Decanted about 1 hour. Floral rosy violet nose that is Hardy’s trademark. Quite assertive and a pleasure to smell during the evening. Flavors of ripe blackberry, raspberry, add in some earthy savory notes and a touch of dried herbs to complete the flavor profile. Good acidity, some tannin, medium body and very good concentration without any undo extraction. Lovely with the pizza. This was an excellent bottle but my guess is that it will gain even further complexity down the road. Drink or hold.
Tiny rant D&R wines are wines we love but not just because of what is in the bottle. Hardy and Kate (and family) are two of the nicest, most generous people in the wine industry. For us an absolute pleasure to support the brand and people.
Love the note, Tom. These wines take me to some place I’ve never been before. I used to buy, serve, enjoy those huge California monoliths we all seemed to fall in love with for a few years. I’m a whole lot older, my diet has changed, my palate has changed. Hardy’s wines are never boring, never pretentious, never showy for the sake of showy. They sing, they elevate, they integrate themselves with complex, fresh food. And for that I love Hardy and his crew and winemaking philosophy. Bravo for your note…bigger bravo for the wine and Hardy’s willingness to change what we drink and why.
Totally agree Steve. We are lucky to be out here in Sonoma County and have the opportunity to talk to and interact with these talented group of owners-winemakers.
Super note, Tom. You capture everything about this wine that makes it special, including the people that make it.
Thanks for the check in.
And that pizza looks might fine.
Thank you for the great note and the very kind words.
I like '16 a lot. Almost* across the board these wines showed like finished wines just after ML finished. The Evangelho has years to go yet is also showing great today.
If anyone has '16 Familiar Mourvèdre lying around, crack one open. It is in a great place.
*the '16 Enz is still pretty tannic due to tiny berry size in '16
Tom,
A bit of an aside but . . .
. . . I have been away from my CA home and cellar for about 18 months - no travel in the time of Covid. I am now on the road and anticipate being back in residence sometime in early April.
A D&R Evangelho will be the first thing I open. Your note makes me think ‘16 might be the one.
I have some nice wines in my cellar but I enjoy these as much or more than any of them.
Best, jim
This sounds good. I think ‘16 Shake Ridge Ranch is still my favorite D&R wine tried to date. And I am looking forward to trying the ‘13 Shake Ridge for the first time within the next couple weeks!
The '13 is in a good spot. The fruit is darker than the '16 and it is more savory on a medium minus bodied frame.
We opened a '12 Shake for our first dinner guests in over a year. It was very happy, bright red, juicy, tannins gentle (the 12 was very grippy on release), and had great depth for a lighter frame. Though light, it still went well with some Flannery ribeyes (though roast chicken or seared duck breasts would be a better fit for the '12).
It felt at home in this lineup (the Souhaut was the '14 and the 90 La Migoua is resolved and elegant)
Jim- Thanks for the kind words. We look forward to having you back this way!
Drinking the 16 Shake right now and it is definitely up there with favorite D&Rs to date, and I’ve had most of them. This has developed fantastically well and is beautiful if anyone is sitting on a bottle.
D&R wines are wines we love but not just because of what is in the bottle. Hardy and Kate (and family) are two of the nicest, most generous people in the wine industry. For us an absolute pleasure to support the brand and people.
