Jeff’s Corner

We are going to get down to some serious Serendipity stuff in a moment, but first I want to offer a very big personal and public thank you to everyone at Grape Creek for the unity and compassion we have extended to one another in these difficult times.

Not a day has gone by in the last month or so that Kathy and I have not been grateful to work for such a caring and generous company. So, here’s to Brian and Jennifer, Julie, John, Patrick, Christy and John, and everyone else that contributes to what truly is the “Grape Creek family”. Thank you all, from all of us!

First produced in the legendary 2007 vintage, this is the eleventh year of production for our most sought after and collectible wine (we didn’t produce Serendipity in 2009). Personally, my two favorites were the ’07 and 2010 vintages. If any of you are lucky enough to have either of these, pull the cork and see what’s happening with them and please let us know.

When I was tasting the fabulous new 2018, I was amazed at how incredibly uniform in style the last few vintages have been, so I did a little detective work. Going back to at least 2014, the varietal blends, ABV, and aroma and flavor profiles have been extremely consistent with one another. Jason and his band of wine elves are indeed a well-honed machine.   

Our 2018 Serendipity is 61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot, and 11% Syrah with a sensible 13.9% ABV. The color is a densely extracted purple/garnet, with complex, tightly packed aromas that are richly supported with generous layers of sweet, toasted oak. Ripe raspberry, black cherry, blackberry and plum dance in harmony with crushed black pepper, leather, tobacco, cedar and eucalyptus.

On our palate, the fruit is youthful, lean and austere with a firm backbone of acid and tannin that promise years of graceful bottle aging. The finish is structurally aggressive, and I would suggest a serving temp around 60* with a decant time of about 60-90 minutes.

This is an exceptionally elegant wine, and deserves an exceptionally elegant meal. Let’s pair this with a pepper-crusted strip steak with a decadent Stilton compound butter, scalloped potatoes and roasted baby Brussels sprouts.

Stay tuned and be safe…