Darker plum, sour cherry, citrus with a touch of macerated marmalade profile. Great acidity and needing food. Was a nice match for Turkey and fixins. Drink soon.
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Opened an hour prior to serving. Pours a vibrant red with pink flecks in the light. Spicy, peppery red fruit on the nose, as it smells alive and full of energy. Crunchy red cherry, summer raspberry, black peppercorn, along with hints of dusty black soil. Great acidity and youthful tannins. Absolutely wonderful!
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I will echo some of the positives of others: good acidity, crispness and uniqueness. This bottle, however, had a really strong and particular spice that threw off the balance. Airing out did not shake it.
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A bit better than my last bottle that I drank four months ago. The nose is more open, with floral, pomegranate and herb notes. The texture is light, airy, crisp and lifted with excellent acidity and only moderate length. A fun, juicy, savory wine that would be great in the summer with a bit of a chill. UPDATE: On day 2, the acidity softened and darker fruits emerged. A bit rounder and friendlier, but I preferred the edge of day 1.
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Starting to show a little more maturity right out of the bottle. Still, it doesn't kick into high gear until after a couple hours in the decanter, when the darker fruit aspect of this wine really starts to open up, deepen and gain complexity. Lots of layers in this wine on a fairly lightweight frame, enticing with a juicy accessibility rather than an aloof elegance.
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Nose: The nose is perfumed from the get go with raspberries, strawberries, spice notes, roses, and a touch of savory/meaty tones.
Taste: Medium bodied with medium/high acidity and silky tannins. The feel leans more feminine with raspberries, dark red cherries, strawberries, spice notes, as well as some savory/meaty tones.
Overall: This is drinking beautifully right away. The structure does tighten up somewhat with air, but the nose is pure and elegant.
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Full open nose has a basket of strawberries and raspberries with a prominent earth/herbal undertone. Juicy, light bodied palate is the epitome of juicy and fresh. Lighter weight with intensity and vibrancy.
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a good wine and one worthy of more time than we had tonight. I would not have thought this was a California wine, but it would be hard to place it. It is spicy and earthy with a slight fungus-cellar thing that slowly dissipates. The wine is heady and complex, but the texture is lighter than expected and not cloying or heavy. The weight is surprisingly light for the intensity of flavor. a unique expression of the grape and I would check out more wines from this source.
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Super light and floral nose -- so damn pretty. Consistent with the last bottle I pulled, this has a ton of bright tart red fruit, some spice tones, and a little bit of sawdust to keep things interesting. There's a hint of darker spice as well, but I think that might need a little bit of time for it to come out and play. I love the vibrancy and juiciness on this. If I recall, D&R says to drink these ones young, but I'm in no hurry -- they don't seem like they'd be fading anytime soon...
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The aromas and flavors match with red+black cherry, cola and baking spice... but before you think this is an overblown pinot, it's a refined mourvedre, light on its feet yet structured with medium acidity and light tannins. True to the grape, not made to taste a certain way It seems a touch young but is already drinking quite well with minimal air. I look forward to watching this evolve while the single vineyards age.
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Dead, Dante's, Wine (Chicago, IL): Very pale colour. A very primary nose of super juicy and fresh raspberries, roses, and a fresh sawdust note. The palate has the same juiciness and freshness, with lots of acidity. There's almost something that evokes a Jura red here from all the lightness. This definitely isn't as sweet and fruity as the primary-ness would lead me to think, but I'll be damned if this isn't a great, easy-drinking wine.
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A tasty red wine- but not what I was expecting. Big bright red fruit with some acid. Pretty one dimensional -not anything wrong with that. But pretty straight forward red fruit driven wine. Like another reviewer stated- I see the word Mourvedre and expect something.
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I gave this one more air than my last bottle and it was so much rounder and more expressive. Still the bright acids, featherlight frame, and red berries -- but this one was a bit deeper, a bit more intense, and juicier. More Mourvedre too. Lovely wine and totally unique.
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Move over Julien Sunier. Like a good Cru Beaujolais-- very like Sunier's Regnie bottling -- but somewhat more multidimensional. A tiny bit of spritz. Floral (violets) and cherry/cherry pit on nose and palate. Some deeper bass notes round out the whole. Satisfying and very quaffable. Edit. Second day (after refrigerating overnight) the wine has rounded out quite a bit. Much rounder plum fruit with deeper notes more to the fore. Recognizable now as Mourvedre.
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Lots of dark berries with some earthy/floral notes. Palate is slightly tannic and, just like my other bottles, was a lot of fun. Looking forward to aging the rest of my bottles.
