Field Recordings Ventucopa Tempranillo 2013: From the distant reaches of the Santa Barbara Highlands comes this light-on-its-feet expression of the great Spanish grape that doesn’t get grown enough on the Central Coast.

Given the vineyard site, it’s easy to compare this wine to what A Tribute to Grace does with its stellar grenache from the same region — take a wine that can be almost clumsy and make it dance like Astaire. So yes, it has the dry red fruit and leather notes, but they aren’t as dry or tannin-locked.

Winemaker Andrew Jones (no, not the former Atlanta Braves star and Dodgers flame-out) is based in Paso Robles, but works as a vine nursery fieldman for numerous esteemed sites that then offer him fruit. That means he’s got his feet in the soil and his hands on great grapes and all that care shows up in his wines.

See fieldrecordingswine.com.

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