Sans Liege Wines

The early morning light has just crested over the rocky horizon and the air smells of dusty raspberries and bay leaves. Your Turkish tea exudes a billowing steam bringing you to your senses. Next to it sits a plate carved from sandalwood laden with slices of oranges & plums. Sitting back on your soft leather cushion you watch the first hot air balloons lift into the pastel Cappadocian sky.

The meadow is surrounded by trees imbued with nectarines, chamomile growing wildly at their roots. Scents of lime zest and himalayan pink salt hang in the still air and all is quiet except for birdsong in the distance. You lounge in the serenity and nibble on honeydew and cheese with quince jam.

The train station is undulating with activity. Scents of raspberry, red peppercorn and cinnamon swirl in the air as you collect your ticket from the counter. Bumping into a railway employee, you slyly obtain the iron key needed for the storage area and later board the train with the cigar box covertly under your arm. Smirking to yourself, you inhale petrichor through an open railcar window dotted with raindrops and watch the spring wildflowers and sprawling oregano start to blur as the train pulls away from the station.

The 2020 Late Harvest of Grenache Blanc is a luscious indulgence. This dessert wine draws you in with cognac-esque aromas of honeysuckle, brown sugar and bartlett pears. On the palate you’ll encounter notes of plumcot and spiced apple cider which transition gracefully into a lush opulent finish that lasts.

The 2022 Journeyman White is an intriguing blend of Clairette, Grenache Gris & Grenache Blanc with a nose of peach, lime zest, fennel seeds, fleur de sel and melon. It embodies a beautiful richness balanced with a bright minerality and a slightly herbaceous finish.

Night’s purple veil creeps in making things not quite what they seemed. The charming cottage is a bit more foreboding and your courage - lacking. She beckons. Through the mist you follow the sandy garden path, past a plum tree and a shrub weighted with green olives to enter a room which smells of tobacco, white pepper and the cassis now being poured. She is seated in the candlelight, a deck of cards & old dusty stones before her. She turns one card then stares into your eyes.

The 2020 Reserve Syrah from Bien Nacido Vineyard in the Santa Maria Valley opens with notes of rainbow peppercorn, mulberries and espresso which lead to secondary aromas of nicoise olives, cedarwood and spearmint. An exceptionally bold red with structured tannins and ample longevity.