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Wow, this is a wine that's easy to love. P&P. I have to throw away my preconceptions of the grape; this was unlike any Mourvèdre I've had from Provence or the Southern Rhone or any Monastrell from Spain. More Cru Bojo than Bandol. What stood out most is it's freshness, like a young Fluerie. Translucent faint ruby color, light-to-medium bodied, fresh raspberry, a little mourvedre funk. Impossible not to like; in fact, hard not to empty the glass too quickly.
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Seeing the word Mourvèdre on a wine label puts certain things in mind. This wine confounds those notions. I have seen a number of descriptions that speak to a wilder version of Beaujolais, but this wine isn't wild. It has a certain polish in a "it cleans up well" sort of way. There is a bramble element to the fruit, but it does not feel rustic. Where much Mourvèdre is deep and forbidding, this is accessible and even friendly. It's really a thing of its own. Fun, fascinating and scary in its drinkability.
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Breathed this around an hour before serving. Light ruby with a clear rim. Great nose right out of the gate showing a mix of raspberry, herbal notes & black pepper. Medium bodied & elegant. This enters with nimble fresh red berries accented with typical pepper-y Mourvedre notes. Some darker fruit emerges on the mid palate & through the finish. The structural balance is amazing here. High acid & firm tannin (6% Petite Sirah) add excellent complexity to the fruity nature of this. Another excellent wine from D&R!
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Juicy and really shows the carbonic, which gives the wine good freshness and elegant extract. The dark berry fruit has a distinctively savory Mourvedre edge, and there's a nice earthy mineral character. Not densely structured but with just enough grip. Delicious.
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Muted purple/garnet in glass. Decanted 2 hours before first glass Red fruit and a slight funk on the nose. Tart dark cherry with a smooth mouthfeel that’s nicely balanced with restrained tannic finish.
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Spicy, juicy, with concentrated dark fruit tones. Thought the airiness of the palate was great and it had a nice blend of funky notes with juicy Californian fruit. beautiful!
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I heeded everyone's advice and decanted 2.5 hrs, but it still wasn't long enough. Nice cherry and dark berry flavors, the nose was complimentary to the palate. The wine continued to build in complexity, but maintain a lightness. First D&R for me, even though I've buying over a year now. I very much like this style.
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Not much to add to other notes. First D&R bottle. Decanted three hours and then consumed over a couple more. Definitely was aided by the time in the decanter, resulting in a silky smooth, deliciously restrained and light body with tart cherry, a touch underripe strawberries, cranberry, and floral notes balanced with a perfect amount of acidity (I'd say medium plus). On my way to becoming D&R's next fanboy.
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Light ruby in color. Hugely perfumed nose of cherries and violets. Fruit forward, with flavors of tart cherry and crushed flowers. A pinot-like expression of Mourvedre. Nice.
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As others noted, this is incredibly easy drinking, downright gulpable... fresh and light but with nice fruit intensity. Very aromatic with tart cherry, florals and some earthiness, juicy and bright on the palate and very refreshing making you want another sip immediately. Only negative I have is it is lacking complexity, and maybe that's because of its youth...
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Agree with others that this is a very easy drinking wine. Nice mix of fruits with something just a touch savory to it as well. Looking forward to trying more wines from D&R.
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Holiday Dinner at Nathan's (Nathan's House - Chicago, IL): I took my own advice this time and gave this about 5 hours of air before dinner. I think that did the trick. The nose was big and pungent with lots of violets, dark cherry, earth, and spices. The palate was airy and light. Beautiful floral and dark cherry tones dominated the palate and I thought it showed really impressive balance. Yum!
Amazing wine... very expressive floral nose and beautiful dark fruit. To me this was far more interesting in a youthful state on night 1, compared to the last glass on day 2. It just seemed to lose a bit of body and complexity overnight. Going to target my consumption over the next 2-3 years.
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Pop and Poured. Very young and could benefit greatly from some sleep. A bit flat to start with some earthy and dark berry notes poking through but was hiding something. After letting it open up for a couple of hours it began to show its potential. Really started enjoyed this at the 2 hour mark when beautiful floral, Cherry and Blackberry notes started taking charge. This is one of those wines that is SUPER easy to drink. By the time it was in a really good place, I realized that my wife and I had drank 90% of the bottle. A crowd pleaser for sure, but would give it a solid decant at the present time. This was my first bottle of D&R, but I have a feeling I'll be coming back for more.
