2006 Cass Vineyards Grenache				***
	Region	Price	Purchased	Drank
	Paso Robles, CA	$28	@ the Winery	10/6/08
	A pale, ruby-colored wine with a nose of strawberry, earth, sweet spice and a bit of heat. The palate is light-medium bodied with moderate tannins and acid with flavors of strawberry, cherry, herbs and hints of smoke and spice on the smooth and lengthy finish. Though this wine was just released it is ready to go now, though it could age for another year or two. It's structured and elegant and is more than just a fruit bomb. Not as vibrant as the 2005 was at the same age, but just as well-made.

2006 Dark Star Cellars Grenache				***
	Region	Price	Purchased	Drank
	Paso Robles, CA	$35	@ the Winery	11/12/09
	A medium, clear, ruby-colored wine with bright aromatics of red berries, cherries and earth with notes of sweet spice and herbs. The palate was fairly tight upon opening, so I aerated the wine which settled the acidity and rounded out the mouthfeel with flavors of cherry, strawberry jam, earth and vanilla on the lingering finish. There was great depth and balance from front to back that made me instantly want more. Though more light-bodied than most, it delivers pure Grenache flavors without the obvious heat it's 15.6% abv would suggest. The 06 vintage is winemaker Norm Benson's first foray with this Rhone varietal (his main focus is Bordeaux varietals and Zinfandel) and it compares well to many of the others in the region. That being said, while I enjoyed it a lot (and am glad I have another bottle), I think it's a bit overpriced for the public (I paid $25) and the actual bottle while impressive is too big and heavy. It's pretty classy stuff so I'm intrigued to see what happens with future bottlings.

2006 Edward Sellers Winery Grenache				***
	Region	Price	Purchased	Drank
	Paso Robles, CA	$25	@ the Winery	5/27/10
	A medium, ruby-colored wine with a nose filled with bright red berries, spice, earth and herbs. The palate is round and ripe with medium acidity, no noticeable tannins and a persistant, lingering, sweet spice finish. The fruit flavors of strawberry, cherry and raspberry are well-integrated with the herb, spice and leather components, making this an intensely complex mouthful. While I didn't taste the heat of its' 15.7% abv, I sure did feel it after a glass. Blended with 6% Syrah, which gives this some structure and weight to counter the upfront Grenache fruitiness. Aged in 100% French oak, 15% new, giving the finish just a hint of vanilla. A powerful wine for the price, showcasing the grape in all its bombastic glory. If you like them big, this is the Grenache for you. (420 cases)

2006 Hacienda Molleda Garnacha				**
	Region	Price	Purchased	Drank
	Carinena, Spain	$13	K&L Wines	5/18/10
	A medium, ruby-colored wine with a bright nose of red berries, earth and herbs with hints of pepper and sweet spice. The palate is medium-bodied with noticeable acidity and flavors of raspberry, cherry liquor, garrigue, sweet spice and a bit of dust on the rather short finish. While this wine certainly isn't boring, it's sweet and savory aspects were fighting each other a bit. Shows a bit more restraint and elegance than many competing versions from Spain in the same price point. It's a wine that begs to be drunk with food and one I think we would have liked better if we had it with dinner instead of after. (14% abv)

2006 Hitching Post Alisos Vineyard Grenache				**
	Region	Price	Purchased	Drank
	Santa Barbara, CA	$17	The Wine House	6/30/09
	A medium-bodied, ruby-colored wine with aromas of ripe red fruit and sweet spice with notes of herbs and minerals. The palate has nice acidity and balance with flavors of cherry liquor, raspberry and vanilla with hints of cola, pepper and mocha on the slightly hot finish, which is unexpected since the abv is only 14.5%. More known for their amazing Pinots, this is HPs first single bottling of grenache and for the price it's pretty well-crafted stuff. According to the label they only made about 48 cases of it, so grab one if you can. It's fairly representative of what you can expect from this grape from this region. I think it could use a bit more time in the bottle to soften and integrate, but it's certainly tasty now. Would have ranked higher with a better finish and more finesse.

