Dunites Grenache SLO Coast 2023

If you’re looking for the kind of California Grenache that trades jammy for electric, you’ve found it. Named after the 1930s bohemian “Dunites” who lived as free-thinkers among the Pismo Beach dunes, this husband-and-wife project from Tyler and Rachel Eck is a love letter to the San Luis Obispo Coast.

The 2023 vintage is a study in cool-climate tension. Sourced from vineyards perched on the edge of the Pacific, where the vines are lashed by ocean winds and rooted in uplifted seafloor soils, this isn’t your typical high-octane red. Instead, it offers a transparency and lift that feels more akin to a cru Beaujolais or a mountain-grown Pinot Noir.

Fermented with 25% whole clusters and aged in neutral French oak, the tannins are fine and sweet, providing just enough grip to keep the juicy fruit in check. This is a “low-intervention” wine done right—bottled unfined and unfiltered with just a touch of sulfur. It’s a pure, unadulterated expression of place that defies the “bigger is better” California stereotype.