Burnt Hill Summer Solstice Festival

I had an awesome time at Burnt Hill's inaugural Summer Solstice festival. Plenty of "natural wines" at a really cool spot, with great people and good vibes. I'm neither a natural wine evangelist, nor one of those people who snootily rolls their eyes at the mention of the term. I just went, tasted good wines, hung out with cool people, and wandered around in the fields and woods. Epic day.

• 2018 Broc Cellars Chenin Blanc Pétillant Shell Creek Vineyard 90 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  Yeasty, lots of fizz, pear, honey, dusty, tart lemon, some spice and herbal tones, Really delicious.

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• 2018 Broc Cellars Friulano amore bianco Fox Hill Vineyard 91 Points

  USA, California, North Coast, Mendocino

  Tropical, floral, peach nectar, tiny bubbles, lots of flowers and fruit, balanced nicely, a transparent style, and I love it.

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• 2017 Broc Cellars Cabernet Franc Whole Cluster Santa Barbara County 88 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County

  Juicy, cherries, plush, not too herbaceous, bright and spicy, whole-cluster fermented.

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• NV Smockshop Band Floreal Cider 84 Points

  USA, Oregon, Hood River County

  Juicy, crunchy, fizzy, fun.

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• 2018 Smockshop Band Zinfandel Rosé 89 Points

  USA, Oregon, Columbia Valley

  Gorgeous cherry color. Rich texture, juicy raspberries, with spice and herbs.

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• 2018 Smockshop Band Grenache 91 Points

  USA, Oregon, Columbia Valley

  Spicy, earthy, strawberries, bright and fun, spicy and tangy with a charcoal and forest floor element. Very exciting.

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• NV Hiyu The May II 89 Points

  USA, Oregon/Washington, Columbia Gorge

  Deep auburn color. Shows caramel, spiced tea, tons of pepper and grilling spices, shows some tannins, some volatile acidity but it’s woven in nicely (kind of like Madeira) and the wine shows a lot of depth and intrigue. A blend of wines from five different vintages, skin-fermented Pinot varieties. A weird wine that actually really works out, and I’m a fan.

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• 2017 Chona's Marani Mtsvane & Rkatsiteli 88 Points

  Georgia, Kakheti

  Almond, hay, waxy, apricot, sea salt.

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• 2017 Chona's Marani Rkatsiteli 90 Points

  Georgia, Kakheti

  Very perfumed, briny, big texture, spiced tea and ginger, mint and menthol elements, a really balanced but wild wine that I found really impressive.

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• 2018 Baia's Wine Tsolikouri 91 Points

  Georgia, Imereti

  Quince, orange marmalade, super zippy with briny, salty complexities, and hay, waxy, honeyed notes. Really unique and fascinating, totally delicious, a real surprise and treat.

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• 2018 Gvantsa's Wine Aladasturi 88 Points

  Georgia, Imereti

  Super spicy red with cherries, strawberries, lots of incense, potpourri, spiced tea, bitter black tea. Fun stuff with a unique spicy flavor profile.

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• 2016 Naotari Rkatsiteli Kisi Khikhvi Amber Wine 80 Points

  Georgia, Kakheti, Kvareli

  So briny, dusty, earthy, a bit heavy and bitter. A blend of Rkatsiteli, Kisi and Khikhvi.

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• 2017 Orgo Saperavi 87 Points

  Georgia, Kakheti

  Dark tart, anise, incense sticks, tangy plum skins and pepper. Fun!

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• 2017 Matthiasson Chardonnay Harms Vineyard 91 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Salty and fresh with lemon crème, apricot. Pure, salty, a bit briny but lots of lush elements of honey and cream as well. Very pretty Chardonnay from Matthiasson, per usual.

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• 2018 Matthiasson Tendu 87 Points

  USA, California

  Barbera-based blend. Juicy, tangy but sweet cranberry sauce, raspberries, fun and fresh and crushable.

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• 2018 Matthiasson Mataro Tendu 88 Points

  USA, California, Central Valley, Yolo County

  Fresh, spicy, tangy, yet shows complexity. Vibrant red fruits with earthy, savory elements. Complex yet goes down so easily.