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Popped and poured. Odd... this wasn't giving up much. Very closed and muted. Juicy and crisp, but very ungiving. Will check on it again tomorrow. UPDATE: A bit of an improvement the next day, with some cranberry, flowers and savory herbs. Crunchy, high-toned texture, but not much length. Nice, fun and easy to drink, given the 13.2% alcohol level, but a bit expensive for what it is ($37, delivered). Perhaps some age will improve it.
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Consumed over 2 nights. Let breathe 1.5 hrs. and then drank over 5+ hrs. on 1st night, left a glass for 2nd night. Very nice wine. Light-mid bodied with soft tannins, good amount of acidity and a fresh clean finish. Nose does remind of a good Bojo. Notes of cherry and red fruit, loads of mineral. Moderately in the fruit-forward side, but far from being OTT or overly concentrated.
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Really fun, enjoyable wine. Excellent with food, with a nice bit of acidity and ample fruit. Can relate to the beaujolais comparisons. Definitely a different experience.
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Drinks like a lovely Morgon out of the bottle; after three hours in the decanter, it suddenly puts on weight and adds savory components more in keeping with the Mourvedre profile. Delicious all along the way, and seems like this will respond well to some more time in the cellar. Yum.
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Popped the cork about an hour prior to serving. Pours a pale garnet/purple. I love the nose, all sorts of savory and red/black berry things going on. Here and there you get bits of something dense and concentrated, but it's never dominant, merely supporting a remarkable purity. The petite sirah, to me, was more evident on the mid palate but it never took over, rather, it seemed to prop up the delicate floral and tart berry tones of the mourvedre. I could drink this all day.
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I must not have had a good cru Beaujolais so I don't know about all the comparisons here but this juicy bright and earthy mourvedre with a little kick from the Petite is just delicious and too easy too drink! Good acidity and just the right grip. This being my first D&R I can't wait to try the others.
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Agreed with the Cru Beaujolais comments. Curious how much mourvedre can tast like gamay. Definitely unique, really fun to drink, and fascinating. Glad I have one more bottle.
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So good! Bright purple florals and earthiness with vivid fruit and an ultra juicy, refreshing palate. Brisk acidity, I could drink this all day. Didn't lose a step over 3 days.
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Another gorgeous wine from Dirty & Rowdy. A singular style of mourvedre that has no equivalent from anywhere or anyone else. D&R basically invented a whole new genre. I can't help but think of the Especial bottling as the genre's platonic ideal (and I already drank four bottles of it) so the first thing this one has me thinking is how it's similar and how it's different. The key thing is that both are in a weight class that lets you guzzle them. This one starts out with just a bit of tannic grit but after about an hour the texture is completely streamlined, with no baby fat or structure that needs to fall away before you can slosh it around with abandon. In fact the texture becomes positively silky--who would have even thought mourvedre was capable of that?? (While still tasting like mourvedre!) Even though the material feels so light it could float, those earthy mourvedre flavors keep it tethered to the ground, and this is still more broad and mouthfilling than the Especial without feeling heavier--it sort of just fills out more horizontally instead of vertically. Incidentally, I strongly disagree with all the comparisons to Beaujolais that are showing up in the notes here. They both have a refreshing acidity but there the similarity ends. Gamay fruit is neon-pastel-bright; this, for all its energy, still hits the deeper, earthy notes.
Very interesting wine, and one I hesitate to rate before trying another bottle. Clearly D&R is going all-out for subtlety and elegance here -- and that is such a laudable endeavor that I would support this venture almost irrespective of how the wine tastes. Luckily, the wine is nice and almost too easy to drink. Super seamless and smooth (to use a term I basically never use) -- and balanced and bright enough to be gulpable. Almost like a bizarro version of Lapierre Morgon. In fact, blind I probably would have guessed Cru Beaujolais. The problem is that the fruit intensity here is lacking. The wine expands up with air and develops a nice, airy, open knit texture where the fruit opens up. But you still have to look for it, and I think this would really benefit from additional concentration, which the top cru Beaujolais have (think Foillard) but this does not. These criticisms aside, I'm very pleased to have this in the cellar and I'm a buyer in future years. I just hope that with future vintages the D&R folks emphasize concentration a bit more, as I don't think they'd have to sacrifice any of the characteristic elegance.
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Mind bendingly good. Not because of a complex experience within any one sip but because it's really a different wine each sip. Takes about an hour to open up but then it displays beautiful fruit, similar to a Beaujolais or Lemberger, lithe, never heavy, just pure, gorgeous fruit. Deep, deep violets, like an Aglianico. But wait! Then there's blood and iron. Still never heavy or flabby.
