2019 Bucklin, Otto’s Grenache, Old Hill Ranch Vineyard, Sonoma Valley.
This 2019 Otto’s Grenache from Will Bucklin is a dark hued, powerful and brooding vintage, quite different from the 2018, with earthy blackberry, currant and plum fruit leading the way on the robust palate, along with black pepper, cedar, sage, Provençal herbs, porcini, kirsch liqueur and salted black licorice notes. There’s a bit of rustic tannin, camphor, savory elements, good acidity and very delicate florals as well here, it what really started out as a tightly wound and firm wine that needed a good hour to unwind and show off a much more charming personality and pure varietal characteristics. Once fully open, and even better on day two, this Sonoma Valley Bucklin Otto’s Grenache, just pushing 14.3% natural alcohol, from the historic and famous Old Hill Ranch, site of the first Zinfandel vineyard in California back in the 1850s, there was a lot more depth of fruit adding juicy strawberry and boysenberry compote notes. As mentioned in prior reviews, the Bucklin wines typically see native yeasts, fermented and macerated primarily in stainless steel and then aged a year or so in mainly used barrels, which is why you get to see raw authentic flavors, varietal character and sense place all come together in the wines here. Again as written here previously, after graduating from UC Davis in 1986, Bucklin interned at Château Lafite Rothschild in Pauillac (Bordeaux) before heading to Oregon to further his learning experience, after which his took over winemaking at Old Hill Ranch for his family’s efforts, turning it into very celebrated and coveted small production winery under his Bucklin label. Bucklin is trying to make his wines in the vineyard and is as hands off as possible in the cellar, as he notes he is very committed to low intervention, but without any “Natural Winemaker” dogma attached, he does not add nutrients to the fermentations and only adds sulfur dioxide at very minimal levels to eliminate oxidation. I love the Zins here at Bucklin, but this Otto’s Grenache, with its Châteauneuf du Pape like depth and complexity continues to impress and intrigue me.
Bucklin produces only wines coming from their legendary Heritage family vineyard, the Old Hill Ranch planted in the middle of the 1800s, which is a total of 24 acres, broken up into seven different blocks from which Will Bucklin makes his nine different small lot wines, mainly Zinfandel of course, but also including this more recent Grenache Noir. Will Bucklin’s stewardship of Old Hill Ranch, as he says, follows in the footsteps of his stepfather Otto Teller, a renowned conservationist, for who this wine is named, started farming in Sonoma Valley in the late 1950s. Bucklin adds that Otto was an ardent organic farmer decades before the notion caught hold, especially here in the Sonoma Valley. Going on Bucklin notes that Otto was a disciple of Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring,” and he refused to use what he called the treadmill of agricultural chemicals on his vines. He believed in dry farming, as Will does, because he knew it produced better wine, with cellar techniques used now, that as noted above, enhance the sense of place and to compliment the quality of the grapes grown here, which promote transparency and rustic charm naturally. The Bucklin’s have preserved the classic old block, as well as planted in the same method, newer parcels like this Otto’s, and the Bambino (young vine) Zinfandel block that sees many other black grapes inter-planted, including Petite Sirah, Alicante Bouschet, Grenache, Mourvedre, Syrah and Carignane. The elder 1880s vines include many others, as Bucklin explains, that through the use of DNA mapping he has documented three very rare varieties that otherwise only exist in the French Alps, most of which are found in the Savoie, Mollard, Persan, and Etraire de la Dui. There is also a small, but an important amount of white grapes too, such as Chardonnay, French Colombard, Chasselas, Muscat of Alexandria and Clairette Blanche that go into his white blend. It’s clear that Old Hill Ranch offers a special look back to California’s past, as well as a glimpse into the future, I highly recommend getting on the mailing list here! If you are a fan of Turley, Biale, Ridge, Storybook Mountain and or Bedrock, I think you’ll want to try out these Bucklin Old Hill Ranch offerings.
($38 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive