Benastra 'La Petite Soeur'

In his office, Chris has a little wooden plaque that I [Jess] gave him that reads, ‘Grenache is King.’ Courtesy of our friend Seth at Upsidedown Wines — and the gorgeous pine boxes for his ‘The Devil is a Liar’ Grenache — when I saw it, I knew it needed a home. From the very beginning of Walter’s, Chris has been (and will continue to be) Grenache’s biggest fan, while my own jury is still out on the variety.

This wine comes from Côtes Catalanes in southeast France, just outside Perpignan on the Mediterranean and not far from the Spanish border. It is fermented whole cluster to build aromatic lift, then aged in concrete and stainless steel to preserve freshness and minimize oxygen exposure. Make sure to decant this one! It’s a beauty.

We love it with… mushroom risotto, hamburgers, skirt steak

Type: Red
Vintage: 2021
Size: 750mL
ABV: 13%
Grape: Lledoner Pelut - Grenache Noir -Syrah - Carignan
Region: Côtes Catalanes, Languedoc-Roussillon, France
Vinification: Farmed organically. No pesticides or chemical fertilizers are used in order to preserve life (that of the soil, of people, etc.). Hand-harvested. Maceration in whole bunches. Fermentation using indigenous yeasts. Aged for 8 months in concrete and stainless steel tanks. Unfined, unfiltered, minimal SO2.

For the nerds: Lledoner Pelut is a mutation of Grenache that translates to “the hairy Grenache,” thanks to the fine hairs (trichomes!) on the undersides of its leaves, which help the vine retain moisture in drier climates. It tends to hold onto its acidity longer and reaches phenolic (flavor) ripeness at lower sugar levels than Grenache Noir. What all this nerd-speak really means is that it’s a bit easier to make a well-balanced wine from this biotype. Grenache Noir can be incredible, but it takes serious skill in both the vineyard and the cellar to get it there — Lledoner Pelut just makes that goal a little more attainable.