The 2022 Erggelet Brothers Grenache comes from Del Barba Vineyard in Contra Costa County, way out near Oakley where the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers lose themselves in the Delta and the vines stand in deep sand under an unforgiving California sun. It is strange country for wine, which is perhaps why it makes such interesting wine. The days are hot, the wind comes in off the Delta, and those sandy soils force the vines to fend for themselves. Julian Erggelet works closely with grower Tom Del Barba, and the Grenache they pull from this place has none of the fat sweetness the grape can acquire when everybody gets too ambitious. There are raspberries and wild red fruit, rose hips, dried herbs and something darker and animal underneath. It has warmth, certainly, but also the freshness that makes you reach again for the glass while there is still something good on the plate.

Julian and Sebastian Erggelet grew up in southern Germany, sons of a German father and American mother and came to California in 2014 after first considering lives that had little to do with wine. Julian studied medicine, Sebastian philosophy and economics. Eventually they found vineyards, which may have been the wiser education. They worked in glitzy joints in Napa before becoming fascinated with the old vineyards of Contra Costa, places without much glamour but possessing something considerably rarer: character. Their winemaking is simple in the difficult sense of the word. Minimal sulfur, minimal rackings, generally no fining or filtration, and no great desire to make the wine prettier than the place it came from. This Grenache tastes of sun, sand, wind and ripe fruit, and reminds us that sometimes the best thing a winemaker can do is stand back and leave well enough alone.