Donnachadh Family Wines Releases 2023 Estate Grenache From Its Rare Rock Island Block
The first of three planned vintages, with just 30 cases produced from old-world, freestanding vines
STA. RITA HILLS, CA — Donnachadh Family Wines, the certified-organic, family-owned estate in the Sta. Rita Hills AVA, debuts its 2023 Estate Grenache on October 11, 2026. With 30 cases produced, this is the most limited bottling in the winery's history and the first of three vintages from the estate’s Rock Island block. The wine will be offered first to Donnachadh wine club members as part of the fall club release, with remaining bottles available for purchase on their website.
“This Grenache is beauty in a bottle. It’s this crystalline garnet that catches the light, and the nose is wild and earthy, with raspberry compote, ripe black cherry, licorice, and lavender. It’s drinking wonderfully now, especially if you open it an hour or two before, but it has plenty of years ahead of it. I’d pour it with seared duck breast, but it’s elegant and concentrated enough to go with many things," said Vilma Mazaite, General Manager of Donnachadh Family Wines.
The Grenache grows on the rockiest stretch of Donnachadh's riverside land, a block the family planted in 2018 after a couple of years of trial and error to find what would take hold in such tough ground. The answer was an old-world approach: planting the vines on their own roots by sinking long cuttings about five feet into the soil, then letting each one grow freestanding as a low, bush-like vine with no trellis wires. Farmed organically like the rest of the estate, the block gives about half a ton of fruit per acre in its most generous year, and that hard-won fruit is what gives this wine its concentration.
“This wine is special for us. We planted own-rooted Grenache in the toughest site on our property, betting that the struggle in that rocky ground would make something exceptional, and it did. Rock Island will be a three-vintage story, which makes every bottle feel like a moment in time,” said Laurie and Drew Duncan, founders of Donnachadh Family Wines.
The block is called Rock Island, a nod to its stony ground and to a well-known meeting spot in Austin’s Zilker Park. It’s also where the estate experiences its most dramatic temperature swings. By day it is the warmest spot on the vineyard as the sun heats the rocks, and by night it is the coldest, as cool air slides down the surrounding hillsides to the valley floor.
Rock Island will produce three vintages in total. The 2023 marks the debut release, bottled as 100% Grenache and aged 16 months in neutral French oak by winemaker Ernst Storm. The 2024 vintage will be a blend of Grenache and Syrah, while the 2025 vintage will return to 100% Grenache. The release joins Donnachadh’s Syrah as the estate's second Rhône variety.
To learn more, visit www.donnachadh.com and follow along on Instagram.
Donnachadh Family Wines Media Kit
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About Donnachadh Family Wines
Donnachadh (DON-nuh-kuh) Family Wines is a certified-organic, family-owned estate located on Santa Rosa Road in the Sta. Rita Hills AVA of Santa Barbara County. Founded by Drew and Laurie Duncan, the 285-acre property is planted with Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Syrah, Gamay Noir, and Grenache across hillside and riverside blocks shaped by the region's cooling ocean influence. Winemaker Ernst Storm crafts the estate's wines, which have earned recognition from Wine Enthusiast, Wine Advocate, and James Suckling. Donnachadh's tasting room is located in Los Olivos, California.
MJ Brackin
