*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample from Cornerstone Cellars.
I am digging the new line of wines from Cornerstone Cellars. They are reasonably priced and the varieties are interesting and fresh. Not to mention, the wines are really good. I’ve always enjoyed the flagstone (Cornerstone..teehee) Cabernet Sauvignons from the winery, so I’m pleased to report that the new introductory line is certainly living up to the reputation established by the winery. This week we tried the 2007 Stepping Stone Grenache. It retails for $20, had a real cork closure, and clocked in at 15.5% alcohol by volume.
On the nose I got bittersweet chocolate, pepper, spice, black cherry, crushed violets, flowers, anise, and strawberry. This wine had one hello of a nose…that perfumey dark fruity chocolately goodness that I like to get lost in while Matt finishes a glass before I’ve even started. In the mouth I found black cherry, raspberry, strawberry, spice, earth, and pepper. The tart fruits just popped in the mouth and slid into a juicy goodness on the back of the palate.
Filed under: California, Grenache, Red, Wine |
Wannabe Wino Wine Blog 
So glad you are enjoying our Stepping Stone wines! I love grenache from the high altitude vineyards of the Red Hills in Lake County and I am really looking forward to what we do with this wine in the future. All in all, for our first effort I’m very happy with it. This wine is 4% zinfandel, but in the future syrah will be the finishing touch.
Just finished tasting this and was really impressed and expected a huge bomb of a wine with the amount of alcohol it has. I’ll be posting a review on my blog in the next week or two, but good to see that you enjoyed it as well. I am still not above second guessing my own palate.
I would agree the alcohol is higher than I would have liked. That being said, grenache is naturally high in alcohol and carries it well. So while not perfect, I think the wine is quite balanced and drinks well. In the future I would like to see it between 14.5 and 14.8, but that’s up to Mother Nature.