Terre et Sang, ‘Kissing Vipers,’ Bien Nacido Vineyard, Grenache, California, 2020

Overview of the Wine
Founded in 2019 by Dalita & Duncan Harmon with a singular mission to hand-craft wines that are compelling and delicious expressions of site and origin from the great vineyards of Santa Barbara County. Terre et Sang is a family. We are a mother and son leading a small crew of hardworking individuals bound by the simple desire to make what we love, together.

Winemakers
Dalita & Duncan Harmo

Grape / Blend
95% Grenache, 5% Syrah

Origin
Santa Maria Valley, California

Winemaker's Tasting Notes
Our Grenache comes from the steep southeast-facing hillside of block 39 where the mountainous Monterey Shale dominates. We employ precision cluster shaping, structured canopy management and aggressive fruit thinning to create a healthy and uniform crop. The resulting wine is both luscious and elegant, lengthy and driven.

96 Points - Jeb Dunnuck
Beautiful red fruits, spice box, sandalwood and flowery incense notes all emerge from the 2020 Grenache Kissing Vipers, a medium to full-bodied, incredibly pure, balanced, seamless red from this estate that will shine for a solid decade. This is impressive.

95 Points - Wine Independent
The 2020 Kissing Vipers Bien Nacido Grenache, with 5% Syrah in the blend, is pale to medium garnet-purple in color. It needs a little swirling to break through the intense core of raspberry coulis to reveal notes of Sichuan pepper, lavender oil, mint tea, and wild blueberries. The concentrated, full-bodied palate is laden with energetic, perfumed red berry flavors, framed by satiny tannins and a lively backbone, finishing long with a sour cherry lift.

94 Points - Wine Advocate
The 2020 Kissing Vipers Grenache Bien Nacido Vineyard is blended with a five percent splash of Syrah from Bien Nacido's X Block and was matured in about 58% new oak. Medium ruby-purple, it slowly blossoms its alluring perfume of blueberry, cranberry, blood orange, tea leaves and iron. The medium-bodied palate balances energetic bursts of acidity with generous fruits, is supported by supple tannins and has a long, spicy finish. Offer it several hours in the decanter to unwind some of those spicy nuances.

94 Points - Vinous
The 2020 Kissing Vipers Bien Nacido Vineyard is fabulous. Rich and explosive, the 2020 possesses tremendous depth and textural resonance. Varietal notes are all dialed up in this intense, bold Grenache. This was done with fully destemmed fruit - a dollop of Syrah (5%) rounds out the blend.

Product size: 750ml