2021 I. Brand & Family Winery, Grenache, Besson Vineyard, Santa Clara Valley AVA, California.
One of my favorite single vineyard wines, year after year, is Ian Brand’s Besson Vineyard Grenache, with vines that are a hundred years old and grown on rocky soils at the foot of the Santa Cruz Mountains in the Santa Clara AVA, which always is dark, expressive and delicious. This is a Grenache lovers wine with deep fruit, showing off plum, wild berry, pomegranate and red currant on there medium/full palate, along with some stem savory/smoky notes, feral earth, licorice, sandalwood, delicate dark lilac florals and tangy herbs. A bit more gripping than a Pinot, but with similar elements and full of hedonist qualities this 2021, with a good cut of acidity, also has refined tannins and should be paired with hearty cuisine and should drink nicely for many years. Ian Brand, especially when I first met him, was a committed Grenachista and while he still is he has filled out his collection of small batch wines under his personal I. Brand & Family label, adding an incredible array of whites, from Pinot Gris to Arneis, along with some stellar mountain Cabernet Sauvignons and terroir driven Cab Francs. Besson was first introduced to me by Bonny Doon’s Randall Grahm, who used it in his Clos de Gilroy Grenache, but Ian’s version takes it up a few levels, with a transparently rustic edge to it, that appeals to me. Brand does a few other Grenache based wines, but this one definitely is one to grab for immediate use and or putting away for a few years.
Ian has been making one of California’s best solo varietal Grenache wines from these historic ten acres of centenarian vines for quite a while now, noting that they are set on the rocky, granitic soiled alluvial bench over Uvas Creek, not too far from Gilroy. Brand picks from blocks 3 and 5 in the rockiest alluvium closest to the creek, which he feels transmits the best of this terroir and benefits include a stony essence. The Besson family, Brand says, acquired the ranch in the forties and continues to guide it through the ever-changing California cultural and viticultural landscape with back breaking care and holistic methods, helping preserve part of California almost lost history, especially in this lesser known region. This is one of the last vineyards that Ian picks every year due to its proximity to Hecker Pass and the cooling breezes off Monterey Bay, the long growing season adding to the depth, complexity and age-ability. The winemaking perfectly captures the best features of the grape and vintage, it is 100% Grenache fermented with about 50% whole cluster, but all whole berries. The uncrushed fruit was uninoculated and macerated for 20 days before being pressed to barrel. The Besson Grenache was then aged on lees in 225L barriques for 18 months with close to 25% new in this vintage, which is proving to be well judged by just how god this wine is showing already. I’m excited with the latest wines here and look forward to see how they evolve over the next 3 to 5 years.
($48 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive