P A

9.0

At the “Crazy Weed” restaurant in Canmore AB with Mrs A enjoying this wonderful Albertan IPA the menu says “Upfront citrus hop character with a subtle kiss of roast”. This is good. To all my Canadian friends and others this one is for you. @Shawn Thompson @Trixie @AgeyFixey @Severn Goodwin @Ron R @Stuart Scheff Cheers 🍻🍻🍻🇺🇸🇨🇦 — 5 years ago

Bill Bender

9.4

4/26 Rose’ tasting and this was my co-favorite, contributed by @Mike R it was plump and substantial and almost elegant. The merlot set it apart a bit and definitely brought something different to the table. Noticeable oak treatment but it works here and gives it a more traditional red wine feel. — 6 years ago

Erica Lauer Vose

10

So sweet and smooth and rich — 6 years ago

with Chuck

Bill Bender

9.5

Cool little mini vertical (2004-2006) from @David L and @Shawn R and all were performing exceptionally. These are always such dependably sultry and delicious wines with an unmistakable chocolate/dark fruit profile. Stuart Sloan sold this winery to the Pan family several years back for almost 50 million and I’m not sure they take visitors from their mailing mist. It could be an extra fun tasting if they bring wines from their other estate—Chateau Bon Pasteur. — 7 years ago

Spencer Cutter

9.1

Wonderful finding this bottle after forgetting it was there. Still fresh but with the distinct hazelnut notes that come with age. Light gold in color.medium nose with notes of lemon, cream brûlée, hazelnut, green apple and honeysuckle. Medium body, alcohol and acidity. Medium plus finish. Reminds me of a younger R. López de Heredia Viña Tondonia Gran Reserva. — 7 years ago

LM Archer

9.0

#quality #value #bubbles — 8 years ago

Elizabeth Criner

9.2

Perfect rosé for the Coast! — 8 years ago

Bill Bender

9.6

Friday night in SA was Italian varietals and @Shawn R bought out restaurant Gwendolyn for the event. Gwendolyn is a 100% sustainable, using only local ingredients restaurant run by a French chef/owner and they don’t use any post modern motorized machines in food prep. This Giacosa from @Eric LaMasters was my co-WOTN. It was in a phenomenal spot. Elegant ripe red fruit, blackberry compote, spice box and a silky smooth length to spare finish. — 6 years ago

Bill Bender

9.6

My co-WOTN was this open and captivating Cornas that was showing so much for a relatively young 💯 percent Syrah. This is probably the best youthful Cornas I’ve ever had the pleasure to drink. Dark hued plum, tar, smoke and burnt wood. Tremendous depth and intensity. Thank you @Michael Meyer! — 6 years ago

Stanislav Lobanov

8.9

16.5/20 (89/100) Вино с ароматами вишневого джема, карамели, ванили и намеком на кожу. Легкое с достаточно высокой кислотностью и гладкими танинами. Очень хорошо! #prowein2018 — 6 years ago

Randy Fillingim

9.0

Tannins and fruit both doing their jobs giving a nice balanced experience — 7 years ago

Steven Bender

9.5

Wonderful full body red. Delicious. — 7 years ago

Amber Gustafson

9.8

Such a smooth red with very little tannin — 7 years ago

Molly H

10

This was NOT a pinot noir. Perhaps pinot gris and another grape. White wine, not red. — 7 years ago

T Thompson

9.4

Pretty bouquet, light and fresh — 8 years ago

Dave Teal

9.7

Really enjoyed the 2012 vintage. This bottle was a gift, wondering where I can buy more on the east coast? — 6 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." — 6 years ago

Kelly Carlin

9.1

Lush, soft stewed tomatoes, tart cherries. Perfect with brown sugar mustard glazed salmon and some braised chard. Like, whoa. — 7 years ago

Laura Hall

9.2

Loved this vintage. Great balance, nice round flavor. — 8 years ago

Michelle Berryman

9.1

Wonderful light red. Fruit forward and very drinkable, not sweet. — 8 years ago