2009 Gypsy
In Stock
Wine Specs
Vintage
2009
Varietal
Red Rhone Blend
Appellation
Santa Barbara County
Vineyard Designation
56% Camp 4 Vineyard & 44% Rodney's Vineayard
Harvest Date
Oct. 26-Nov. 5, 2009
Sugar
25.5-26.7 Brix
PH
3.59
Aging
22 months in 500LFrench oak puncheons of which 20% was new
Bottling Date
July 26, 2011
Alcohol %
14.8
Wine Profile
Tasting Notes
Ruby Garnet in color. Very similar to a good Cotes du Rhone or wine from Southern France, Gypsy is a medium bodied red wine that highlights the red fruit qualities and showcases some of its best qualities while young. The aromas found on the nose of this wine are black cherry, strawberry, Herbs De Province, cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom. The palate exudes similar qualities of black cherry and strawberry as well as cranberry, dark chocolate, dried herbs, vanilla and baking spices.
Production Notes
After hand picking, hand sorting and hand punchdowns, this wine saw small fermentations and was basket pressed before being racked entirely in large format 500L oak puncheons. The large barrels allowed the strength of the tannins to subtly influence the body of the wine so the red fruit could empower this blend over the 22 months of aging.
Winemaker Notes
This year's blend consists of 47% Grenache, 30% Mourvedre, 18% Counoise and 5% Cinsault. As our everyday wine that embodies the word “comfort”, we are consistently pleased by the overwhelming response to our red Gypsy blend. With a reliable palate that is rounded and balanced, our goal every year is to make this blend the best everyday wine that you have ever tasted! For 2009, nature made our job a little bit easier by providing Rhone grapes with exceptional quality. The result was a wine with a lighter color and body, but the same rich fruit forward flavors. Our 2009 Gypsy is ready to drink upon release and can be enjoyed for the next 7-8 years.
Food Pairing Notes
With its generous mouth feel, nice red fruits, herbs and spice, the 2009 Gypsy is a wine that is good for any occasion and pairs wonderfully with comfort foods like a pasta Bolognese, stews, onion soup, barbequed meats and a traditional Shepherd’s pie. Enjoy this wine while reading a good book, watching a great movie or simply spending time with your friends.
Production
1046 cases made
Product Reviews
Tom Orem
(Jun 10, 2012 at 9:38 AM)
Tom Orem
(Jun 2, 2012 at 9:42 PM)
I am a huge fan of Epiphany and have posted several reviews tonight on Grenache Rose, Revelations and Petite Sirah that testify to my love for their wines. Let me however talk about Gypsy. Both the 2007 and the 2009 leave a bitter taste to me on the finish. Sometimes I get that with young Syrahs, Firestone and Curtis both have this, but the 2009 Gypsy doesn't have Syrah. To me, this "bitter" taste is off-putting. It is maybe a blackberry taste. Some people don't mind it. We had a Foley 2009 Pinot Noir T-Anchor I think and over two hours of the bottle open it went from sweet cherry to blackberry to sweet cherry again. I had a six-ounce container of blackberries for breakfast this morning, mixed in my yogurt and honey, so I don't mind blackberries. It's just that I don't like reds with that bitter/sharp finish just like I avoid chardonnay that tastes too much of lemon or lime.Anyway, Gypsy is the only Epiphany wine that I keep at a distance because of this bitter finish. It could be the Mourvedre, I don't know. Mostly though I recognize this taste with Syrah and this wine doesn't have any. So it is something I must watch for and learn. However I have a 2009 Gypsy that came with my recent pick-up. if someone can suggest when to drink, please do. I do know when we had the little dark chocolates in the tasting room, while sampling this wine, that bitter thing went away. So in absence of anything else, I would have it with dark chocolate cake.
At least now we have a very good reason to make dark chocolate cake.
When you love wine, any excuse to eat and drink is a good excuse.