Quench + Temper Graciano Bas Vineyard Paso Robles 2018

Brennan Stover, Turley Cellars viticulturist for decades, has made one of the most exciting wines we tasted in 2021, truly! If you’re the person always looking for the “next thing” or just masterfully-made wine that is completely under-the-radar, you need to read this, and get some of the few cases we have! Never submitted to the press, we only heard from a friend of a friend, and luckily made the connection. You can read our raves about it below, and with this fine pricing, we can’t say it enough! You need to try this!! It’s special stuff, and clearly a label that is going to be getting some serious attention VERY soon -- stoked to be ahead of the pack!

Plenty to read in the “About” section, but to sum it up, Brennan Stover, in 2013, saw potential in a piece of battered land, adjacent to a quarry in the Adelaida District, with siliceous shale stone and Miocene marine sediments. He planted it at high density (2,000 vines/acre) and trained in the Échalas tradition found in the Cornas and Hermitage regions of the Northern Rhone valley in France. On +45 degree slopes and with no irrigation, the vines represent extreme struggle and resiliency -- DRY-FARMED and ORGANIC.

Graciano! It’s the powerful, complex black-skinned grape of northern Spain, often blended with Tempranillo and Grenache. You know a master viticulturist has a damn good reason to plant this where he did, and you only need to taste it to understand why. This is large-scaled, deeply colored and explosive on the nose, with sultry dark fruits, sweet currants, candied violets, balsamic reduction. It has a truly captivating mouthfeel - rich and opulent while keeping everything in fine, fine balance. A bit of a revelation honestly! It has the raw power of something you might taste from Ribera del Duero, without the rusticity... This is just California all the way, utterly delicious and simply incredible juice at our price today!!

PAIRING IDEAS: So many ways to go here, but we’d pick a classic meaty paella. Bomba rice, tons of rich chicken stock infused with saffron, chicken thighs, spicy chorizo sausage, shrimp and tons of veggies, cooked to perfection with a crispy rice bottom. MMM!

MUSIC SUGGESTIONS: Let’s go full Spanish and put on Rodrigo y Gabriela (yes, we know they are from Mexico, but it’s the vibe we’re looking for). This epic duo makes amazing sounds and they are a blast to see live. Enjoy!