2003 Clos Mimi Grenache Hommage a Henri Bonneau

(for 375 ml.; 18.5% alcohol) Deep ruby with a light amber rim. Deep, raisiny dark berry and kirsch aromas are complicated by exotic chestnut honey, toffee and roasted coffee. Deep and sweet, with rich cherry and plum liqueur flavors and a wild array of confectionary qualities: candied fig, dates, ambrosia salad and toffeed nuts. Finishes with good acid grip and lift (the malo apparently stalled), which helps to enliven the exotic qualities. Reminds me of a 30-year-old Graham's Tawny Port, but with more vivid red fruit. The grapes for this were harvested at 33.3o brix, with a pH of 3.94. It was bottled with 33 grams per liter residual sugar, reportedly after spending four years in a seven-year-old French barrique This would be magical with an aged Comte or serious cheddar, such as Montgomery's or one of the fantastic cloth-wrapped versions coming out of Vermont.

A barrel sample of the 2003 Hommage a Henri Bonneau (100% Grenache from the Core Vineyard, macerated 20 days with 100% whole clusters) displays a distinctive Amarone-like style that brought to mind certain vintages of late-harvested Chateauneuf du Pape. Like all the Clos Mimi cuvees, it is fermented with 100% indigenous yeasts, and no acidulation, enzymes, nutrients, or water are utilized. According to winemaker/proprietor Tim Spear, the residual sugar is approximately 2-3%. It is very sweet, thick, rich, and clearly late harvest in style. The most controversial of Clos Mimi’s wines, it is hard to know exactly where it is headed, but I suspect it will age well. It will be bottled in the fall of 2007, after 48 months in barrel! Tel. (805) 489-2900