Law Estate Wines Sagacious 2018
-
Jeb
Dunnuck -
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Spectator
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Sweet earth spice and dried herbs billow under a foggy ocean air-like mist. Its saline brilliance moves to dark fruit and picks up the essence of a coastal, forest trail lined in raspberry and blackberry bushes. This wine comes alive and engulfs the palate with a complex array of spice and dried herbs, leading to a freshness that eventually finishes opulent and slightly puckering. This beloved GSM, will not only stop you in your tracks based on its vibrant color, but also the journey it takes you on, upon first sip.
Blend: 35% Grenache, 34% Syrah, 31% Mourvèdre
Professional Ratings
-
Jeb Dunnuck
The Southern Rhône inspired 2018 Sagacious (close to equal parts Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre) offers lots of red and blue fruits as well as savory herbs, spice, and dried flower-like aromas and flavors. It’s seamless, full-bodied, and has remarkable purity of fruit. As with all the releases here, it’s a ripe, powerful wine loaded with character.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2018 Sagacious is a blend of 35% Grenache, 34% Syrah and 31% Mourvèdre, aged 19 months in 42% new oak. The nose offers top notes of cedar and graphite over cassis, blueberries and licorice. The full-bodied palate has explosive, perfumed, juicy fruits with a grainy texture and long, layered finish. It's lovely right now but should age well in bottle.
-
Wine Spectator
Wiry and appealingly gamy, offering tightly focused notes of dried cherry and grilled anise, with a whiff of jerky that builds structure toward medium-grained tannins. Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre. Drink now.
Other Vintages
2019-
Robert
Parker -
Jeb
Dunnuck -
James
Suckling -
Wine
Spectator
-
Jeb
Dunnuck -
Robert
Parker
-
Jeb
Dunnuck -
Wine
Enthusiast -
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Spectator
Committed to making exceptional wines through sustainable and organic farming practices with minimal inputs. Law Estate Wines is located above Peachy Canyon Road on the west side of Paso Robles, the vineyard is one of the highest in the area at 1,600 to 1,900 feet. It is planted in high density, small-lot blocks. The extreme slopes, limestone soils, and multiple aspects create the distinct canvas and palette from which we work. The sharp focus is making world class wines that are distinct to our site with inspirations from the Rhone and Priorat in particular. Under the deft craftmanship of Philipp Pfunder, Law has become recognized for beautifully structured and powerful wines that are very limited in production.
With bold fruit flavors and accents of sweet spice, Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre form the base of the classic Rhône Red Blend, while Carignan, Cinsault and Counoise often come in to play. Though they originated from France’s southern Rhône Valley, with some creative interpretation, Rhône blends have also become popular in other countries. Somm Secret—Putting their own local spin on the Rhône Red Blend, those from Priorat often include Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. In California, it is not uncommon to see Petite Sirah make an appearance.
Paso Robles has made a name for itself as a source of supple, powerful, fruit-driven Central Coast wines. But with eleven smaller sub-AVAs, there is actually quite a bit of diversity to be found in this inland portion of California’s Central Coast.
Just east over the Santa Lucia Mountains from the chilly Pacific Ocean, lie the coolest in the region: Adelaida, Templeton Gap and (Paso Robles) Willow Creek Districts, as well as York Mountain AVA and Santa Margarita Ranch. These all experience more ocean fog, wind and precipitation compared to the rest of the Paso sub-appellations. The San Miguel, (Paso Robles) Estrella, (Paso Robles) Geneso, (Paso Robles) Highlands, El Pomar and Creston Districts, along with San Juan Creek, are the hotter, more western appellations of the greater Paso Robles AVA.
This is mostly red wine country, with Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel standing out as the star performers. Other popular varieties include Merlot, Petite Sirah, Petit Verdot, Syrah, Grenache and Rhône blends, both red and white. There is a fairly uniform tendency here towards wines that are unapologetically bold and opulently fruit-driven, albeit with a surprising amount of acidity thanks to the region’s chilly nighttime temperatures.