2012 Villa Creek Garnacha Denner Vineyard
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Tasting notes
The 2012 Garnacha, which was tasted from bottle, is a clean, mid-weight effort that has beautiful strawberry and blackberry fruits, mulling spices, dried flowers and hints of vanilla in its medium-bodied, supple, up-front and delicious style. Already approachable, drink it over the coming 4-5 years. Winemaker Cris Cherry continues to push the whole cluster and savory style in his wines, while not losing the core of fruit that the region is known for. These new releases all have rich, tannic profiles that benefit from air, and will be even better in another year or two. In addition, I was able to do a retrospective of Cris’s Garnacha and High Road James Berry Vineyard, but wasn’t able to get those reviews into this report. Those reviews will be published in separate article at a later date. Tel. (805) 238-7145; www.villacreekwine.com
Critic scores
Average Score
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
Jeb Dunnuck, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
The 2012 Garnacha jumps from the glass with freshly cut flowers, sweet red berries and mint. Varietal notes abound in this fresh, vibrant, mid-weight Grenache full of varietal character. Once again, the Garnacha is one of the most expressive wines in Villa Creek's lineup. The 2012 is a blend of fruit from Denner, James Berry and Luna Matta, done with 75% stems. A portion of the wine (30%) is done in tank, which keeps the flavors bright.