2019 Fingers Crossed Two Become One Grenache | Oak View, Ventura County California 750ml

The 2019 Grenache comes adorned with the image of my grandparents on their wedding night in New York on June 24th, 1948. It was originally a photograph that I sketched, carved, inked, printed and gifted to my mom for Mother's Day a few years ago... but we just couldn't resist using it this year. My grandfather, whom everyone called Papa, was a class-act, and a man whom Julia and I respect deeply. Valuing family above all else, Papa devoted his life to his two daughters and six grandchildren. He was a serial-hobbyist and took up interests in everything from knives to fountain pens, espresso machines to pocket watches, calligraphy, chess, bicycling, woodworking...and somehow, he managed to toe the line between selfishness and selflessness, a balancing act we hope to attain ourselves someday. Through hard work and personal frugality, he managed to send his daughters and all of his grandchildren o private school, summer camps, tennis lessons, music lessons and college, all while driving a 20-year-old-Saab. When his youngest daughter, Nancy Silverton, wanted to start a restaurant + bakery, he helped her find and purchase an iconic building (formerly owned by Charlie Chaplin) to house Campanile and La Brea Bakery. He found time to enthusiastically cheer me on at baseball games (a sport he had no affinity for) and Barista Competitions (yes - this is a real thing, look it up if you don't believe me). He eagerly sponsored Julia's volunteer work in Tanzania where she taught HIV/AIDs prevention and brought bicycle ambulances to rural clinics (also a real thing). He was one-of-a-kind and a man worth emulating. For as long as I can remember, he loved to give away "lucky bucks" as he'd call them with a smile; a few dollars to keep in our glove compartments in case of an emergency, or on birthdays and holidays. When he passed away in 2015, I received my last lucky buck from him and have hung on to it tightly ever since. As a way of immortalizing this good luck charm, we bordered their picture with it. Now YOU have a lucky buck too. Lucky you.
The artwork serves as foreplay to the main event - what's inside the bottle. Strawberry jam, shiitakes, forest floor and black tea come to mind; woven luxuriously into a graceful, yet decadent texture; a paradox that must literally be felt to appreciate. If you relish dissecting a wine into numbers, bon appetite; 76% Grenache, 11% Syrah and 13% Mourvedre, from a who's who of vineyard sites including The Third Twin, Bien Nacido, Sebastiano and Vogelzang. 29% Whole Cluster and 56% new oak (a third of which were large format 600 Liter Demi Muids) were imparted to add spice, structure, and preserve the wine's perfumes. After a 20-month slumber, we gently moved the wine from oak to glass. | Nikolas & Julia Krankl for Fingers Crossed

...slightly more fruit-forward with lots of red and blue fruits as well as sappy flower and violet notes. A finesse-driven Grenache that still brings serious richness and power, it's full-bodied and has silky tannins, terrific balance, and a sensational sense of freshness. | 96-99 points, Jeb Dunnuck for jebdunnuck.com