Cayuse, God Only Knows Grenache, Walla Walla Valley 2015

The 2015 Grenache God Only Knows Armada Vineyard is superb, wafting from the glass with a bouquet of kaleidoscopic complexity that features aromas of rose hips and peony, ripe cherries and orange rind, mingled with savory bass notes of garrigue, licorice and bay leaf. On the palate, it's full-bodied, layered and expansive, with a deep core of fruit framed by very fine-grained, velvety tannins, concluding with a sapid, even saline finish. Its concentration without weight, as well as its striking aromatic amplitude, mark it out as one of the finest expressions of Grenache to be found in the United States. The 2015 was cropped at 1.2 tons per acre and saw a saigne of 8% to 15%, and it was fermented with 70% to 80% whole cluster, attaining 14.2% alcohol.