Lori K

9.0

This wine hits above its class! Fantastic pounder with fruit forward berries and vanilla. Well balanced and a great, light red blend. We’ll pickup a case cuz this will be fun to have on hand... — 5 years ago

Ellen Clifford

9.1

Get thee into my mouth you saltwater flower garden! You know how going to the beach costs nothing and it frees you up as you realize the sea could swallow you and end it all (goth commentary), chill you out (living in Lalaland commentary), and sharpen all senses and verve for life (good lord genuine ocean-experience commentary)? It’s not free but I got it for $8.96 from Garagiste and not only is it saline and lemon salt and floral but it is exciting me very much and not just because I’m coming down from a month of Pinotage reporting. Seashells and lily gardens mingle. Acid AF. It fades a smidge fast but maybe that is just an excuse to gulp more and rejoice. I am. You shall. — 5 years ago

Parker Middleton

9.5

Flower bomb! — 6 years ago

Chris England

9.4

A new Les Clos producer to me that’s a decent drop for £59 but feels it needs more time as very dry & mineral laden today which will be perfect for some 😉 I prefer William Fevre Les Clos for 💵😁 better @ 12C - decant 2hrs to free this wine 👍 Age will reward here 😉

📍 Maison Dampt Les Clos Chablis 2014

🏵 94-95 points

🍇 Chardonnay

🍷 Light straw

👃 Slight closed nose of flinty minerals & soft lemon driven citrus fruits w/ smokey honey, white peach, pear & chalky tones w/ a lime smack & white flower tickle

👄 Med crisp dry body of punchy rock minerals through zingy citrus & tart green apple w/ tropical honeyed tones

🎯 Long dry mineral green & citrus fruits w/ a bone dry lime infused tropical kick

— 7 years ago

Zach Kouwe

9.0

Via Brooklyn Wine Exchange: Hardy Wallace is a bit of a superstar in the "New California" wine scene. He began his wine career in Atlanta, publishing a blog on the subject called Dirty South Wines. In 2009, he won a high-profile contest held by Murphy-Goode Winery in Sonoma, called "A Really Goode Job." Hardy beat out 2,000 other applicants for this stunt-job, acting as a sort of social media/pr coordinator for the winery. Upon completion of his six-month contract, he went to work for several legendary winemakers in the valley, including Cathy Corison (Chappellet, Corison) and Ehren Jordan (Turley, Failla). During this time, Hardy and his wife Kate also partnered with friends Matt and Amy Richardson to form a small label called Dirty & Rowdy Family Winery. For their first vintage, they purchased one ton of Mourvredre, the semi-obscure Provencal and Spanish variety that is rarely seen outside the context of a red blend in California.

Knowing that Dirty & Rowdy could distinguish itself in a ocean of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvigon with this curious and brawny grape, Hardy & Co. quickly bet the farm on Mourvedre, as a vehicle to express different styles of winemaking as well as the terroir of multiple regions within California. Flash-forward to current day, where Dirty & Rowdy has become the king of California Mourvedre, bottling multiple cuvees each year that sell out almost immediately.

Dirty & Rowdy is a well-known emblem of the domestic natural wine scene as well. Hardy buys almost exclusively from organic growers, and doesn't filter, acidify, or alter his wines in anyway. Sulfur use is extremely low, and the overall philosophy is to be as hands-off as possible.

That is until 2017. The fact that Dirty & Rowdy has a wine to present at all for this vintage is a miracle. Flashback to mid-July last year. The growing season wasn't going all that well. Tremendous heat spikes created growth problems at almost all the vineyards Hardy sources grapes from. It's hard enough to monitor vine issues on one vineyard, let alone almost a dozen parcles scattered around six counties stretching from the Central Coast all the way out to the Sierra Foothills. A case of shingles went from bad to worse, spreading to his eyes. Hardy completely lost his vision for three days. Kate's brother Angus, a ski instructor and artist from Aspen, drove out to lend a hand with the impending harvest. On his way out, he was involved in single-car crash along a treacherous stretch of interstate and tragically lost his life.

Then the fires started.

Hardy and Kate, like many other producers who make wines in communal "crush" facilities located in urban areas around Sonoma and Napa, had hoped to ride out the fires and continue their wine production. The fires spread rapidly and threatened both their house and their winery, located in Petaluma. They left their wine in the midst of alcoholic fermentation, one of the most crucial and stressful times of the year for a winemaker even in the best of situations. When they were able to return eight days later, the winery was luckily undamaged. The wine, however, didn't fare so well. most vats had experienced "stuck fermentation," meaning that the native yeast died before eating all the sugar. Hardy, like most forward-thinking American winemakers, is a firm believer in natural fermentation. This no-brainer aspect to his wine was now an virtual impossibility. Plus, the vats contained high levels of volatile acidity or "VA," which creates an unfavorable "nail polish" quality in wine. A little bit of VA can give lift and energy to wine. Too much, however, renders the wine undrinkable.