Drank half, then corked it and kept in the fridge for 14 days, then tried again. Same incredible deep violets on the nose, pure fruit in the mouth.
Paired with Black Cod Kasuzuke and Chestnut Miso.
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Opened early, as I really wanted to try some being my first Dirty&Rowdy. I was amazed how smooth in the mouth and on the finish this bottle was for its age. The fruit is a little muted currently but shows lots of mixed red fruit flavors. I expect this to open with a little more time, I did not decant.
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Beautiful fragrance on the nose with roses, violets, cherries, and cranberries. Gorgeous palate that was smooth as silk, weightless, and brimming with juicy red fruits. Having drank mostly Mourvedre from the Southern Rhone, the elegance of D&R's wines continually amaze me. Great.
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I liked this quite a bit but it's almost as if I was drinking a different wine than other tasters. To me this was decently complex, fruit forward with good acidity and I'd liken it almost to a good cru Beaujolais. Happy to have more.
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Complex nose of wildflowers, almost opaque, cherry, cranberry, cassis, blackberry, minerality, med body, med + acid, fine drying tannins. Opened up after 90 min of air
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Tasting Dirty and Rowdy with Hardy Wallace (Puchdown Cellars - Santa Rosa): This was a barrel sample which will likely be renamed due to an error where a barrel of Petite Sirah mistakenly was mixed in during racking. 91.7% Mourvèdre, 8.3% Petite Sirah. Even with just the small amount of PS in this wine the blend is evident first in the color which is dark almost black and second in the structure which shows much more dark fruited with powerful tannins. Has nice Mourvèdre florals but with a savory edge. Mouth has crunchy red and black fruit. Great tannic structure. This is going to be a winner if you ask me. Sometimes you have to make a mistake to find something new.
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9/1/2023 - JoeDwine Likes this wine: 89 Points
With Fried Chicken ….
A little more integrated and somewhat restrained but juicy and good depth.
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6/27/2023 - JoeDwine Likes this wine: 88 Points
Darker plum, sour cherry, citrus with a touch of macerated marmalade profile.
Great acidity and needing food.
Was a nice match for Turkey and fixins.
Drink soon.
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7/20/2021 - Sennma wrote:
I know that this is supposed to be their "early drinking" wine but bottle age has done this wine well. quite elegant.
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10/2/2020 - River Rat Likes this wine:
Should have purchased cases of this wine. Awesome aromatics, light bodied enough for chicken or pork but enough oomph to handle beef. Hell yeah.
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11/7/2018 - David_T wrote:
This bottle had lost almost all structural elements. Some red fruit, a touch sour, drink now.
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1/27/2018 - ucbeau Likes this wine:
Opened an hour prior to serving. Pours a vibrant red with pink flecks in the light. Spicy, peppery red fruit on the nose, as it smells alive and full of energy. Crunchy red cherry, summer raspberry, black peppercorn, along with hints of dusty black soil. Great acidity and youthful tannins. Absolutely wonderful!
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9/4/2017 - Vinoevelo wrote: flawed
Horribly corked
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6/8/2017 - blakel Likes this wine: 92 Points
Drinking beautifully right now. Roasted plums.
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1/25/2017 - Eric wrote:
Delicious and refreshing with tart, crunchy red fruit and a mineral-laden finish.
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11/25/2016 - gmbdds wrote: 87 Points
I will echo some of the positives of others: good acidity, crispness and uniqueness. This bottle, however, had a really strong and particular spice that threw off the balance. Airing out did not shake it.
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4/17/2016 - rc@ughey wrote: 90 Points
My last and best bottle of this. Crunchy, open-knit red fruits with a kick of spice. Light-bodied. Fun and delicious. Goes down like water.
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4/11/2016 - mdefreitas wrote: 90 Points
A bit better than my last bottle that I drank four months ago. The nose is more open, with floral, pomegranate and herb notes. The texture is light, airy, crisp and lifted with excellent acidity and only moderate length. A fun, juicy, savory wine that would be great in the summer with a bit of a chill. UPDATE: On day 2, the acidity softened and darker fruits emerged. A bit rounder and friendlier, but I preferred the edge of day 1.
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1/29/2016 - stubbie999 wrote:
Starting to show a little more maturity right out of the bottle. Still, it doesn't kick into high gear until after a couple hours in the decanter, when the darker fruit aspect of this wine really starts to open up, deepen and gain complexity. Lots of layers in this wine on a fairly lightweight frame, enticing with a juicy accessibility rather than an aloof elegance.
