Best Buys $10 And Under

Third Place finisher in our 2023 Wine Of The Year blind taste off!

Sustainably farmed Grenache 44%, Syrah 42%, Mourvedre 14% from four vineyard sites in Los Olivos and the greater Santa Ynez Valley - Rolling Vines, Bernat, Coteaux de Clair, and TTT Roblar. The Syrah and Grenache are fermented partly with whole clusters, while the Mourvedre is 100% destemmed. Fermentation is with native yeasts in open-top oak tanks. The wine is matured for 14 months in neutral barrique and bottled without fining or filtration.

Mallea is a collaboration between viticulturist Erik Mallea (director of viticulture at Sanford & Benedict and a co-founder of Willett-Mallea Farming) and winemaker Justin Willett (of Tyler Winery and Lieu-Dit Winery). After working together in various capacities for over a decade, Erik and Justin have started this exciting new project to highlight Santa Barbara County’s potential with Rhône grape varieties. They are farming four small vineyard sites clustered around Los Olivos in the Santa Ynez Valley of Santa Barbara.

Third place was a nice surprise because it is a brand new wine on the scene, Mallea GSM Santa Barbara County 2021. This is a traditional Rhone blend of Grenache, Syrah, and Mouvedre (GSM) but from Santa Barbara County California. The pedigree of the guys behind it is first-rate but what impressed us was the juice in the bottle! If you enjoy Cotes du Rhone or Southern French reds you are going to love Mallea. This is a wine of subtlety and not as flamboyant as our number two wine. Clearly, the wine is masterfully blended as each component adds complexity, and yet the wine is seamless on the palate. Fresh jovial fruit dances on the tongue with its lively acidity while pepper and Mediterranean spices come out in the finish. Mallea GSM provides a ton of pleasure for a very reasonable price.

The labels reference Erik Mallea’s Basque heritage, depicting 19th & 20th-century aspen tree carvings by Basque shepherds in the American West. Erik’s father, Joxe Mallea-Olaetxe, is a respected scholar of this cultural tradition.

91 points Vinous
Full-bodied, firmly structured and well-concentrated, the 2022 is a juicy and intricate red that's neatly balanced by fresh acidity. A savory finish of good length confirms a lovely Gigondas that will benefit from two more years in bottle. Drinking Window: 2026-2032

90-92 points Jeb Dunnuck
Always an impeccably made wine, the 2022 Gigondas (80% Grenache and 10% each of Syrah and Mourvèdre) has lots of red berry fruits as well as Provençal spice, ground pepper, and savory herbs. It has a terrific core of fruit, fine tannins, and outstanding length.

Organic

93-95 points Vinous
The 2021 Ch??teauneuf-du-Pape La Crau is a solid effort from the Brunier family. The 2021 La Crau unfurls in the glass with a fragrant perfume of crushed violets, lavender, strawberry, raspberry, dried herbs, mint and a dash of white pepper. It is full- bodied and layered, showing a refined profile marked by soft tannins and lively acids. Not as powerful as either the 2020 or 2019, but the 2021 is certainly the most elegant rendition among them.