Shatter, 2011

In 1998 some pretty memorable events occurred…my first daughter was born, Bill Clinton denied he had “relations” with a certain someone, and Dave Phinney founded Orin Swift Cellars. Orin Swift produced some amazing and rather famous wines including The Prisoner, Saldo, Papillon, etc. He was looking for a new wine project and when visiting Maury in the Roussillon region of France in 2008 he quickly recognized the area’s potential. Dave eventually had a conversation with Joel Gott, another force in wine, regarding the terroir in Maury. After further investigation, these two powerhouses joined forces like Batman and Superman to create a pretty commanding wine.

They created a wine named Shatter and with it being 100% Grenache and 15.9% alcohol content, I knew this would be big! At first aromas were ink, oak, spice and smoke with flavors of fig, charred oak, and dark chocolate, finishing up with a chalky mouth feel. Don’t let this wine fool you. You must decant and let this breathe for at least 30 minutes, but I found if you letting it air almost an hour is when it’s at its peak. It evolved into aromas of blueberry, while the other aromas toned down and became softer, not so dominant. The flavors softened up as well, noting blackberry and roasted coffee. Be forewarned, this is a food wine through and through. Big hearty red meat dishes, sausages, or lamb would be great accompaniments, or just noshing on some cheddar and gouda cheeses would work with this wine as well.

Like you’d expect with Batman and Superman, Dave and Joel prevailed in the end and won with this bottle. Shatter, 2011 was a pretty delicious wine and an experience in itself.

Sláinte!TCW