Groundwork Graciano 2019
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Wilfred
Wong
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2019 Groundwork Deep End Ranch Graciano is soft and inviting. TASTING NOTES: This wine exhibits enticing black fruit, chalk, licorice, and earth. Pair it with a lightly-seasoned, oven-roasted Porchetta. (Tasted: April 20, 2021, San Francisco, CA)
Other Vintages
2021-
Wilfred
Wong
Graciano has been best known as a blending grape used in Rioja to add color, depth and perfume to Tempranillo. It also thrives in the nearby region of Navarra and a few dedicated winemakers in California and Australia are making singe varietal bottlings certainly worthy of checking out! Graciano’s black fruit and lush tannins make it a perfect pairing to grilled or smoked red meat, as well as game.
Paso Robles has made a name for itself as a source of supple, powerful, fruit-driven Central Coast wines. But with eleven smaller sub-AVAs, there is actually quite a bit of diversity to be found in this inland portion of California’s Central Coast.
Just east over the Santa Lucia Mountains from the chilly Pacific Ocean, lie the coolest in the region: Adelaida, Templeton Gap and (Paso Robles) Willow Creek Districts, as well as York Mountain AVA and Santa Margarita Ranch. These all experience more ocean fog, wind and precipitation compared to the rest of the Paso sub-appellations. The San Miguel, (Paso Robles) Estrella, (Paso Robles) Geneso, (Paso Robles) Highlands, El Pomar and Creston Districts, along with San Juan Creek, are the hotter, more western appellations of the greater Paso Robles AVA.
This is mostly red wine country, with Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel standing out as the star performers. Other popular varieties include Merlot, Petite Sirah, Petit Verdot, Syrah, Grenache and Rhône blends, both red and white. There is a fairly uniform tendency here towards wines that are unapologetically bold and opulently fruit-driven, albeit with a surprising amount of acidity thanks to the region’s chilly nighttime temperatures.