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1/17/2016 - KeithAkers wrote: 91 Points
Nose: The nose is perfumed from the get go with raspberries, strawberries, spice notes, roses, and a touch of savory/meaty tones.
Taste: Medium bodied with medium/high acidity and silky tannins. The feel leans more feminine with raspberries, dark red cherries, strawberries, spice notes, as well as some savory/meaty tones.
Overall: This is drinking beautifully right away. The structure does tighten up somewhat with air, but the nose is pure and elegant.
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10/30/2015 - Nanda Likes this wine: 89 Points
Full open nose has a basket of strawberries and raspberries with a prominent earth/herbal undertone. Juicy, light bodied palate is the epitome of juicy and fresh. Lighter weight with intensity and vibrancy.
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9/29/2015 - blakel Likes this wine: 90 Points
Yes, tangy.
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9/11/2015 - MikeATL Likes this wine: 91 Points
Fresh and crisp black plum and spices, tangy and refreshing.
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8/27/2015 - vindictive wrote:
a good wine and one worthy of more time than we had tonight. I would not have thought this was a California wine, but it would be hard to place it. It is spicy and earthy with a slight fungus-cellar thing that slowly dissipates. The wine is heady and complex, but the texture is lighter than expected and not cloying or heavy. The weight is surprisingly light for the intensity of flavor. a unique expression of the grape and I would check out more wines from this source.
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8/1/2015 - acyso wrote: 90 Points
Super light and floral nose -- so damn pretty. Consistent with the last bottle I pulled, this has a ton of bright tart red fruit, some spice tones, and a little bit of sawdust to keep things interesting. There's a hint of darker spice as well, but I think that might need a little bit of time for it to come out and play. I love the vibrancy and juiciness on this. If I recall, D&R says to drink these ones young, but I'm in no hurry -- they don't seem like they'd be fading anytime soon...
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7/23/2015 - David_T Likes this wine: 90 Points
The aromas and flavors match with red+black cherry, cola and baking spice... but before you think this is an overblown pinot, it's a refined mourvedre, light on its feet yet structured with medium acidity and light tannins. True to the grape, not made to taste a certain way It seems a touch young but is already drinking quite well with minimal air. I look forward to watching this evolve while the single vineyards age.
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7/5/2015 - acyso wrote: 90 Points
Dead, Dante's, Wine (Chicago, IL): Very pale colour. A very primary nose of super juicy and fresh raspberries, roses, and a fresh sawdust note. The palate has the same juiciness and freshness, with lots of acidity. There's almost something that evokes a Jura red here from all the lightness. This definitely isn't as sweet and fruity as the primary-ness would lead me to think, but I'll be damned if this isn't a great, easy-drinking wine.
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6/25/2015 - VinoPKM wrote:
A tasty red wine- but not what I was expecting. Big bright red fruit with some acid. Pretty one dimensional -not anything wrong with that. But pretty straight forward red fruit driven wine. Like another reviewer stated- I see the word Mourvedre and expect something.
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6/21/2015 - Sennma wrote: 91 Points
Lots of notes on this wine, with little to add. Really enjoy what these guys are doing.
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5/28/2015 - Poliosis wrote: 91 Points
Juicy, dark fruits, great acid finish. Love.
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5/24/2015 - rc@ughey Likes this wine: 90 Points
I gave this one more air than my last bottle and it was so much rounder and more expressive. Still the bright acids, featherlight frame, and red berries -- but this one was a bit deeper, a bit more intense, and juicier. More Mourvedre too. Lovely wine and totally unique.
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5/17/2015 - theronware wrote: 90 Points
Move over Julien Sunier. Like a good Cru Beaujolais-- very like Sunier's Regnie bottling -- but somewhat more multidimensional. A tiny bit of spritz. Floral (violets) and cherry/cherry pit on nose and palate. Some deeper bass notes round out the whole. Satisfying and very quaffable. Edit. Second day (after refrigerating overnight) the wine has rounded out quite a bit. Much rounder plum fruit with deeper notes more to the fore. Recognizable now as Mourvedre.
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5/10/2015 - tooch wrote: 91 Points
Lots of dark berries with some earthy/floral notes. Palate is slightly tannic and, just like my other bottles, was a lot of fun. Looking forward to aging the rest of my bottles.
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4/20/2015 - haldolugr wrote: 89 Points
Pretty consistent with previous note. Easy drinking with good fruit, but still feel like it's holding back a little.
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4/16/2015 - WST Likes this wine:
Identical to my last bottle. Fantastically quaffable, a joy to drink, like a funky Cru Beaujolais.
