2014 Sheldon, Vinolocity, Grenache, Sonoma Valley.
The Sheldon Vinolocity is a 2 barrel cuvee of Sonoma Valley Grenache grown on ancient river bed soils with sandy loam and it is a severely rocky site, the location is cool and breezy near the border with Carneros to the south and Sonoma Coast to the west, making for a unite site that requires lots of hard work and serious hang time. Dylan and Tobe Sheldon love it, they get surprisingly low alcohol and supple tannins along with exotic spice, mineral and luxurious fruit and textural sensuality, and the 2014 looks set to be a special vintage for this special cuvee. Grenache is their thing, it is a shared passion for this varietal and the Sheldon’s do it well since their honeymoon making wine for Louis Barruol at Chateau de Saint-Cosme in Gigondas, and the Vinolocity is their flagship example and wine. The 2014 Vinolocity starts with dried roses, black raspberry, cinnamon and chalk dust as this ruby red hued wine unfolds in the glass, it has a light to medium mouth feel, silken and graceful, but as it gathers itself and has some air it fills out on the palate with pomegranate, wild strawberry, peppercorns and red peach flesh and the weight seems to grown in a subtle and slow fashion. Dylan, a Wine geek slash perfectionist and Tobe the artist slash scientist , love elegance, delicacy and balance, and at 13.8% the new release of his Rhone influenced Vinolocity seems wonderfully in line with their goals as a winemakers, this is a focused Grenache with satiny lush fruit and a rewarding long finish that lingers with dried currants, cedar, star anise and tangy huckleberry. Ferments happen naturally, whole cluster and basket pressed, methods that have served them well and allow terroir and character to shine through, with zero new oak. This wine is young and has some more complexity to come, but it is oh so tasty now it is almost impossible to resist! The Sheldon’s micro-winery in Santa Rosa only crafted some 50 cases of this stuff and it will go fast, drink from 2016 to 2022, this is another impressive wine from Sheldon, also be sure to check out their old school Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon, the Red Hat old vine Petite Sirah and the gorgeous and tropical Grenache Blanc, plus the earlier rated/reviewed Syrah!
($42 Est.) 93+ Points, grapelive