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• 2017 Matthiasson Grenache Syrah Mourvèdre 90 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  So fresh and floral with tangy red fruits and lots of pepper, potpourri, grilled herbs. Juicy but it’s really complex and spicy as well.

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• 2016 Lightwell Survey Hintermen 89 Points

  USA, Virginia, Shenandoah Valley

  Peachy, tennis ball, magnolia flowers on the nose. Floral and juicy on the palate with super ripe peach, drizzled with lime, a mineral-rocky undertone. Really fun and cool stuff. Riesling and Petite Manseng.

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• 2018 Lightwell Survey Blaufränkisch Dark Days 87 Points

  USA, Virginia

  Really dark ruby color. Lots of fun, fresh, juicy strawberries and floral, spicy tones. 100% Blaufränkisch.

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• 2016 Lightwell Survey Cabernet Franc The Weird Ones Are Wolves 88 Points

  USA, Virginia, Shenandoah Valley

  Crushable, punchy, juice, nice floral, spice, tea elements. Has dashed of Petite Manseng and Riesling in it. Pretty cool stuff.

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• 2018 Fausse Piste Muscat Fish Sauce Pet-Nat 88 Points

  USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills

  Spicy, floral, punchy, fine bubbles, really fresh.

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• 2018 Fausse Piste Grenache Rosé 88 Points

  USA, Oregon, Southern Oregon, Rogue Valley

  Grenache rose. Fresh cherries and strawberries, racy acidity.

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• NV Fausse Piste Pizza Sauce 90 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

  Zesty, cherry-driven, accessible but has this complexity of texture and flavors from the aging and solera-style of this wine. Easy-drinking in the best sense of the word, but a lot of fun, too. A multi-vintage blend of all sorts of red (and some white) grapes.

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• 2015 Scholium Project La Severità di Bruto Farina 89 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Mountain

  Deep texture, rich fruit (orange, lemon, peach) with spicy herbal tones. Vibrant and impressive.

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• 2016 Scholium Project The Prince In His Caves Farina 90 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Mountain

  Lemon, peach, honey, waxy notes, some mint and white pepper. This has some skin-contact that gives it a lot more textural depth and some cool olive oil and almond elements.

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• 2016 Scholium Project 1MN Bechtold Ranch 93 Points

  USA, California, Central Valley, Lodi

  So aromatic with rose potpourri, pepper, clove, warm clay, tangy red apple and raspberry fruit. Gorgeous texture, dusty tannins, crisp acidity, crunchy red fruits laced with all sorts of earthy, savory complexities. A beautiful Bechtold vineyard that should do interesting things with age. Wine of the festival for me.

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• 2018 Purity Wine Verdelho Silvaspoons 90 Points

  USA, California, Central Valley, Lodi

  Whoa! No formal notes, but this wine wowed me and kept me at this table to try the others.

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• 2018 Purity Wine Orange Carbo-Crush Oakstone 91 Points

  USA, California, Sierra Foothills, Nevada County

  So, this is really fun. Skin-fermented, semi-carbonic Roussanne – and it works! Texturally deep but fresh, with a pleasant bitterness and lots of complex spicy, floral tones. Fascinating and, yeah, weird, but it works. I bought a bottle to blind some wine nerds on and mess with them.

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• 2016 Purity Wine Grenache Covfefe Oakstone Vineyard 87 Points

  USA, California, Sierra Foothills, Nevada County

  So spicy, tangy, nice grip. Tart fruits with lots of pepper and earth and a fun but not overwhelming amount of funky, beefy notes.

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• 2015 Purity Wine Syrah Blackbird 86 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Mountain

  Stewed plums, incense sticks, black pepper, mulling spices. A warm and roasted kind of Syrah, but still nice.

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• 2017 Pascal Henriot Auxerrois Vin de Pays de Franche-Comté Coteaux de Champlitte 90 Points

  France, Franche-Comté, Vin de Pays de Franche-Comté

  Wow, this has a lot of depth in terms of waxy, plush texture and complex apple and pear fruit. Lots of underlying mineral elements as well. Impressive.

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