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4/12/2015 - WST Likes this wine:
Wow, this is a wine that's easy to love. P&P. I have to throw away my preconceptions of the grape; this was unlike any Mourvèdre I've had from Provence or the Southern Rhone or any Monastrell from Spain. More Cru Bojo than Bandol. What stood out most is it's freshness, like a young Fluerie. Translucent faint ruby color, light-to-medium bodied, fresh raspberry, a little mourvedre funk. Impossible not to like; in fact, hard not to empty the glass too quickly.
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4/5/2015 - Rieslingfan Likes this wine:
Seeing the word Mourvèdre on a wine label puts certain things in mind. This wine confounds those notions. I have seen a number of descriptions that speak to a wilder version of Beaujolais, but this wine isn't wild. It has a certain polish in a "it cleans up well" sort of way. There is a bramble element to the fruit, but it does not feel rustic. Where much Mourvèdre is deep and forbidding, this is accessible and even friendly. It's really a thing of its own. Fun, fascinating and scary in its drinkability.
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3/10/2015 - Anthony Lombardi Likes this wine: 93 Points
Breathed this around an hour before serving. Light ruby with a clear rim. Great nose right out of the gate showing a mix of raspberry, herbal notes & black pepper. Medium bodied & elegant. This enters with nimble fresh red berries accented with typical pepper-y Mourvedre notes. Some darker fruit emerges on the mid palate & through the finish. The structural balance is amazing here. High acid & firm tannin (6% Petite Sirah) add excellent complexity to the fruity nature of this. Another excellent wine from D&R!
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3/9/2015 - coremill wrote: 90 Points
Juicy and really shows the carbonic, which gives the wine good freshness and elegant extract. The dark berry fruit has a distinctively savory Mourvedre edge, and there's a nice earthy mineral character. Not densely structured but with just enough grip. Delicious.
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3/6/2015 - Sennma wrote: 92 Points
Wow I love this wine...so drinkable and so much character. Can't wait for my next release!
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2/28/2015 - Anthonut Likes this wine: 92 Points
Muted purple/garnet in glass. Decanted 2 hours before first glass
Red fruit and a slight funk on the nose. Tart dark cherry with a smooth mouthfeel that’s nicely balanced with restrained tannic finish.
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2/27/2015 - tooch wrote: 91 Points
Spicy, juicy, with concentrated dark fruit tones. Thought the airiness of the palate was great and it had a nice blend of funky notes with juicy Californian fruit. beautiful!
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2/24/2015 - ccotton8 Likes this wine: 92 Points
I heeded everyone's advice and decanted 2.5 hrs, but it still wasn't long enough. Nice cherry and dark berry flavors, the nose was complimentary to the palate. The wine continued to build in complexity, but maintain a lightness. First D&R for me, even though I've buying over a year now. I very much like this style.
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2/14/2015 - WST Likes this wine:
More fruit, tannins, but less funk than the Especial. Both were great.
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2/13/2015 - abbeyaviva wrote:
really nice and warm nose... super smooth and light. good for a mixed crowd and won't get to your head too quickly .
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2/1/2015 - vinophobic Likes this wine: 92 Points
Not much to add to other notes. First D&R bottle. Decanted three hours and then consumed over a couple more. Definitely was aided by the time in the decanter, resulting in a silky smooth, deliciously restrained and light body with tart cherry, a touch underripe strawberries, cranberry, and floral notes balanced with a perfect amount of acidity (I'd say medium plus). On my way to becoming D&R's next fanboy.
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1/31/2015 - mcsac67 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Light ruby in color. Hugely perfumed nose of cherries and violets. Fruit forward, with flavors of tart cherry and crushed flowers. A pinot-like expression of Mourvedre. Nice.
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1/19/2015 - Grape_ape wrote: 90 Points
As others noted, this is incredibly easy drinking, downright gulpable... fresh and light but with nice fruit intensity. Very aromatic with tart cherry, florals and some earthiness, juicy and bright on the palate and very refreshing making you want another sip immediately. Only negative I have is it is lacking complexity, and maybe that's because of its youth...
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1/11/2015 - domco wrote:
Agree with others that this is a very easy drinking wine. Nice mix of fruits with something just a touch savory to it as well. Looking forward to trying more wines from D&R.
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1/3/2015 - tooch wrote: 91 Points
Holiday Dinner at Nathan's (Nathan's House - Chicago, IL): I took my own advice this time and gave this about 5 hours of air before dinner. I think that did the trick. The nose was big and pungent with lots of violets, dark cherry, earth, and spices. The palate was airy and light. Beautiful floral and dark cherry tones dominated the palate and I thought it showed really impressive balance. Yum!
