Placeholder Image

Betwixt, “Abba Vineyard” Rosé of Grenache

California, United States 2018 (750mL)
$26.00
/
Your cart is empty.
  • In stock, ready to ship
  • Inventory on the way
Fruit
Earth
Body
Tannin
Acid
Alcohol

Betwixt, “Abba Vineyard” Rosé of Grenache

You know the old trope about what happens when you “assume” something? This wine would make a perfect case study.


If you know a bit about the Lodi region of California, and about the Grenache grape, you’d likely assume that a rosé from this combination would be very soft, juicy, and rich—in other words, a ‘hot climate’ rosé of moderate acidity and, quite possibly, elevated alcohol. But guess what: Today’s 2018 rosé of Grenache from Lodi flouts all those assumptions and it’s honestly the best 2018 rosé I’ve tasted to date (beating dozens of examples from Provence.) This wine hits you with a combination of depth, freshness and energy so invigorating you wonder if you read the label correctly (or perhaps we just made the wrong assumptions about Lodi). Whatever, let’s not dwell on it. Instead, let’s just enjoy this utterly delicious rosé from urban winemaker Tim Telli. If the Betwixt label looks familiar, it’s because we’ve featured Telli’s wines before: Working out of San Francisco’s Mission District but traveling to many far-flung vineyards in search of his source material, Telli lets those vineyards speak by way of a “minimalist” approach in the cellar. Picked early specifically for rosé production (as opposed to being a by-product of red wine production), the Grenache for this rosé was whole-cluster pressed for maximum freshness and aromatic lift. And it worked. This is an impressive pink wine whose season has just begun: By-the-case purchases are possible, and encouraged!


Telli made only 165 cases of this rosé, but we got an early look and grabbed as much as we could, because yes, it’s that good. It’s Telli’s second vintage of rosé from the Abba Vineyard, which is in the Mokelumne River appellation of Lodi. Haven’t heard of it? Well, it’s one of seven geographic subzones of the Lodi AVA, which occupies a chunk of California’s Central Valley, east of the Sacramento Delta. This is a Mediterranean climate with a relatively flat, open topography and sandy, loamy soils strewn with rocks. Given its similarities to the terroir of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, in Mediterranean France, it’s no surprise Grenache thrives here, although it is less widely planted than the old-vine Zinfandel that has long defined Lodi in the public imagination. The Abba Vineyard is a heritage site that has been farmed sustainably for generations by the same family, with Grenache as the focus.



Originally from West Sussex, England, Tim Telli had felt the pull of wine even before moving out to California but said it was “all over” once he got a job in wine retail. After learning all he could about the bottles in the shop, he started taking weeks off for harvests, then interned at local wineries. After he fell headlong into the winemaking rabbit hole, he honed his skills at AP Vin, August West, and ROAR before leaving to make his first wines in 2012—a half-ton of Grenache, and a Marsanne/Roussanne white blend that got Robert Parker’s attention. Not long ago, we offered an electric Pinot Noir Telli crafted from the “Helluva Vineyard” in the Anderson Valley. The guy gets around!



Today’s 2018 was, as noted above, “whole-cluster pressed,” which means that the grapes were pressed without being de-stemmed. This practice is said to help reduce oxidation and enhance aromatic complexity, and this wine clearly benefited from it: Plenty deep and fruity, with plenty of body on the palate, it is simultaneously bright, sinewy, and thrumming with energy (no flab here!). In the glass, it’s a light salmon-pink with flecks of red and orange, with a brimming basket of fruits on the nose: blood orange, nectarine, melon, strawberries, pink peppercorn, wild herbs, and rock dust. Medium, to medium-plus in body (by rosé standards), its point of distinction is that everything is in great balance: It’s not just a tart, simple rosé but a wine of real depth that also manages to be supremely refreshing. Pop and pour it now and over the next year, serving it at 45-ish degrees in all-purpose white wine stems. The food-pairing possibilities are too numerous to list (if there’s still some around at Thanksgiving time, don’t hesitate), but one combination that’ll soon be a possibility is prosciutto and melon. No recipe necessary (we attached one anyway). Enjoy!
Placeholder Image
Country
United States
Region
California
Sub-Region
United StatesLodi
Soil
Sandy Loam
Farming
Sustainable
Blend
Grenache 100%
Alcohol
13.8
TEMP.
45
Glassware
All-Purpose Whites
Drinking
Now
Pairing
Prosciutto & Melon

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.

Others We Love