Gramercy Cellars "L'Idiot du Village" - 2009

In the past 3 years, Gramercy Cellars has been working with some of the best vineyards in the state of Washington for Grenache, Mourvedre and the newcomer grape, Cinsault. Okay - okay, so Cinsault really isn't a newcomer to Walla Walla as it was one of the first to be planted in the valley many moons ago, but that my li'l' wine friends is another story ...

Gramercy Cellars, Food & Wine Magazine's Best New Winery of 2010, is known for their rich and most serious wines, especially their syrahs. However, once you take a second look at their simple, yet elegant label, you sometimes discover they also have a sense of humor.

It doesn't take an idiot to understand that their new Southern Rhone-style blend "L'Idiot du Village" - 2009 is not a wine produced by and designed for idiots. Idiots are not deserving of this rich blend of 85% Syrah and 15% Grenache. This dark purple blend is bold with mouthful of dark fruit, such as blackberries and plums. It's a full mid-palate with a long spicy finish.

I have never been a fan of Grenache, or I should say my stomach has never been a fan of this grape, but this syrah dominate blend was an easy sipper for me, as well as a perfect casual food pairing (or you could kick it up a couple of notches for a more serious entree). The spiciness of this blend really paired well with our pizza of Parmesan-Asiago cheese, Italian sausage and roasted red, green, and banana peppers.

I understand the name, L'Idiot du Village is a take-off of Côtes du Rhône Village, a wine Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) in the southern Rhone wine region of France. This region was established in 1966-1967 and winemakers are required that their red wines must be produced with Grenache and not less than 50%, with an addition of 20% Syrah and/or Mourvèdre. A maximum of 20% of other authorized varieties are permitted.

Was there really an idiot involved when it came to producing this blend? Well, nobody from Gramercy is tattling on each other. Greg? Brandon? Steve?