A 2018 Dirty & Rowdy Horizontal
Clare's backyard
Tasted Saturday, January 30, 2021 by James Kim with 74 views
Introduction
Clare, Arden, Jack and I got together outdoors and socially distanced to run through a good chunk of the Dirty & Rowdy single vineyard mouvedres from 2018. We were hoping to see if how much of the vineyard characteristics came through the wines given the carbonic maceration used to make the wines i.e. would the terroir be noticeable amongst the wines or would the wines taste more of carbonic maceration process. We also included a 2018 Sandlands Mataro as a non-carbonic macerated mouvedre as a control and also a 2018 Alex Foiilard Cotes du Brouilly as a carbonic macerated control. Clare was able to get Hardy Wallace to join us by Zoom. He was absolutely fantastic to say to the least. Incredibly knowledgeable about the soil types and geology of the vineyards and so enthusiastic and forthright. He spent almost 2 hrs with us on that Sat, which was incredibly generous. The wines were accompanied by bbq brisket and ribs and sides from Heim BBQ, which turned out to be a nice match.
Flight 1 - D&R SVDs (7 Notes)
Flight 2 - A Bonus wine (1 Note)
Arden pulled this out after we had completed the main tasting, which took about 2h with Hardy. A nice bonus to compare the 2 different vintages of Enz.
Closing
Overall, great success and a great time. The terroir does come through as the SVDs were recognizably distinct from each other. They were all delicious. The interesting comparison was going from the Sandlands to a D&R wine then to the Beaujolais. The D&R wines sit squarely in the middle. They retain the darker berry/plum elements of mouvedre but then also has the bright, candied berry notes from the carbonic maceration. Really fascinating and I don't think I could have teased out these nuances without this direct side by side comparison. It should also be noted that the wines were open >10+ as we just had fun and lasted well into the night.
2018 Dirty and Rowdy Mourvèdre Shake Ridge Ranch 90 Points
USA, California, Sierra Foothills, Amador County
Grapes grown on volcanic granitic soils. Bright, almost candied raspberry aromas with some lemon and herbs. Palate had bright raspberries, dark blackberries, herbs, earth, and a nice mineral streak. Creamy texture but with a bit of spritz. Somewhat of a short finish and lacked a bit of concentrations. 88+ on d1. On d2, carbonic signature of candied berries on the nose while the palate had the same flavors as d1 but better integrated. 90 on d2.
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2018 Dirty and Rowdy Mourvèdre Rodnick Farm 90 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Chalone
From Chalone AVA with very rocky soil. Last vintage from this vineyard (formerly Antle Vineyard) as the farming practices didn't quite meet the winery's desires. Nice floral aromas, mixed with herbs, and bright raspberries and cherries. Bright raspberry and black cherries on the palate, minerals, excellent acids. Medium bodied with nice depth and juicy acids. Moderately long finish.
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2018 Dirty and Rowdy Mourvèdre Old Vine Enz Vineyard 90 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Lime Kiln Valley
Enz is on the opposite side of the ridge from Rodnick. Crushed, pulverized rocks define this vineyard with 100 yr old dry farmed grape vines. Bright raspberry and red cherry aromas with herbs, spices. There's a nice depth to the aromas. On palate, raspberries, red cherries, some herbs, and minerals. Creamy mouthfeel with excellent acids. Nicely done. 90+
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2018 Dirty and Rowdy Mourvèdre Old Vine Evangelho Vineyard 90 Points
USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Contra Costa County
From 130 yo grape vines. Lovely, bright blackberry and black cherry aromas, herbs, spices and minerals. With more time, dark chocolate notes come on pretty strongly. Palate with blackberry and black cherries, lots of herbs and minerals. Excellent acids. Medium bodied with medium+ tannins on midpalate. Again, with more time open (>3h), dark chocolate notes emerge. 90+
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2018 Dirty and Rowdy "The Legends" Rosewood Vineyards 91 Points
USA, California, North Coast, Redwood Valley
55% Mouvedre, 45% Carignan from Rosewood vineyard. Bright candied aromas of red cherries, herbs, and blackberries. Palate had bright, candied red cherries, some pomegranate, herbs, and minerals. Excellent acids with medium+ tannins. Excellent depth with lots of structure. Nicely done. 91 on d1. About 1/4 left and put in 187 ml bottle on d2 and into fridge. On d4, aromas of plums, mildly bright candied cherries, herbs and minerals. Tart jolly rancher type blackberries, with plums and black cherries on the palate. A noticeable coconut flavor emerges on the midpalate which isn't to my liking. Still with a fair amount of structure. 89 on d4, which is pretty impressive given the wine had been open 10+ hrs on d1.
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2018 Sandlands Mataro 90 Points
USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Contra Costa County
Nice aromas of blackberries, herbs, mild flowers and minerals. Palate with blackberries, flowers, and minerals. Nice acids and medium tannins on a medium bodied frame. Nicely balanced. 90+ on d1. On d2 - 1/4 bottle left in fridge overnight - closed aromas with tart blackberries, cranberries, and pomegranate on palate with some bitter herbs. Pretty shut down on day 2 - score 87. However, the wine had been open for >9h on d1.
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2018 Alex Foillard Côte de Brouilly 90 Points
France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Côte de Brouilly
Bright, mildly candied red cherries, hint of bubblegum, herbs and bark aromas. Bright ripe cherries on the palate, with bark, minerals, and a bit of bubblegum. Mild+ tannins with excellent acids on a medium bodied frame. Ripe for sure. Definitely from a solar year but balanced by nice acids. 90+
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