Andrew Murray Vineyards Esperance – A Rollercoaster of Flavors You’ll Want To Ride Again and Again

60% Grenache Noir, 25% Syrah and 15% Mourvedre from Paso Robles and Santa Ynez Valley, California.

SRP of $25 and available for as low as $19. Sample received courtesy Andrew Murray Vineyards for review purposes.

From the bottle:

“Espérance” translates into “Hope” from French to English. With this wine, we hope to not only recreate the great red wines of southern France, but we further hope to craft a wine that will inspire your senses the way we were inspired over a decade ago.

The 2009 Esperance is the fulfillment of a dream to produce a rich, red wine blend that rivals the famed wines of Gigondas, in the southern Rhône Valley, while retaining an Andrew Murray Vineyards ‘house style’. This vintage was given a more serious winemaking regimen with more new oak. I also chose a bigger Syrah to blend in with the Grenache and Mourvedre, so the resulting wine is a bit more profound. I believe this is perhaps the best Espérance that we have ever released. All of the extra effort has yielded a rich, concentrated wine with aromas and flavors of ultra-ripe strawberries, black cherries, and blueberries, mixed in with the spiciness of cinnamon and vanilla from the toasty new French oak. We chose to close the bottle with the Stelvin ScrewCap to preserve the freshness and avoid ‘off’ flavors. It is a blend of 60% Grenache, 25% Syrah, and 15% Mourvedre that is 100% delicious.

450 cases produced. 15.0% Alcohol

If you’ve been reading this site for any length of time, you know I’m a huge fan of Andrew Murray Vineyards. Recently we’ve reviewed a number of the new vintages. These include:

• The Tous Les Jours Syrah: A Simply Stunning Bulk Buy that is now sold out!
• The Watch Hill Syrah: A Truly Worthy Wine For A Saturday Splurge.
• The Terra Bella Grenache: A Sold Out Saturday Splurge.
• And finally the Terra Bella Syrah: An Exquisite Saturday Splurge.

As you can see many of these were Saturday Splurge wines that clock in at just over $20, but perhaps my favorite of the whole bunch is the cheapest, the Tous Les Jours Syrah. Today’s wine can also be found for under $20, and much like the Tous Les Jour Syrah it delivers value well beyond its price. (And unlike the Tous Les Jours Syrah and the Terre Bella Grenache, this one is not sold out yet so you can still buy it!)

The 2009 Andrew Murray Vineyards Esperance begins with aromas of ripe berries, cinnamon spice, vanilla and some great floral notes. A very pleasant bouquet but where it really gets good is when you taste the wine. Lots and lots of spice, plus big rich fruit and fabulous tannins make for an absolutely delicious drink that gets even better the more air it gets. The finish features lots of spice that lasts forever plus loads of rich fruit. Simply excellent!!

See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.

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