Very exciting release. This one should be a lot of fun!
2x 2016 Alder Springs Merlot
2x 2016 Old Vine Petite Sirah (one of my favorites)
2x 2015 Traditional Method Sparkling
2x 2016 Shake Ridge Ranch Mourvedre
Lot’s of minerals, some dark fruit, and some fun tertiary [herbal?] aromatics. Still was quite tight, after a 60min decant. This one is good now, but should really be kicking a few years
Excited for the Merlot.
1 2016 Shake Ridge Ranch Mourvèdre 1.5L
1 2016 Enz Vineyard Mourvèdre
1 2016 Enz Vineyard Mourvèdre 1.5L
3 2016 Alder Springs Vineyard Merlot
2 2016 Fred & Dora’s Vineyard Old Vine Petite Sirah
Thanks everyone for the thrilling first few hours of our winter release. It is always exciting see the response and we are grateful for both our repeat customers and the many new folks that have found us through WB.
If anyone was hoping to get the inaugural Enz Vineyard Mourvèdre and hasn’t ordered yet, we encourage you to move quickly. We hoped it would last a day or so, but are getting really close on that one. (For those familiar with our wines, it sits in a real happy spot between the freshness of the Rosewood and the depth of Evangelho)
Another offer I slept on. The familiar sold out.
I was going to wait until next release to hop onto the Dirty & Rowdy train after this January’s weight on my credit card, but then they caught me with an email at a weak moment today and I couldn’t say no to the sparkling and merlot …
From the email received last night…
"Our winter release wines are arriving to most people this week and next. We wanted to remind you to please decant all of the red wines for a minimum of one hour prior to serving. While they may be inviting when pop and poured, they will deliver far more pleasure with time to breath and open up (or with time in the cellar).
We’ve included updated notes on the wines below (with specific decanting recommendations per each red wine) to help people in making decisions of what to open and how to prepare them.
SPRING RELEASE MONDAY 4/2 - SAVE THE DATE
Our spring release will go live on April 2nd. It will include mostly early drinking wines perfect for the warm months and casual dinners outside. Along with the three wines in our spring release, there will be a small amount of a few of our winter wines available for re-order.
"Winter Wine Updated Notes / Serving Recommendations:
2016 Shake Ridge Ranch Mourvèdre: Upon pop and pour, you’d swear this was the love child between Pinot Noir and a light Grenache. Linear cherry, strawberry, spice. Within a 90min decant, it picks up weight and flesh, and the aromatics begin to shift to Mourvèdre spice. The wine continues to pick up depth and nuance over the next 24 hrs and stays fresh for days. For maximum enjoyment, we’d decant it for 60-90min and drink it the next day.
2016 Alder Springs Merlot: Once opened, the Merlot flavors leap from the glass. It is surprisingly “classic” in aromatics for a Dirty and Rowdy wine. The palate is focussed with bright, juicy, acidity, red / purple fruits, and round tannins. We recommend a 60-90min decant and to serve with a good piece of meat.
2016 Fred & Dora’s Old Vine Petite Sirah: The sleeper of the winter release. This wine is structured, mineral, and a perfect wine for those who crave rock and foundation over primary fruit. This one must be served with food. After a 60 minute decant, we paired this with a grilled bavette steak and watched the sparks fly. The char of the steak, combining with the minerality in the wine and the Erector Set like tannins hit every primal button we wanted from a young wine / meaty pairing. Decant at least 1hr and serve with red meat or veggie chili. Where our Merlot comes across as more “generous”, this Petite is chiseled and filled with small / medium geometric tannins. (We served this side by side with the Merlot while having the bavette steak and it was an awesome compare / contrast)
2016 Enz Vineyard Mourvèdre: So Aromatic, bright, and deep. There is very little of this wine. We’d recommend holding it for at least 6 months, but if approaching it early, give it a 90-120 min decant. It is lighter in weight, more red in fruit, but like a featherweight boxer, it flashy, fast, and rock solid. It was one of the wines we recently poured at an event in the Loire Valley.
• 2015 Traditional Method Sparkling: Get it cold and drink it! This is more a dinner wine vs. an aperitif. It will improve over the course of the year, but it is dang tasty right now. Serve it with good times.
"If you have any questions regarding serving suggestions / decanting recommendations for the winter wines, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
“We hope you enjoy the wines as much as we do!
Kate, Amy, Hardy, Matt”
Ohhhh I want more sparkling! So so so good!
Mine arrived yesterday and I’m a first time D+R buyer.
Can anyone give me some advice on drinking terms for these wines, beyond the notes we were emailed yesterday? I am more than happy to be patient with them if the feeling is that these wines will be significantly better with a good whack of age on them, or are they made in a young drinking style?
I know I know, these generalisations are flawed, but I’m curious how people treat these wines.
What did you get?
Looks like I missed on the merlot and sparkling. Signed up for list so hopefully can take a look. How does the allocation system work?
Edit- got my answer!
Never met a D&R wine that could not be opened right away. If I were you I would try one of each early and decide for yourself.
The wines have not been around long, so no data-rich answer, but a couple of years let’s the wines blossom a bit. But seriously they are fun wines, and you should just open some.
+1 David. Generally, the more air you can provide, the better they show… even the bubbles! With that being said, if I can manage to keep some around for 8-10 years, I’m certain they will not just ‘hold on’, but evolve into something rather interesting.
This man speaks the truth. The only modification I would make to the statement is that these serious wines are serious fun. The amount of work that Hardy puts into making these gems is staggering.
Thanks for the kind words everyone.
I think if you are new to the wines, definitely open a few to get a sense of our style. It could be a departure from your normal zone. They are often, bright, light(er), tight, and need air and food. This release is pretty structured- Shake is the sneak attack (it seems super light and borderline poundable but once it gets some air, it shows density, power, viscosity and concentration. The Merlot is really aromatic and fragrant and met with luminous (needed a synonym for “bright”) acidity. The Petite is lean muscle and rock. It lit me up with the steak from the notes above.
The merlot and sparkling sound tasty AF!
Haven’t tried the merlot yet but Hardy’s Sparklers are fantastic. I have never once not felt like a golden god after consuming a bottle.
Hoping some stragglers are leftover!
I couldn’t resist and already opened a Mag of the MSG. It was delicious and in inline with most D&R wines I’ve had. No tasting notes but it was really singing on night 2 after being open 36 hours.
Just received my Merlot, Shake and Enz Vineyard. I’ll open a Merlot in a month or so and report back.
Give them tons of air.