Gramercy Cellars Spring Release 2020
Hello!
I’ve started and deleted this opening paragraph 50 times. Nichole at the winery is emailing me “Get. Me. The. Newsletter.” Usually I know what to say. Sometimes it’s even funny. I feel like I am currently living in two worlds – the outside world, with its uncertainty and turbulence. The inside world, as trip after trip, event after event gets cancelled, has me comfortable and secure in my home office. This month should have been crazy for me – trips to Europe including the UK, Germany and, for the first time, Moscow. However, now I sit looking at a relatively empty calendar. It’s become a time to reflect and think about what’s important – family, friends, things that matter. I want to begin by saying thank you for being a part of the Gramercy family. Hopefully, these wines provide a reason for some time to sit with friends and family and think about what truly matters.
Last year, we officially introduced a Les Collines Syrah to the portfolio. This spring marks our second release of this vineyard. The 2017 Les Collines Syrah is a special version of this bottling as it is from Block 46 at Les Collines. Astute club members will note that this is usually the John Lewis block. Yep, that’s true. But why did we declassify the block? We didn’t. And yes, the quality is at the John Lewis level. We will wait to reveal the makeup of the 2017 John Lewis until the winter, but the 2017 Les Collines is both an insane wine and crazy value. If we did commercials, I’d hire Crazy Eddie to be the pitchman. Two bottles in the box.
Secondly, the second release of a surprising wine – 2013 Sangiovese “Sola Gratia” from the Ciel du Cheval Vineyard. As is the case with Sangiovese in its traditional Italian home; this wine took longer to relax its intense tannins. So, we aged it in the bottle at the winery for a couple more years. The wine, the last of our Sangiovese offerings, is in an incredible place. Those of you who are thirsty as the FedEx driver walks down the driveway should select this wine to open first. Then throw up a 95 point review on Cellartracker. Yeah, I still read those, and they still influence my overall emotional state. Go ahead, make my day.
The third wine is another offering from the Gramercy Estate Vineyards. While the 2016 was Merlot-based from both our vineyards, the 2017 Gramercy “Estates” wine is 99% Cabernet from the tiny JB George Vineyard, across from Pepper Bridge. It’s a wine that confidently straddles both the New and Old Worlds in aromatic and taste profile as well as richness and structure. It’s fantastic – for right now, as Pam devoured almost an entire bottle when I wrote the tasting notes last week, but will definitely reward some patience. As Mrs. Harrington is, let’s say, accustomed to world-class wines, I got the rare “Damn, Honey, this is really good” for this 2017 Estate.
Next, the 2016 Forgotten Hills Syrah. The more I try our 2016 Syrah’s, the more astounded I am with the vintage. I think it will prove to be a better vintage than 2015, despite what critics thought. The Forgotten Hills Syrah is an amusing wine for our tasting room staff. When it first makes the game-day lineup, tasters gloss over it without a thought. Then, about 6-9 months later, the same people on return, will give us a “Wow, what the heck is that???!!!” Sales on this wine are a classic hockey stick graph. It’s a wine that’s super shy on release, as are many of the great vineyards in the world. Give this one a few years or a few days open before trying it.
Lastly, we have the 2017 “Third Man” Grenache. In 2017, it is a single vineyard wine from Olsen Vineyard. What more can we say about Olsen Vineyard? How much more can we praise the vineyard? It leads the count for the most MTA bottlings. Our Grenache is starting to be recognized. In past years, it took a while to sell out, but now it has a cult following. If it had an Instagram account, it would be approaching 100k followers. The 2017 vintage, a bit cooler, allowed for perfect ripening over a longer growing season. The 2017 Third Man is most likely the best we have ever made.
To order additional bottles, please visit the Shop side of our website. As always, thank you so much for your support of Gramercy Cellars. We promise never to stop trying to make each wine a bit better every year.
Best,
Greg Harrington
For extended tasting notes on the Spring Release Wines see bottom of this article.
Upcoming Gramercy Events
Thursday, April 16th – Portland MTA Party 5:00 – 8:00pm
Free for MTA Members – Guests at $25
Registration – email nichole@gramercycellars.com
April 3rd & 4th – Spring Kick-Off Weekend
Tasting Room Hours – Open Friday & Saturday from 11-5pm, no appointments necessary for groups of 6 or fewer.
MTA Event: Friday, April 3rd – Wine Club Party 4:30 – 7:30pm
Free for MTA members – Guests at $15
Registration – email nichole@gramercycellars.com
May 1st & 2nd – Spring Release Weekend
Tasting Room Hours – Open Friday & Saturday from 11-5pm, no appointments necessary for groups of 6 or fewer.
MTA Event: Saturday, May 2nd – Greg’s Educational “Somm Seminar”
Free for MTA members – Limit two tickets per membership
Registration – email nichole@gramercycellars.com
Email nichole@gramercycellars.com with any questions.
