2018 Grawlix Rose Sonoma County 750 ml

Our friend Ivan's an eccentric, foul-mouthed, prodigiously talented Sonoma winemaker who holes up in the hills to focus on crafting amazing value wines from top fruit.

Apprenticed under some of the best names in Napa and revered in the Sonoma winemaking community, he’s a critical-darling-turned-populist, and he produces everyman treasures like the 2018 Grawlix Rosé Sonoma County, a salmon-hued stunner that we consider the perfect year-round wine—and one you can afford to stock up on, especially at the stunning price of $12.99 per bottle.

“Come on up, we’re rockin’.”

That was the text we received from Ivan T. on a random Thursday night, well past our bedtime, and the potential of landing this rosé was the only reason we were even considering his late-night invitation. It was the first we’d heard from him in the two weeks since he let us sample what he’d been playing with: a salmon-pink wine showing a superb nervy backbone, bursting with grapefruit, mango, and raspberry aromatics, dry, vibrant, mineral, and thirst-quenching. So we got in the car and headed up into the moonlit Sonoma hills again, wondering what we’d find at the end of that old dirt road.

Sparks flying in the darkness were our first clue to what was afoot. And, as we got out, the sound of Pink Floyd jamming and two dozen loud voices. It was rockin’, alright. Closer to the action, we started recognizing faces and shaking hands around the bonfire. Up at his hinterland outpost, Ivan had gathered Sonoma’s cream of the crop—winemakers, chefs, vineyard managers—a testament to his deep connections in the region. In everyone’s glass was a wine with a suspiciously familiar salmon-pink hue.

“That &#$#$,” we muttered (Ivan was starting to wear off on us). “He better have saved us some.”

We shouldered through the crowd to find him manning an Argentinian-style brick parrilla, long silver hair back in a ponytail, tongs in his hand.

“Hey! You know this #$#*ing tune?” he said, pointing at a speaker with the tongs. “It’s one of the 1971 BBC Radio sessions. #$@#ing epic.” 

“Is that our rosé?” we said, looking at an unlabeled open bottle of pink set beside the grill.

“It is now.” He poured us a glass and as the bright red berry aromatics hit our nose, our mouths instantly started watering. It’s got the chuggable quality of what the French call la piscine—poolside wine—but with the heft, vigor, and the firm acid cut of a top Rhône rosé. All the brightness of a fresh-picked strawberry, beautifully vibrant, and finishing with electric energy and crispness.

“You have enough for Wine Access?”

“Don’t @#$#ing worry about it. The folks at _______ and __________ got me all the fruit I asked for. It’s pristine stuff, some of my favorite grapes from rock-studded soil in an alluvial fan east of _____ Creek. And 2018 did everything we wanted: slow and steady development, crazy hangtime but enough coolness to keep concentration in check and maintain mouth-puckering acidity. This is Old World #$#@, man!”

“And the price?”

Ivan named a number. We eyed his empty glass and named a lower one. A handshake sealed it, and that’s how we got a rosé that should cost $30 for $12.99. We recommend buying this incredibly fresh, mineral rosé in large volume if you can. And then keep rockin'.