Wine of the Week 5/26/20

Birichino Vin Gris 2019

Regularly $18.99/On Sale for $16.96

Birichino (Italian for naughty or mischevious) is John Locke and Alex Krause, winemakers who cut their teeth with California cult wine godfather Randall Graham (Bonny Doon Vineyards). After stints with Alsace’s Andre Ostertag and numerous other wineries, they founded Birichino in order to make distinctive, low-intervention wines from some of California’s oldest and best tended vineyards sites. This Vin Gris is lush and fresh at the same time, and you should drink it all summer long.

Winemakers’ notes:

The distinguishing traits of the 2019 are an increased percentage of old vine fruit, especially Mourvèdre from a dry-farmed 19th century vineyard in Antioch. Old vines contributed almost 30% to the blend. In contrast to the lithe, cooler climate 2018 where Mourvèdre plays a minor role, this vintage is marked by a silky, ample, curvilinear quality in the equatorial regions, and a resulting bit of va va VOOM. As Grenache yields in El Dorado County and at Besson were less than half normal levels, we turned to a striking site in deep Arroyo Seco whose grapes produce a highly aromatic style of Grenache, even more peachy than the high-altitude El Dorado fruit. At the same time, the aforementioned Mourvèdre provides the wine with the gentlest bit of spine. Vinified as a red, these grapes can produce a tannic, meaty, muscular wine. As rosé, a complete transformation occurs. Stone fruits and Jolly Rancher watermelon candy dominate the perfume. We were lucky to secure an extra bit of old vine Cinsault from Bechthold, which contributes the violet top note, elevated further by a small quantity of particularly fresh and vivid Vermentino from the Napa side of Carneros.   Almost entirely the product of direct press, the Vin Gris is fermented to dryness in one long, sequential native co-fermentation in stainless. -Alex & John