Smooth and full-bodied but expensive (although drastically less at the Costco price), we review the 2016 Tenet GSM.
A GSM blend of 50% Grenache, 24% Mourvèdre, 24% Syrah and 2% Cinsaut from the Columbia Valley of Washington State.
One third of the wine undergoes whole cluster fermentation and the whole thing was aged for 15 months in a combination of neutral (60%) and new (40%) French oak 500-liter puncheons and 600-liter demi-muids.
The Tenet GSM has an SRP and average wine-searcher price of $70. We found it at Costco for just $29.99. 1,824 cases were produced.
As we’ve noted many times (see Tenet #2 of Reverse Wine Snobbery: Drink What You Like) wine scores are far from a perfect science. The same wine can be reviewed drastically differently by different reviewers, leading to some confusing results for consumers.
Such is exactly the case with today’s bottle which has received scores from just about every major publication that range from 87 points on the low end (Wine Enthusiast) to 96 points on the high end (Jeb Dunnuck). Wine Spectator, Robert Parker and others are everywhere in-between. At 87 points a $30 bottle of wine is a terrible deal. At 96 points it’s splurgeworthy.
So which is it? It all comes down to your own personal preferences, which is why we encourage people to explore wines on their own and decide for themselves what they like. For those who want to use wine scores, it can also be extremely helpful to try to find a reviewer or two who’s tastes line up with your own.
That out of the way, let’s take a look at this polarizing bottle, which is a collaboration between some big names.
From the bottle:
A celebration of the collaboration between Washington State’s Chateau Ste. Michelle and the Rhone’s Michel Gassier – with consulting oenologist Philippe Cambie – this is a wine of elegance and finesse reflecting the terroir of its origin.
Produced and Bottled by Tenet Wines
15.5% Alcohol
The 2016 Tenet GSM opens with a savory, attractive aroma of berries, spice, leather, a little black pepper and some floral notes. It’s a nice start.
Tasting the wine reveals it to be smooth, juicy and full-bodied with similar flavors to the nose. We’re big fans of GSM blends and this is a pretty good example with our rating ending up squarely in the middle of the range at 91-93 points. Even after factoring in the extremely low Costco price (compared to the rest of the market), that doesn’t quite make it good enough to get a Saturday Splurge rating.
It ends dry, quite long and a bit grippy and was similar on day 2.
Looking for more of our favorite picks from Costco? Browse our multi-page listing of recommended wines along with more information on how to best shop the store!
You can also find our favorite Saturday Splurge (over $25 a bottle) wine selections here.
Cheers,
Jon
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