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12/30/2014 - schwank Likes this wine:
Amazing wine... very expressive floral nose and beautiful dark fruit. To me this was far more interesting in a youthful state on night 1, compared to the last glass on day 2. It just seemed to lose a bit of body and complexity overnight. Going to target my consumption over the next 2-3 years.
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12/20/2014 - LongViewCellars Likes this wine: 90 Points
Pop and Poured. Very young and could benefit greatly from some sleep. A bit flat to start with some earthy and dark berry notes poking through but was hiding something. After letting it open up for a couple of hours it began to show its potential. Really started enjoyed this at the 2 hour mark when beautiful floral, Cherry and Blackberry notes started taking charge. This is one of those wines that is SUPER easy to drink. By the time it was in a really good place, I realized that my wife and I had drank 90% of the bottle. A crowd pleaser for sure, but would give it a solid decant at the present time. This was my first bottle of D&R, but I have a feeling I'll be coming back for more.
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12/14/2014 - Boatdrinker Likes this wine:
Light & delicate. Un-mourvedre. I enjoyed this, but the little voice in the back of my head is whispering "I wish there were just a little more....".
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12/14/2014 - mdefreitas wrote: 88 Points
Popped and poured. Odd... this wasn't giving up much. Very closed and muted. Juicy and crisp, but very ungiving. Will check on it again tomorrow. UPDATE: A bit of an improvement the next day, with some cranberry, flowers and savory herbs. Crunchy, high-toned texture, but not much length. Nice, fun and easy to drink, given the 13.2% alcohol level, but a bit expensive for what it is ($37, delivered). Perhaps some age will improve it.
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12/13/2014 - DRS-Inc wrote: 92 Points
Consumed over 2 nights. Let breathe 1.5 hrs. and then drank over 5+ hrs. on 1st night, left a glass for 2nd night. Very nice wine. Light-mid bodied with soft tannins, good amount of acidity and a fresh clean finish. Nose does remind of a good Bojo. Notes of cherry and red fruit, loads of mineral. Moderately in the fruit-forward side, but far from being OTT or overly concentrated.
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12/13/2014 - AccaDacca Likes this wine: 90 Points
Really fun, enjoyable wine. Excellent with food, with a nice bit of acidity and ample fruit. Can relate to the beaujolais comparisons. Definitely a different experience.
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12/8/2014 - stubbie999 Likes this wine:
Drinks like a lovely Morgon out of the bottle; after three hours in the decanter, it suddenly puts on weight and adds savory components more in keeping with the Mourvedre profile. Delicious all along the way, and seems like this will respond well to some more time in the cellar. Yum.
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12/7/2014 - ucbeau Likes this wine:
Popped the cork about an hour prior to serving. Pours a pale garnet/purple. I love the nose, all sorts of savory and red/black berry things going on. Here and there you get bits of something dense and concentrated, but it's never dominant, merely supporting a remarkable purity. The petite sirah, to me, was more evident on the mid palate but it never took over, rather, it seemed to prop up the delicate floral and tart berry tones of the mourvedre. I could drink this all day.
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12/6/2014 - blakel Likes this wine: 91 Points
Bright, juicy, gulpable, floral, earthy, complex - all of that but still subtle, feeling like it's at the beginning of a long journey.
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12/2/2014 - scott w Likes this wine: 91 Points
I must not have had a good cru Beaujolais so I don't know about all the comparisons here but this juicy bright and earthy mourvedre with a little kick from the Petite is just delicious and too easy too drink! Good acidity and just the right grip. This being my first D&R I can't wait to try the others.
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12/2/2014 - Michael Davidson wrote:
Agreed with the Cru Beaujolais comments. Curious how much mourvedre can tast like gamay. Definitely unique, really fun to drink, and fascinating. Glad I have one more bottle.
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11/30/2014 - 1981er wrote: 92 Points
So good! Bright purple florals and earthiness with vivid fruit and an ultra juicy, refreshing palate. Brisk acidity, I could drink this all day. Didn't lose a step over 3 days.
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11/29/2014 - rm wines wrote:
If the sasquatch came in and took over Beaujolais... As delicious as the best Morgon but with a wild streak.
