2011 Grenache Grizzly

Big Basin proprietor Bradley Brown began his career as an apprentice of John Alban, so it is hardly a surprise that the early Big Basin wines reflect that influence. Over the last few years, Brown has made a pretty radical shift towards a much lighter style of winemaking. Picking dates have moved up and the overall emphasis today is on freshness. Neutral oak is favored over new barrels, while the use of whole clusters, especially in Pinot, is on the way up. It isn't exactly clear to me yet where Brown and Big Basin will ultimately end up in the stylistic spectrum but it is obvious the wines are quite different in style than they were just a few years ago. At the same time, both 2011 and 2012 are lighter vintages, so vintage characteristics can't be discounted. In 2011 getting full ripeness was very difficult, while in 2012 generous yields resulted in mid-weight wines that are open, supple, but that at times lack structure.

Owner/winemaker Bradley Brown described 2012 as "pretty much a perfect vintage, with no pressure to harvest and no need to let fruit hang out late to hit maturity either."Brown was able to harvest fruit from his cool sites at the end of September and into early October, at varying Brix levels (between 22 and 24 degrees) and with completely healthy, mature stems that allowed him to vinify with varying percentages of whole clusters--from none to 100%.Crop levels at Brown's high-altitude vineyards and those neighboring sites from which he purchases grapes "are never high, especially compared to many vineyards up north."He pointed out that "normal is anywhere from one ton per acre to three in the warmer sites and younger vines," so 2012 didn't require the draconian fruit-dropping that occurred across most of the state.