23 Jul Please The Palate Wine of the Week: Acquiesce Christina’s Outlier 2023 Red Wine, Mokelumne River, Lodi AVA

During a visit to Lodi this week, I stopped by Acquiesce and caught up with winemaker Christina Lopez. After tasting the white wines, Christina poured me her 2023 Outlier. With each vintage, Christina crafts a distinctive red wine that sets it apart from Acquiesce’s signature whites. Last year, Outlier was a Grenache, but this year it is a Grenache-based blend. While the wine is different, like the 2022, the Acquiesce Christina’s Outlier 2023 is the Please The Palate wine of the week.

About Acquiesce Outlier

Located in Lodi, California, Acquiesce was founded with a bold vision: to focus exclusively on white wines in a region known for bold reds. When Sue and Rodney Tipton purchased their 18-acre property in 2003, it was planted to Zinfandel. But inspired by a bottle of Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc, Sue decided to replant the vineyard with white Rhône varieties. Today, 16 acres are dedicated to grapes such as Grenache Blanc, Picpoul, and Roussanne, including 1.5 acres of Grenache Noir reserved for rosé production. A few years ago, winemaker Christina Lopez introduced Outlier, the winery’s only red wine, crafted from estate Grenache. Now managing both the cellar and the vineyard, Christina plays outside the box each year to create a new expression of Outlier. One year, Outlier was a Grenache-Cinsault blend; another year, it was an Albariño; and a third year, it was 100% Grenache. This year it is a blend of red and white grapes.

Tasting Notes

The 2023 Outlier is a blend of 62% Grenache Blanc, 16% Syrah, 16% Mourvedre, 3% Bourboulenc, and 3% Clariette Blanche. The Grenache, Syrah, Bourboulenc, and Clairette Blanche were co-fermented, with 50% whole-cluster fermentation. The Mourvedre, which ripened later, was whole cluster fermented separately. Once fermented dry, it was added to the blend. The wine went through malolactic fermentation and then aged in neutral puncheons. The wine is light with pretty aromas of blackberries, wild red berries, and bramble with baking spice notes and textured tannins that linger on the palate.

Food Pairing

An easy drinking wine, this red wine will pair with just about anything. Enjoy it with pizza, pasta, salmon, chicken, or vegetable dishes. The wine has enough body to enjoy with just about anything without overwhelming the dish.

Where to Purchase

Only 100 cases were made of the Acquiesce Christina’s Outlier 2023 Red Blend, which retails for $55 and is available directly at Acquiesce Winery.

Meet The Winemaker

Read about Acquiesce Winery in a story I originally wrote for the Napa Valley Register.

Get to know Acquiesce Owner Sue Tipton in 30 questions on the Wine Soundtrack USA podcast.

Videos To Watch

Check out the Crush On This Episode: The Versatility of Wine – One Grape, Five Wines in which we shared five wines by Acquiesce all made from Grenache Noir/Grenache Blanc, including the Outlier Grenache.