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97 JD. "Made from 100% Grenache, all from the estate Torrin Vineyard, the 2014 The Maven sports a medium ruby, translucent color as well as a fabulous bouquet of framboise, crushed flowers, dried strawberries and incense. Deep, rich and concentrated, with building tannin, this full-bodied beauty is certainly up with some of the finest Grenaches coming out California. In addition, I struggle to think of another Grenache from California made in this ethereal style at this quality level. This cuvée was mostly destemmed and spent 18 months in 400-liter French oak puncheons before being bottled unfined and unfiltered. Another estate I’ve raved about for years is Viquel and Scott Hawley’s Torrin Vineyard. These are unquestionably big, rich, Paso-styled wines, but they continue to get more and more elegance into their wines, while not sacrificing texture and richness. These latest 2014s are sensational. In addition, while I couldn’t taste the wines, they’ve also started a new Lagom label focused on Pinot Noir and Chardonnay." Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com, Aug 2017 |