At this point, Hardy thought to sell all the wine off in bulk for pennies on the dollar. Or perhaps create a second label to distance himself from what was surely going to be an atypical wine. Instead, he decided to combine almost every vat of his Mourvedre for the vintage (including lots of his most expensive fruit), and go into the "Unfamliar" territory of interventionist winemaker. Stuck lots were restarted using a variety of methods. When the wines finally fermented to dryness, he borrowed a "reverse osmosis" filtration system, perhaps the most modern of all the modern wine doohickeys. This contraption allowed Hardy to literally suck out the volatile acidity to bring it down to a pleasing level, as well as moderate and stabilize the alcohol. Then he filtered the wine. Basically, he did all the things he never thought he would ever want to do to wine.

The resulting wine is something that we have never seen before, both from Dirty & Rowdy and the Mourvedre grape, in general. Much of the wine fermented carbonically in tank, so the expression is much closer in style to Beaujolais than Bandol. It is so light on its feet, in fact, that Hardy believes this wine could take a serious chill. (Hence the reason we are trying to get you to try a California Mourvedre in the middle of a sweltering summer!) The tannins are pretty much non-existent, and the fruit is pretty and pure. There is a lovely little purple flower note in the middle of the wine, and a hint of smokiness on the finish (smoke taint from the fires? Or is this just some sort of phantom association because of the context? Either way, it adds depth and personality to this gorgeous wine.)

Since their "Annus Horribilis" of 2017, order and peace has been restored in Hardy & Kate's life. Their daughter Maple turns two in a few days. They celebrated the free-spirited life of their brother with scores of his friends and ski students at Aspen Mountain's opening day last November. The motto of the celebration, "Live Like Angus," has inspired hundreds and hundreds of beautiful social media posts. And this year's Spring release of Dirty & Rowdy wines from earlier vintages has quickly sold out around the country, gobbled up by ravenous collectors, restaurants, and retailers (like this one.)

But to Hardy, this "Unfamiliar" wine, which doesn't fit stylistically or financially into the rest of the D&R portfolio, will always represent something completely different: The best of a unthinkably bad situation. "It took a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to get that wine into bottle," Hardy wrote to us, just this morning. "Fortunately, it is fresh, delicious, soulful and somewhat of a Phoenix Rising from 2017. Though it is our least expensive wine ever, it is the wine I am most proud of." — 7 years ago

Matthew Cohen

9.5

I think people dont get brunello. There is so much on steroids brunello in the market everyone thinks it’s all like that. Not the case.

This is higher altitude brunello. No weightier than the average modern day barolo. It’s just Sangiovese instead of Nebbiolo. Honestly it’s almost middle of the Range for pommard. Not quite but it’s not far off.

Nose is almost licorice flower. Blackberry flower. Almost pommardian. As this opens so fucking beautiful. That blackberry flower licorice flower fusion.

Palate is such precise blackberry. Very linear and clean. Mineral. A hint of candied blackberry. Just a gorgeous hint. Expansive. Not thick at all. More silky texture like burgundy.

This is drinking well in one level but I feel like I killed it too young. In 5 years this might be epic.

As this opens - the fruit graciously takes a back seat. Almost some lavender on the nose. Palate is more about lavender and licorice flower. Yeah. You think you know brunello ? Nah. This is what it should be but ain’t. Pommard of Italy. Honestly 1er cru pommard in Density balance and aromatics. For 40% of the cost.

Bought from fass selections. — 5 years ago

Paul B.

9.0

Stubborn at first but opened up nicely. Trace smell of flower and stone for me. Range of red fruits but subtle. Enough complexity. Elegance and structure you’d expect but doesn’t take itself too too too seriously. Bit of a gap mid palate but grippy med tannin and a higher than expected acidity. A+ value for Langhe. — 6 years ago

Tim L

9.2

Revisited this wine again as Costco now has it! Full bodied flavor w/berry flower bouquet perfect tannin subtle deep red fruit w/legs unusual for the region...perfect balance, among the best of this "range" Bartbera and all reasonable priced. 2017 vintage Barbera D' Asti...Marchesi Incisa Della Rocchetta has it right. Drink again! (We do! Raised the rating to 9.2, confirmed...) — 6 years ago

Allison Lyzenga

9.4

Medium brown; pronounced aldehydic aromas of dried flower, brown sugar, molasses, dried fig, mincemeat, pastry crust, vanilla, cinnamon, cloves, chopped nuts; developing; dry, medium acid, high alcohol, full body, pronounced intensity flavors of vanilla, cedar, charred wood, roasted walnuts, forest floor, tobacco, earth, beef stock, cinnamon , spiced orange peel, long finish; outstanding due to very concentrated and complex range of flavors, primary, secondary , and tertiary flavors — 7 years ago

