2023 Storm Wines, Grand Marque Rouge, Rhône Style Red, Santa Barbara County.
Ernest Storm’s Grand Marque Rouge, a mostly Santa Ynez Valley blend of 66% Grenache, 17% Mourvedre and 17% Syrah from the cool 2023 vintage is a beauty with crunchy freshness and a slightly lighter frame, showing off a range of wild plum, strawberry, currant, cranberry, blueberry, black cherry and brambly raspberry fruits on the medium bodied palate. The 2023 Grand Marque Rouge starts with its inviting purple/ruby color and delicate floral tones and grabs your attention with a pop of exotic spices, subtle savory elements and its crisp detailing, there’s a nice balanced structure, but everything is poised and smoothly woven together. I’ve been a long time fan of this South African winemaker, Ernst Storm 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 wine and this Rhône blend is one of my favorites in his latest collection of offerings, along with his Sangiovese, which was all new to me, the dry Rosé of Grenache, the Sauvignon Blanc, with its jalapeño and gooseberry zing, and the lovely Presqu’ile Vineyard Pinot Noir, a signature effort. At just about 13.5% natural alcohol, this 2023 Grand Marque is peppery, juicy fresh, with its zesty acidity, and great with a meal, gaining presence in the glass with air and food, drink this vintage now and often. Ernst says the valleys and hillsides of the Santa Ynez Valley are perfect for growing Rhône varietals and that the Grenache is from the cooler Los Alamos Valley, whereas the Mourvèdre and Syrah are grown in the warmer areas of the Los Olivos District. 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. Storm used main de-stemmed grapes, though there was approximately 50% whole cluster on the Grenache. The more hands off, natural approach, with native yeasts and used French barrels, just adds to the transparent deliciousness here. Time flies, 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.
Ernst Storm, who set up his California label back in 2006 or so, as mentioned, grew up in South Africa and completed his studies at Elsenburg Agricultural School, which is just outside the town of Stellenbosch in the Western Cape. After completing his final year, Ernst worked as a winemaker in the Stellenbosch region and also spent two harvests in the cooler Walker Bay region in South Africa, where Pinot and Chard do exceptionally well. During this period he was also consulting on a few smaller projects with his brother Hannes Storm, who does his own Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, an area that should be on your radar for outstanding Burgundy styled cool climate wines. At that time Ernst learned the arts that have brought him success in crafting balanced wines made from Pinot Noir and interestingly Sauvignon Blanc, both of which he does fabulously well with here. Ernst found Santa Barbara County after making wines throughout California and saw a lot of potential for carving out a niche for his style of winemaking and formed Storm Wines, which was started with just 6 barrels in 2006. Santa Barbara’s and Santa Maria’s Mediterranean climate shares many similarities with that of the Western Cape and the diverse soils and microclimates within these counties, as Storm adds, make it a region with endless possibilities to explore and a great place for him to express himself.As I noted when I first tried Storm’s 2012 version, Ernst, being from South Africa goes for more cooler sites in the Santa Ynez and Santa Maria Valleys, like the Cape in his homeland, that express deep ripe flavors, but at lower alcohol levels, so unlike modern Châteauneuf du Pape or Paso Robles, there is not 15-16% in his wines, they show a bit more delicacy and lively natures, coming in at closer to 13.5% in most years. Also, as a side note, Storm does a Gamay too, though it was sold out when I was there, and a all new set of Chardonnays, which I hope to taste soon.I was thrilled to visit both the Storm tasting room, which is in the heart of Los Olivos, and the winery in Santa Maria, right next to the Presqu’ile Vineyards winery, and got to spend some relaxed time with Ernst himself, hearing his stories and learning more about his wines. I highly recommend visiting the tasting room and getting on his mailing list, especially to grab some the the Donnachadh and Presqu’ile single vineyard bottlings.
($42 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive