An interesting wine for sure. Melon in general is usually a very sharp and almost tropical fruit kinda wine but the viscosity is usually quite incredible for such a variety. This wine is made in a fully oxidized style. As noted by others, the nose is pretty muted. Getting a little nutty brown sugar spice. The palate is beeswax, a hint of pumpkin spice, oxidized yellow fruit. Finish is pretty round, not acidic. Overall this wine is not all that complex and really not inspiring. I've had much better wines from this producer.
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-- decanted approx. 3 hours before initial taste on Day 1 -- -- tasted non-blind over 2 to 3 hours on Day 1; revisited on Day 3 and Day 6 --
NOSE: very light Nose --- nearly vacant --- on Day 1. Day 3 brought a light bready note, and a light limeade note. No material change by Day 6, either. Almost nothing here.
BODY: orange color with a slight pinkish hue; light bodied.
TASTE: gently oxidative; medium-high acidity; gentle sandalwood on the finish --- seems to derive from skin contact; a touch salty; light apple note (oxidative); paired nicely with scallops atop squid ink pasta. On Day 3, it still had that tangy skin contact thing going on --- light limeade/tequila presentation. Final approach on Day 6 didn't suddenly reveal much flavor. There's just not much going on here. Charitably, I "just don't get it"; honestly and straightforwardly, there's just not much going on here. Pretty much the same as my 5/12/16 bottle/TN. Gut impression score: low to mid 80s.
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Melon is usually pretty neutral. This one I would describe as “fruit backward.” There’s a little bit of nectarine/apricot but that takes a backseat to intense notes of wet stone, ash, and burnt caramel. A little bitter toward the finish. Overall, it’s very interesting right now.
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Delicious orange wine. Cloudy and medium amber orange, almost like apple juice. Robust nose coated in waxy apples, baking spices, candied flowers and a little yeasty. A slightly creamy texture with grippy tannins and balanced acidity. Medium bodied with beeswax, honeyed fruit and minerality. Medium length finish. Drink till 2020.
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Now that's an orange wine. Lurid orange. Cloudy. Tangerines and yeast. Fun, but not something I'd seek out repeatedly, or even something of which I'd want to drink a whole bottle.
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Funky and wonderful skin-fermented wine. Definitely mineral-driven, with a bit of floral nose but dominated by the skin-fermented/rougher texture. Slight orange, slight yeastiness. Ample acid. If you value and enjoy different/interesting, this is a fun one, and in the world of orange wines this is very accessible.
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Super cloudy. Orange-tinged. This is tart but not particularly bright. Deep but no particularly complex. Has blood orange and savory notes. Interesting and enjoyable but not for everyone.
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Popped and poured. Just had a small taste and will try again tomorrow. Dark yellow/orange in color, with bright flavors on the palate: citrus skin, citrus pith and some savory/bitter/saline elements. This also reminded me a bit of a beer... perhaps an IPA. Interesting and enjoyable, with an uplifting, refreshing, tart finish. I enjoyed it but question the price at $40. UPDATE: Tried again on day 2, and no real evolution, in fact, it might have been more closed and ungiving. Tough to get a read on this wine.
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Wanted to try, wasn't sure what to expect. Pale orange in the glass. I'm not sure how to even describe, it's interesting and kept us intrigued for a few sips trying to figure it out. But in the end the flavor wasn't there for us and we didn't finish the bottle.
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Better now than it was a couple months ago. It's freshened up a lot, and seemed to find some of its inner Melon. (It's better still if you leave it open for a couple days...) It's still a more aggressively skinned wine than the other D&R whites but it's showing some brightness and brininess now that was not there in my last bottle.
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Day 1: Out of the gate, hazy orange pour. Palate is marked by intense tartness, salinity, with an oxidative note. With an hour of air it takes on some sweetness and a honey-lemon zest note. Salinity. wow. Definitely interesting. Demands your attention. Not a gulper right now. Definitely needs some time. Update more tomorrow. Day 2: More salinity, more citrus flavor, more open, in general. Hardy says 'on Day 3 the goose will be set loose.' We'll see.
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Very interesting wine. This is not for chugging on the D&R scale - definitely takes some thought. The wine is just about the color of orange soda - almost opaque orange. Per the winemaker's notes - I decanted (which shook out a bit of fizz) and served just a bit below cellar temp (agree this would not work well at fridge temps). Flowers and rocks on the nose. A lovely salinity. The skins lend a texture, astringency, and persistence that is unique among any melon I ever tasted...
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Seriously one of the worst wines I've ever tasted. Purchased this due to all the love on the WB board. For $38 I could and should have spent my $$'s on a premiere Chablis. I have 1 bottle left....make me an offer.
This is a different kind of white wine from Dirty & Rowdy. Seems this one went Full Skin Contact. True orange wine. Not merely yellow like the semillon and the Familiar. Deep stuff. Almost mead-like. All this makes it a bit more challenging to get at, and it didn't really seem to get its composure until it had opened awhile and warmed up to cellar temperature.
-- decanted on Day 1 -- -- tasted non-blind on Day 1, Day 2, and Day 6 --
NOSE: *nothing* upon opening, which eventually gives way to a faint whiff of tangy mineral something. Better on Day 2, as it now presented some bitter citrus aromatics; still very reserved, however. Day 6: hint of cigar wrapper now. Overall, the aromatics of this wine are frustratingly difficult to access.
BODY: hazy; orange color with a red tint; medium-light bodied.
TASTE: high acidity; very dry; oak; powdered sugar on the finish. Much better on Day 2: some fruit flavors now --- lemon and orange rind. Day 6: better yet: nice acidity. Clearly, this wine needs tons of air to show well if drinking now. Hold.
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Loved this. Super cloudy in the glass with rich fruit -- think blood oranges and meyer lemons -- and grippy tannins on the palate, this is a wine geek's wine. Strong mineral backbone. There's enough acidity to keep this interesting, and the concentration and extract are impressive for a wine at this level. Unique.
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11/4/2022 - mflesh wrote: 87 Points
An interesting wine for sure. Melon in general is usually a very sharp and almost tropical fruit kinda wine but the viscosity is usually quite incredible for such a variety. This wine is made in a fully oxidized style. As noted by others, the nose is pretty muted. Getting a little nutty brown sugar spice. The palate is beeswax, a hint of pumpkin spice, oxidized yellow fruit. Finish is pretty round, not acidic. Overall this wine is not all that complex and really not inspiring. I've had much better wines from this producer.
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8/9/2020 - grafstrb wrote:
-- decanted approx. 3 hours before initial taste on Day 1 --
-- tasted non-blind over 2 to 3 hours on Day 1; revisited on Day 3 and Day 6 --
NOSE: very light Nose --- nearly vacant --- on Day 1. Day 3 brought a light bready note, and a light limeade note. No material change by Day 6, either. Almost nothing here.
BODY: orange color with a slight pinkish hue; light bodied.
TASTE: gently oxidative; medium-high acidity; gentle sandalwood on the finish --- seems to derive from skin contact; a touch salty; light apple note (oxidative); paired nicely with scallops atop squid ink pasta. On Day 3, it still had that tangy skin contact thing going on --- light limeade/tequila presentation. Final approach on Day 6 didn't suddenly reveal much flavor. There's just not much going on here. Charitably, I "just don't get it"; honestly and straightforwardly, there's just not much going on here. Pretty much the same as my 5/12/16 bottle/TN. Gut impression score: low to mid 80s.
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6/6/2020 - AlphaMikeFoxtrot Likes this wine: 88 Points
Melon is usually pretty neutral. This one I would describe as “fruit backward.” There’s a little bit of nectarine/apricot but that takes a backseat to intense notes of wet stone, ash, and burnt caramel. A little bitter toward the finish. Overall, it’s very interesting right now.
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7/10/2019 - Millennial Drinkers wrote: 88 Points
Delicious orange wine. Cloudy and medium amber orange, almost like apple juice. Robust nose coated in waxy apples, baking spices, candied flowers and a little yeasty. A slightly creamy texture with grippy tannins and balanced acidity. Medium bodied with beeswax, honeyed fruit and minerality. Medium length finish. Drink till 2020.
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12/17/2018 - sunnylea57 wrote: 88 Points
Now that's an orange wine. Lurid orange. Cloudy. Tangerines and yeast. Fun, but not something I'd seek out repeatedly, or even something of which I'd want to drink a whole bottle.
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10/1/2018 - Jahull03 wrote:
Funky and wonderful skin-fermented wine. Definitely mineral-driven, with a bit of floral nose but dominated by the skin-fermented/rougher texture. Slight orange, slight yeastiness. Ample acid.
If you value and enjoy different/interesting, this is a fun one, and in the world of orange wines this is very accessible.
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10/9/2017 - rc@ughey wrote:
Super cloudy. Orange-tinged. This is tart but not particularly bright. Deep but no particularly complex. Has blood orange and savory notes. Interesting and enjoyable but not for everyone.
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6/5/2017 - Grape_ape wrote:
interesting wine, but not sure I'm a fan or not...
