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Big Basin Vineyards, Gabilan Mountains “GSM”

California, United States 2014 (750mL)
$34.00
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Big Basin Vineyards, Gabilan Mountains “GSM”

Today marks the second time in as many days that we’re offering a wine from a producer who was directly affected by California’s recent wildfires. My friend Bradley Brown of Big Basin Vineyards has had an especially terrible year: He lost his home and just about every other structure on his property, as well as his entire crop from his Santa Cruz Mountains estate vineyard. As we were preparing this offer, he was toggling between filing insurance claims, making spot repairs, and bringing in fruit from vineyards he works with outside of Santa Cruz, including the old-vine Mourvèdre used in the revelatory “GSM” blend we’re offering today.


This wine shatters any preconceptions you could possibly have about it. Many SommSelect subscribers know Big Basin for some of the most nuanced, Burgundian Pinot Noirs not just in Santa Cruz but the entire West Coast, but Bradley’s keen focus on organic farming, combined with his transcendent talent in the cellar, turns everything he touches into gold. I’m sure he’ll find a way to make magic this year (luckily, his timber-frame winery building is still standing), but in the meantime, we’re thrilled to showcase this 2014 from Big Basin’s library—a beautifully perfumed blend of Grenache, Mourvèdre, and Syrah all sourced from high-elevation sites in the limestone soils of the Gabilan Range. This red blew us away: I can’t remember another example of this classic Southern Rhône blend, French or otherwise, that delivered this level of elegance and perfume. And it is right in its prime drinking window, showing not a hint of fatigue. Taste it and you’ll be reminded of the greatest reds of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, but really, it’s in a class by itself.


The Gabilan Range effectively picks up where the Santa Cruz Mountains leave off, running south-southeast along the Monterey and San Benito County lines. It is one of the few significant outcroppings of limestone in California and is home to AVAs (American Viticultural Areas) such as Chalone and Mt. Harlan, the latter made famous by Josh Jensen of Calera. A “Gabilan Mountains” AVA is also currently in the works, lending further legitimacy to an area already regarded as a world-class terroir. For his “GSM” 2014, Bradley sourced the Mourvèdre from the 30+-year-old Antle Vineyard (formerly known as the Graff Family Vineyard, so named for Chalone Wine Company founder Dick Graff), while the Grenache and Syrah hail from the magnificent Coastview Vineyard, which sits about six miles south of Mt. Harlan at an altitude of 2,400 feet.



These sites feel a cooling influence from Monterey Bay, which, along with the limestone/granite soils, helps preserve acidity in varieties which tend to skew ultra-rich and chunky in California (especially Grenache). The final blend of today’s ’14 was 49% Grenache, 32% Mourvèdre and 19% Syrah, fermented with more than 80% of the whole grape clusters intact and aged 21 months in predominantly used French oak barrels. Just 412 cases were produced in total, and while there is no shortage of intensity here, I can’t remember the last time I had a G-S-M blend with this much aromatic lift and energy. It is simultaneously rich and vivid—muscular rather than fat—with a deep ruby-purple hue and aromas of blackberry, brandy-soaked cherries, lavender, violets, wild herbs, grill char, and crushed stones. Each of the three component varieties makes its voice heard as the wine blossoms in the glass: the sappy cherry notes of the Grenache; the purple-flower perfume of the Mourvèdre; the dark, meaty, spicy kick of the Syrah. It’s easy to conjure the image of the rugged Gabilan Range, and its lofty hilltop vineyards, which look like they were airlifted into place among the thick forests. Decant this wine 45 minutes or so before serving at 60 degrees in Burgundy stems and you’ll be reminded, in no uncertain terms, just how diverse California’s wine culture really is. Try it with the attached recipe and raise a toast to Bradley Brown—there’s lots more greatness still to come from Big Basin Vineyards! Cheers!
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Country
United States
Region
California
Sub-Region
United StatesGabilan Mountains
Soil
Limestone & Granite
Farming
Organic
Blend
Grenache 49%, Mourvèdre 32%, Syrah 19%
Alcohol
14.5
OAK
Mostly Used French
TEMP.
60-65
Glassware
Burgundy Stem
Drinking
Now-2025
Decanting
45 Minutes
Pairing
Leg of Lamb

United States

Washington

Columbia Valley

Like many Washington wines, the “Columbia Valley” indication only tells part of the story: Columbia Valley covers a huge swath of Central
Washington, within which are a wide array of smaller AVAs (appellations).

Oregon

Willamette Valley

Oregon’s Willamette Valley has become an elite winegrowing zone in record time. Pioneering vintner David Lett, of The Eyrie Vineyard, planted the first Pinot Noir in the region in 1965, soon to be followed by a cadre of forward-thinking growers who (correctly) saw their wines as America’s answer to French
Burgundies. Today, the Willamette
Valley is indeed compared favorably to Burgundy, Pinot Noir’s spiritual home. And while Pinot Noir accounts for 64% of Oregon’s vineyard plantings, there are cool-climate whites that must not be missed.

California

Santa Barbara

Among the unique features of Santa Barbara County appellations like Ballard Canyon (a sub-zone of the Santa Ynez Valley AVA), is that it has a cool, Pacific-influenced climate juxtaposed with the intense luminosity of a southerly
latitude (the 34th parallel). Ballard Canyon has a more north-south orientation compared to most Santa Barbara AVAs, with soils of sandy
clay/loam and limestone.

California

Paso Robles

Situated at an elevation of 1,600 feet, it is rooted in soils of sandy loam and falls within the Highlands District of the Paso Robles AVA.

New York

North Fork

Wine growers and producers on Long Island’s North Fork have traditionally compared their terroir to that of Bordeaux and have focused on French varieties such as Cabernet Franc and Merlot.

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