Translucent ruby color; dark fruits, cedar, vanilla on the nose; rich dark fruits, smoke, licorice, plum, blackberry on the palate.
Blend of 78% tempranillo, 8% grenache, 7% mourvedre, 4% carignan, 3% syrah. High Plains warmth and grenache soften the sour cherry tempranillo can bring (especially in cooler climes). This is delicious, easy drinker, with expected tame tannin and reserved acidity given the varietals.
Tempranillo, the noble grape of Spain, is relatively neutral for a thick-skin, dark colored grape. It typically needs help from other grapes to add complexity and blends particularly well with mourvedre and grenache (garnache in Spain). Kim McPherson finds a nice spot with this effort—it is a rich red without palate-puckering tannin or sharp acidity. If you enjoy a nice, knock-it-back, have-fun red, this bottle is for you.
“Hernicia” is Spanish for heritage, a genuflection to Spanish roots with some French thrown in for the Texas High Plains. Tempranillo continues to emerge as a go-to red variety in Texas, no surprise given Texas’ similarity to Spain in climate. The High Plains AVA delivers hot days and cool nights, making for wine-grape-friendly environment.
Winemaker Kim McPherson is the son of Dr. Clinton “Doc” McPherson, one of the founders of the Texas wine industry. In 1976, Doc—a chemistry professor at Texas Tech—and Bob Reed founded the Llano Estacado Winery in Lubbock, one the first post-Prohibition wineries in Texas. Kim graduated from Texas Tech with a food science degree, then the enology and viticulture program at Cal-Davis. He worked at Llano Estacado, then Cap*Rock until starting his own label in 2000. Kim converted a 1930s-era Coca Cola bottling plant into a winery in downtown Lubbock in 2008. La Herencia is a pure Texas play; Texas grapes made in a Texas winery located on Texas Avenue in downtown Lubbock. $16-18
Other photos: Kim McPherson, McPherson vineyard, McPherson winery
