Grenache Blanc

Grenache Blanc is the trendy white grape in southern France nowadays and for good reason.  It makes a heady, blowsy, high alcohol, low acid white with citrus and herbaceous flavors.  What's not to like there?

Well..the blowsy part.  That means flabbiness, which applies to a very flavorful wine that is too low in acid.  It uninspiringly just hangs in the mouth.  If there is no concurrent acidity going on, a wine lacks structure and is frankly just dull and...flabby.  Which is why grapes are blended.  What one type is lacking, another will make up for the deficiency. 

Grenache Blanc has siblings in Grenache Rouge and Grenache Gris (gray) that are its most common blending partners.  It is believed Grenache Rouge is a parent to the other two which mutated long ago in Spanish vineyards before moving eastward into France.  All three types are often intermixed in vineyards since original plantings were indistinguishable from each other which also explains the interblending.  Since genetically all three are very much the same, they still need another type to provide acidity.  In Spain it's often Macabeo; in France, Roussane is most common but it also partners with any of a number of types.

The Spanish example we would love for you to try is Les Argiles d'Orto Vins from Montsant.  Our French bottle is Chateau Saint-Roch Old Vine White from Cotes du Roussillon.  The Spanish is a little lighter and finer so enjoy with seafood and salads.  The Frenchie shows stone fruit flavors and is a bit more substantial (oilier) so something more formidable may make this one shine.

Enjoy!