Matt Trader

9.2

Beautiful example of top class grand cru St. Emilion - 2014 was a decent year with a good spring, but fairly humid and grey in the summer with more rainfall than normal, and more than the left bank areas saw. Given clay isn't very free draining, the areas that had more sand and gravel drained a little better resulting in great Cabernet Franc, and decent Merlot. That being said, the wine from this estate is beautiful, fleshy, and supple, with acidity and slightly grippy tannins that will help this wine to continue aging. Black plummy fruits, cherry reduction, bell pepper, tobacco, purple flower florals. 90% Merlot, and 10% Cabernet Franc, aged in new oak barrels 50% on lees for 17 months, and no fining. This is a great value to have in the cellar, especially if you secured any 2015's that absolutely will need time, these can be opened now but aged for several more years. — 7 years ago

Geneva Viralam

9.4

Tasty! Age allowed for nicely nuanced characteristics - peach, petrol, floral. Had with Easter dinner; purchased from Free Range Wine. — 7 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

8.9

Takes its name from the free-spirited gentleman named Bruscone who lived in the woods of the Barbi Estate. Ruby with bright aromas of red berry fruits and wild flower notes. On the palate strawberry and cherry flavors, well balanced with avidity & fine tannins. Lingering finish ending with earthy tones. Nice value. — 8 years ago

Romain Fitoussi

9.2

Corsican wine. Dark brown, translucent color. rich range from flower / fruit to licorice, tangy freshness. Very greedy and digestible. Great aromatic precision on the palate and nose. Long, fresh and complex finish. Ideal for an aperitif, cold cuts, cheese, anti pastis — 5 years ago

Kevin Løk

9.2

Might be best in class when it comes to Sauvignon Blanc. This was a wine that I held onto very intentionally for almost all of 2019. So it’s an appropriate choice to close out the year. Went to a very delicious — and pretentious — tasting of Vie Di Romans’ offerings at Houston Wine Merchant. (I mean, come on you bow-tied assholes, you’re drinking this shit for free.) The Barolo was superb, but at $125, out of my price range. Hadn’t had an SB from Italy before and it seemed dry as hell, not my preferred grape but I wanted to stick it to these d-bags who thought I was (in my assuredly homeless-chic outfit) not good enough for what was being poured. So I bought it, and I’ll admit when this hit the decanter tonight and that nose smacked me in the face and it just reeked of some $10 bullshit from New Zealand, I thought, oh no, what a prideful mistake this was. Instead, what a treat. Yes the nose is unmistakably S.B. but the fruit is all olfactory, this friend has the dry minerality of an A- white from Burgundy or Alsace. I guess what I’m saying is, may we all be less prideful in 2020. Cheers! — 6 years ago

with Caroline

Andrew Formi

9.3

Wonderful thank you jack at free range — 6 years ago

Jordan Wardlaw

9.4

Searing bright acid, delicate floral accents, succulent red fruit, lively spice and silky tannins. Just a gorgeous Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir- transmitting unmistakable coastal terroir, intense yet elegant, concentrated yet clear. One of my favorite Anthill wines of the entire range and certainly the most overtly aromatic given its youthful status. I wouldn’t normally recommend drinking one of Anthony’s wines so young but 2015 was indeed an unusual vintage here in Sonoma that yielded its share of compact, ultra-concentrated wines that are developing at a brisk pace. Perhaps this is one of them. Whatever the case, feel free to enjoy now- it is already quite expressive and rewarding. Superb! — 7 years ago

Sally Thurer

9.0

Hand Work Tempranillo 2017 Parra Jiménez Spain. Easy to drink. Would buy again. Purchased from Free Range Wine and Spirits. INEXPENSIVE! Only $11 for 1L. Biodynamic. — 7 years ago

with Neil and Alex

Steven K

9.7

Nose of flower garden with herbs in the corner. Pure, clean, balanced, fresh. Honeysuckle and agave nectar with a touch of vanilla from the oak. Worth the investment as comparable enjoyment from a chardonay would have to be in a higher price range. This is a super nice white. — 7 years ago

Shengli Hu

9.1

[alluvial free draining soil] Light garnet, diminished concentration and staining. Bright lush raspberry and cranberry. Licorice and a lot of minerals. Sweet and savory on the finish. Soft velvety tannins. Elevated acidity. Medium plus body. Some French oak. — 7 years ago

Ally-jane Grossan

9.4

Delicious and crisp. Found at free range on Atlantic Ave. — 8 years ago

with Nabil