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5/11/2017 - mdefreitas wrote: 88 Points
Very similar to my previous bottle. Intersting, but the price not quite worth the experimental experience. Very cider/mead/beer like.
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4/8/2017 - mdefreitas wrote: 89 Points
Popped and poured. Just had a small taste and will try again tomorrow. Dark yellow/orange in color, with bright flavors on the palate: citrus skin, citrus pith and some savory/bitter/saline elements. This also reminded me a bit of a beer... perhaps an IPA. Interesting and enjoyable, with an uplifting, refreshing, tart finish. I enjoyed it but question the price at $40. UPDATE: Tried again on day 2, and no real evolution, in fact, it might have been more closed and ungiving. Tough to get a read on this wine.
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4/8/2017 - yossarian.livez wrote:
I'd say Keith Levenberg's last comments were spot on from a similarly aged bottle where it was a Melon wrapped in peach fuzz.
Now? DOA. Tired. No freshening on day 2.
Drink 'em if you got 'em
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4/1/2017 - Biskuit Likes this wine: 91 Points
Made it funky.
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3/21/2017 - haldolugr wrote: 75 Points
Wanted to try, wasn't sure what to expect. Pale orange in the glass. I'm not sure how to even describe, it's interesting and kept us intrigued for a few sips trying to figure it out. But in the end the flavor wasn't there for us and we didn't finish the bottle.
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3/19/2017 - scott davis wrote:
I gave this two nights then poured it out.
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8/16/2016 - Keith Levenberg wrote:
Better now than it was a couple months ago. It's freshened up a lot, and seemed to find some of its inner Melon. (It's better still if you leave it open for a couple days...) It's still a more aggressively skinned wine than the other D&R whites but it's showing some brightness and brininess now that was not there in my last bottle.
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7/24/2016 - decaturwinedude Likes this wine:
Day 1: Out of the gate, hazy orange pour. Palate is marked by intense tartness, salinity, with an oxidative note. With an hour of air it takes on some sweetness and a honey-lemon zest note. Salinity. wow. Definitely interesting. Demands your attention. Not a gulper right now. Definitely needs some time. Update more tomorrow.
Day 2: More salinity, more citrus flavor, more open, in general. Hardy says 'on Day 3 the goose will be set loose.' We'll see.
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6/25/2016 - pryby Likes this wine: 89 Points
Very interesting wine. This is not for chugging on the D&R scale - definitely takes some thought.
The wine is just about the color of orange soda - almost opaque orange. Per the winemaker's notes - I decanted (which shook out a bit of fizz) and served just a bit below cellar temp (agree this would not work well at fridge temps). Flowers and rocks on the nose. A lovely salinity. The skins lend a texture, astringency, and persistence that is unique among any melon I ever tasted...
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6/8/2016 - ScottS wrote: 70 Points
Seriously one of the worst wines I've ever tasted. Purchased this due to all the love on the WB board. For $38 I could and should have spent my $$'s on a premiere Chablis. I have 1 bottle left....make me an offer.
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6/6/2016 - Vinoevelo Likes this wine:
Fantastic. Great summer wine. Hardy's note of "gatorade poured over crushed rocks" is bang on, but there's so much more going on.
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5/13/2016 - Keith Levenberg wrote:
This is a different kind of white wine from Dirty & Rowdy. Seems this one went Full Skin Contact. True orange wine. Not merely yellow like the semillon and the Familiar. Deep stuff. Almost mead-like. All this makes it a bit more challenging to get at, and it didn't really seem to get its composure until it had opened awhile and warmed up to cellar temperature.
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5/12/2016 - grafstrb wrote:
-- decanted on Day 1 --
-- tasted non-blind on Day 1, Day 2, and Day 6 --
NOSE: *nothing* upon opening, which eventually gives way to a faint whiff of tangy mineral something. Better on Day 2, as it now presented some bitter citrus aromatics; still very reserved, however. Day 6: hint of cigar wrapper now. Overall, the aromatics of this wine are frustratingly difficult to access.
BODY: hazy; orange color with a red tint; medium-light bodied.
TASTE: high acidity; very dry; oak; powdered sugar on the finish. Much better on Day 2: some fruit flavors now --- lemon and orange rind. Day 6: better yet: nice acidity. Clearly, this wine needs tons of air to show well if drinking now. Hold.
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4/7/2016 - rc@ughey wrote: 90 Points
Loved this. Super cloudy in the glass with rich fruit -- think blood oranges and meyer lemons -- and grippy tannins on the palate, this is a wine geek's wine. Strong mineral backbone. There's enough acidity to keep this interesting, and the concentration and extract are impressive for a wine at this level. Unique.
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