2006 Imagery Estate Winery Grenache				**
	Region	Price	Purchased	Drank
	Sonoma, CA	$19	@ the Winery	7/23/09
	A medium-ruby colored wine with a bright nose of red fruit, earth and candy with notes of black pepper and smoke. The palate is medium-bodied with a ripe fruit entry of strawberry, cherry and plum with notes of sweet spice and pepper on the lengthy but slightly alcoholic, dusty finish. The tannin and acid are well-balanced, but the heat provides the wine with a bit of a stewed quality that took away from my total enjoyment. It got smoother as the night went on with the spice equally as apparent as the fruit, which we really liked. This wine showcases what Grenache is all about and is one of the better wines we tasted at their TR. This is the second/prestige label for winemaker Joe Benziger where he steps away from the usual wines to spotlight unusual/generally unknown varietals. In this case, his efforts are worth the price. (355 cases/14.9% ABV)

2006 Kaena Santa Ynez Valley Grenache				**
	Region	Price	Purchased	Drank
	Santa Barbara, CA	$25	@ the Winery
	A pale-to-medium, ruby-colored wine with a moderate nose of red fruit, earth, sweet spice and herbs. The palate is medium-bodied, round and ripe with almost no acidity to speak of which allows the heat of the 15.3% abv to really be noticed after the initial burst of strawberry and cherry flavors. It does have some nice secondary aspects of spice, herbs and graham cracker on the medium-length finish, but the heat kind of takes over most of the experience especially if drinking without food. Enjoyable enough for those who like fruity wines (like me), but won't be getting any better. A decent grenache for the price, but lacks the structure and balance of the wineries single vineyard versions.

2006 Bodegas San Alejandro Las Rocas Garnacha				**
	Region	Price	Purchased	Drank
	Calatayud, Spain	$11	The Wine House	12/1/09
	A bright, ruby-colored, medium-bodied wine with savory aromas of ripe red fruit, tobacco and spice. On the palate the wine was a bit tart, even after aeration with the more earthy notes of the tobacco and spice somewhat overwhelming the cherry and raspberry flavors, giving the wine a more French rather than Spanish feel. As the night went on, the flavors balanced out a bit more, but the wine never rounded out like I expected it too at 14.5% abv. I prefer my grenaches to have a little more ripeness, but this is a well-crafted wine for the price, year after year. Might open my 07 bottle sooner to see if aging is a factor in the lack of upfront fruit or just vintage variation.

2006 Bodegas Leceranas Evohé Garnacha "Vinas Viejas"				**
	Region	Price	Purchased	Drank
	Aragon, Spain	$11	Wine Discount Center	8/15/08
	A 100% grenache made from 70-80 year old vines with a very aromatic nose filled with red raspberry, cherry, smoke, earth and white pepper which carry through onto the medium-bodied, somewhat rustic palate. Initally tasted like a lighter-bodied zinfandel with all ripe brambly fruit upfront, but once it opened the spice and earth integrated with the fruit and made the finish a bit longer and more unified. Not your typical Grenache, but a flavorful wine for the price.

2006 Slipstream Grenache				**
	Region	Price	Tasted	Drank
	McLaren Vale, Australia	$22	Topline Wine	6/10/10
	A medium, ruby-colored wine with a moderate nose of red berries, herbs, earth and sweet spice. The palate is medium-bodied with more intensity than the nose implied with ripe strawberry and raspberry flavors along with bright acidity, notes of herbs and earth and a lingering cherry vanilla finish. Super tight when first opened we decided to aerate, which balanced the acid and brought out more earthy aspects. The grapes come from 70-year-old vines and the wine was aged in neutral French oak for 16 months. While this wine didn't exactly knock our socks off, it went down quickly enough. Don't have a lot of experience with Aussie grenache, but I expected a bit more for the price. (14.5% abv)

2006 Tercero Wines Camp 4 Vineyard Grenache				**
	Region	Price	Tasted	Drank
	Santa Barbara, CA	$28	@ the Winery	7/29/10
	A medium, ruby-colored wine with a nose of red berries, herbs and earth with notes of cola and licorice. The palate is medium-bodied and well-balanced with just the right amount of acidity to counter the ripeness of the fruit. The flavors are of raspberry, cherry, earth and a bit of sweet spice on the lingering finish. While not the most complex Grenache I've had from the region, the wines sweet and savory aspects unite in a very pleasurable way. This is ready to go and I wouldn't wait much longer (6 months to a year), as it's currently masking its' 15.3% abv quite well due to the lush fruit (and the addition of 15% Syrah), but that won't last forever. A good first effort from winemaker Larry Tercero.

2006 Vie Winery L'Imaginaire Grenache				***
	Region	Price	Tasted	Drank
	Santa Barbara, CA	$40	Red Carpet Wine	4/26/08
	A medium-bodied, ruby colored wine with strong aromas of red and black fruit, earth, minerality and spice that follow through on the palate along with smoke and vanilla on the slightly hot and dusty finish. This wine packs a nice flavor punch and holds its' ripness in check with just the right amount of tannin and acidity. Could definitely use another year in the bottle to smooth out, but certainly drinkable in the short term. One to look out for if you can find any.

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