I tasted a representative blend of the 2016 G2 Vineyard, a wine that's still youthfully primary, revealing spicy aromas of cherries, plums and wild berries. On the palate, it's full-bodied, bright and taut, with fine-grained but distinctly savory tannins that are already nicely integrated into its generous core of fruit. The blend contains 42% Grenache, 35% Mataro, fully 20% Tannat and 3% Zinfandel, and Smith observes that he was very careful in fermenting the Tannat to avoid extracting excessive structure.

Intense and muscular, with a potent brew of blackberry, crushed rock, bitter chocolate and licorice flavors that builds toward broad-shouldered tannins. Hands off for now. Grenache, Mataro, Tannat and Zinfandel. Best from 2021 through 2027. 700 cases made.