For nearly ten years, the Counoise at Glenrose Vineyard was part of the Lone Madrone winemaking program, and while Ryan worked there it was one of his favorite wines to work with. Eventually, the contract expired, Lone Madrone planted a new site, and Ryan was offered one row of the best Counoise grown in Paso Robles.  These 23-year-old vines are planted on a ridge of pure limestone that faces south and is the Tablas Creek clone of Counoise.  Although this grape is known for its elegance, it needs to bask in the sun to get sufficiently ripe and generally picks around the same time as Mourvèdre, the latest ripening of the Rhone varietals.  Not the case this year with the record early 2022 vintage,

The fruit was picked on September 1st, destemmed, and fermented in a 1.5-ton fermenter.  After fermentation was complete the wine was racked to neutral French barriques, aged for 2 months, and bottled on January 10th.  This wine is elegant, ethereal, and an absolute pleasure to drink.  Counoise is the Pinot Noir of the Rhone Valley; once you pop the cork you better pay attention, because before you know it, the bottle is empty.