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11/29/2014 - Keith Levenberg Likes this wine:
Another gorgeous wine from Dirty & Rowdy. A singular style of mourvedre that has no equivalent from anywhere or anyone else. D&R basically invented a whole new genre. I can't help but think of the Especial bottling as the genre's platonic ideal (and I already drank four bottles of it) so the first thing this one has me thinking is how it's similar and how it's different. The key thing is that both are in a weight class that lets you guzzle them. This one starts out with just a bit of tannic grit but after about an hour the texture is completely streamlined, with no baby fat or structure that needs to fall away before you can slosh it around with abandon. In fact the texture becomes positively silky--who would have even thought mourvedre was capable of that?? (While still tasting like mourvedre!) Even though the material feels so light it could float, those earthy mourvedre flavors keep it tethered to the ground, and this is still more broad and mouthfilling than the Especial without feeling heavier--it sort of just fills out more horizontally instead of vertically. Incidentally, I strongly disagree with all the comparisons to Beaujolais that are showing up in the notes here. They both have a refreshing acidity but there the similarity ends. Gamay fruit is neon-pastel-bright; this, for all its energy, still hits the deeper, earthy notes.
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11/24/2014 - rc@ughey wrote: 89 Points
Very interesting wine, and one I hesitate to rate before trying another bottle. Clearly D&R is going all-out for subtlety and elegance here -- and that is such a laudable endeavor that I would support this venture almost irrespective of how the wine tastes. Luckily, the wine is nice and almost too easy to drink. Super seamless and smooth (to use a term I basically never use) -- and balanced and bright enough to be gulpable. Almost like a bizarro version of Lapierre Morgon. In fact, blind I probably would have guessed Cru Beaujolais. The problem is that the fruit intensity here is lacking. The wine expands up with air and develops a nice, airy, open knit texture where the fruit opens up. But you still have to look for it, and I think this would really benefit from additional concentration, which the top cru Beaujolais have (think Foillard) but this does not. These criticisms aside, I'm very pleased to have this in the cellar and I'm a buyer in future years. I just hope that with future vintages the D&R folks emphasize concentration a bit more, as I don't think they'd have to sacrifice any of the characteristic elegance.
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11/22/2014 - pwillen1 wrote:
Mind bendingly good. Not because of a complex experience within any one sip but because it's really a different wine each sip. Takes about an hour to open up but then it displays beautiful fruit, similar to a Beaujolais or Lemberger, lithe, never heavy, just pure, gorgeous fruit. Deep, deep violets, like an Aglianico. But wait! Then there's blood and iron. Still never heavy or flabby.
Drank half, then corked it and kept in the fridge for 14 days, then tried again. Same incredible deep violets on the nose, pure fruit in the mouth.
Paired with Black Cod Kasuzuke and Chestnut Miso.
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11/21/2014 - haldolugr wrote: 89 Points
Opened early, as I really wanted to try some being my first Dirty&Rowdy. I was amazed how smooth in the mouth and on the finish this bottle was for its age. The fruit is a little muted currently but shows lots of mixed red fruit flavors. I expect this to open with a little more time, I did not decant.
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11/19/2014 - tooch wrote: 91 Points
Beautiful fragrance on the nose with roses, violets, cherries, and cranberries. Gorgeous palate that was smooth as silk, weightless, and brimming with juicy red fruits. Having drank mostly Mourvedre from the Southern Rhone, the elegance of D&R's wines continually amaze me. Great.
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11/15/2014 - sleepyhaus wrote:
I liked this quite a bit but it's almost as if I was drinking a different wine than other tasters. To me this was decently complex, fruit forward with good acidity and I'd liken it almost to a good cru Beaujolais. Happy to have more.
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11/13/2014 - blakel Likes this wine:
Austere, reticent, young, intriguing, delicious. Not opening any more of these for a few months.
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11/5/2014 - Bakerbd Likes this wine: 91 Points
Complex nose of wildflowers, almost opaque, cherry, cranberry, cassis, blackberry, minerality, med body, med + acid, fine drying tannins. Opened up after 90 min of air
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4/23/2014 - River Rat Likes this wine:
Tasting Dirty and Rowdy with Hardy Wallace (Puchdown Cellars - Santa Rosa): This was a barrel sample which will likely be renamed due to an error where a barrel of Petite Sirah mistakenly was mixed in during racking.
91.7% Mourvèdre, 8.3% Petite Sirah.
Even with just the small amount of PS in this wine the blend is evident first in the color which is dark almost black and second in the structure which shows much more dark fruited with powerful tannins. Has nice Mourvèdre florals but with a savory edge. Mouth has crunchy red and black fruit. Great tannic structure. This is going to be a winner if you ask me. Sometimes you have to make a mistake to find something new.
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