with 29% whole clusters, and matured for 20 months in 56% new French oak. Opaque ruby-purple in color, it begins with reticent scents of blackberry jam, tar, licorice, lavender and bouquet garni with touches of coffee beans, taking plenty of time to unfold in the glass. The full-bodied palate surprises with its concentrated, dark berry fruit, framed by seamless acidity and finely grained tannins. It gains complexity over time, offering up more layers as it airs, and it finishes with soaring floral perfume, suggesting it could use a few more years in bottle or a long decant to show at its best. 381 cases were made, and it will be sold as a six-bottle set with one bottle of white wine, two bottles of Syrah and three bottles of Grenache ($685). This was bottled in July of 2021 and tasted May 24, 2022.

The 2019 Grenache Two Become One is a bright, effusive wine. Floral and spice aromatics give the 2020 a striking upper register. Juicy red/purplish berry fruit, spice, rose petal and licorice all meld together in this gorgeous, inviting wine. Veins of supporting tannin lend a good deal of energy. Grenache and Mourvèdre were co-fermented, with the Syrah blended in later, an approach that worked so well here.