From the warm days of late September to the October foggy damp costal highs of 62F, that's Santa Barbara for you. In honor of that 'Fall Feeling' in the air, we begin with a trio of wines from Bordeaux.

2020 Clos Manou Petit Manou
(France, Bordeaux, Haut-Médoc) $32

Driven by a passion for wine, Françoise and Stéphane Dief produced their first vintage in 1998; 600 bottles. Since then Clos Manou has expanded, seeking out the best vineyards, and (perhaps going against the old ways) using 700 liter concrete eggs and 800 liter terracotta amphoras to age the wine. The result is a style that's fresh, vibrant, with clean, dark, red brambly berry fruit, a juicy mid-palate, with a truly luscious finale. 71% Merlot, 29% Cabernet Sauvignon FYI.

2021 Château Grand Village
(France, Bordeaux Supérieur) $34

You'll notice in the upper right corner of this label it says 'Chateau Lafleur' and you're probably thinking that with Lafleur's $1500 price tag there's no way they would produce a weekday red like this one. Think again.
Château Grand Village encompasses 20 hectares of clay, limestone, and gravel soil in Mouillac and are farmed biodynamically and planted entirely to massale selection from Lafleur.
Fermented in stainless steel and concrete tanks with soft maceration. Aged 12 months in barrels (30% new, 40% one year old, 30% two year old) this 81% Merlot, 19% Cabernet Franc is a home run in terms of quality and price, nah, a grand slam!
There's something slightly wild about this wine, red and boysenberry notes and we swear there, hiding behind the curtain are stealth notes of blood orange, then the tannins build and the texture blossoms; a streak of garrigue makes an appearance along with rose petals, herbs, and a touch of salinity. This is dynamite.

2022 Château La Grande Clotte
(France, Bordeaux, Lussac-St. Émilion) $20

We paused after tasting this Merlot, Cabernet-Franc, Malbec blend. The price tag had to be wrong. Who makes an impressive wine with structure and depth, cherry and blue fruit, that has a savory edge and a finish that's nuts...and then charges a Jackson for it???
Needless to say cases were ordered and we've been hearing 'thank yous' all week from our clientele.

2021 Ferrando Canavese Rosso
(Italy, Northern Piedmont, Canavese) $36

Our number one selling white Italian wine, Erbaluce, is from this same producer. More than a few of our regulars asked us to bring in his Nebbiolo with one exclaiming, 'his reds are even better than his whites'.
Fast forward to now and there's a Ferrando Nebbiolo at Renegade. Ordered blind, ordered with trust.
Today we tasted this Northern Piedmont wine. Pouring it in the glass released an explosion of aromatics, then on the palate red berry, rhubarb, dark fruit and a savory mineral energy. This one is gangbusters and perhaps this months' best find.

2020 Château de Rey OH de Syrah
(France, Languedoc Roussillon) $20

This is Syrah with a Mediterranean attitude. Walking though the vineyards with the sea a few miles away is heavenly. There's a strong marine influence here allowing the Syrah to develop quite differently than in the Northern Rhone. You'll notice the price tag is uber-friendly too. A nicely balanced, dark berry noted wine with a suave underbelly and a charismatic finish. For some reason a meatball sandwich sounds perfect with the wine (we 'settled' for a pepperoni pizza from Bettina).
If anyone knows of a great meatball sandwich in town please let us know though.

2022 Lucien Crochet Sancerre La Croix du Roy
(France, Loire Valley, Sancerre) $46

Lucian Crochet is a name to be reckoned with in Sancerre. Two grandfathers started bottling in the 1950s and charming their wines into some of the best Parisian restaurants of the day. Today, still in the family, the wines are as good as ever. While they bottle a number of Sauvignon Blancs, this has the most attitude; full-bodied, structured, Dagueneau-like.

Notes of black currant and white stone-fruits emerge, with a chalky minerality and a pleasing surprise of yuzu. It's a stunner to be sure. Pairing this with your best crab cake recipe is sublime.