2025 Storm Wines, Rosé of Grenache, Santa Barbara County.
The beautifully pale, aromatic and delicate bodied dry Rosé, made from Grenache, is a fresh and crisply focused pink wine that impresses for its subtle fruit, zippy acidity and restraint in character with bright mineral toned strawberry, grapefruit, sour cherry and spiced crushed raspberry, along with wet stone, peppery lavender, rosewater and sappy herbs. The is mouth watering and refreshing stuff, easily additive in the glass and one bottle is pushing it, offering a lot of joy and seriously delicious in the sunshine. Storm Wines, formed by Ernst Storm, embraces old world influences and new world techniques, along with the Mediterranean climate, diverse soils, and exciting new opportunities found here in Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez and Santa Maria, on the cooler Central Coast vineyards. All fruit, for Storm, including his Rosé, comes from long term relationships at sustainable, organic or biodynamic vineyards, which capture the essence of the place and the natural force within them. The Storm Wines Grenache Rosé saw early picks, careful selections and a short maceration before a cold fermentation and aging in stainless steel tanks to preserve vibrant clarity and tension. At this point, the Rosé is going to be found mostly out in the market at wine shops and restaurants, with only a few bottles left at their tasting room in Los Olivos, so keep your eyes pealed for it!
I’ve been a long time fan of this very talented South African winemaker, Ernst Storm, who I tasted with recently, and his lovely and authentic set of wines, which appeal for the less equals more approach and letting the grapes do the talking. Non pretentious and with a dry wit, Storm echos the best qualities of his wines, especially this Rhône red blend, that I reviewed earlier, and is one of my favorites in his latest collection of offerings, along with his Sangiovese, which was all new to me, this dry Rosé of Grenache, the Sauvignon Blanc, with its jalapeño and gooseberry zing, and the lovely Presqu’ile Vineyard Pinot Noir, which is maybe a signature effort. The Grenache is from the cooler Los Alamos Valley, grown on sandy Diatomaceous earth, the vines see a cool breeze from the Pacific Ocean and get long hang-times to develop full flavors at lower sugar levels. This 2025 vintage shows off a more Provence style, with its delicately pale color, rather than Tavel, which tends to be much darker and more fruit expressive, and it will be a Summer treat with beach picnics and warm evening dinning. As I mentioned previously, I can’t believe it has been 20 years since Ernst left South Africa to explore California and more than 10 years since I first tasted his wines in San Francisco, he’s become quite a fixture in the Santa Barbara wine community and much admired by his peers.
($29 Est.) 91 Points, grapelive