For those who are into natural wines (I know the term is nebulous), a great winemaker (and all around good person) has recently started his own label focusing on fresh, lower alcohol and now sans soufre wines. I have had and enjoyed some san soufre from Lapierre, Pet Nats and love the Pierre Gerbais champagne, but I’ve also had some major fails that could have been due to the supply chain or ? His first Devium release was great, and I totally dig what Keith is doing to diversify the playing field for Washington. I also like the warning about caring for the bottles and early consumption since I’m sure 99+% of US wine consumers have no idea what sans soufre is. I’m in for 6 bottles.
Anyway, here is the release letter:
Welcome to the release of the 2016 Devium “Sans Soufre”. I am writing this release letter from my little corner in the winery as we come to the tail end of the 2017 vintage (last fruit comes in today for Sleight of Hand!). It has been a very long harvest, and I have very little wine to sell, so this will be a very short email.
The 2016 French Creek Mourvèdre “Sans Soufre” is an experiment gone terribly right. Before this, I have never made a wine without the use of Sulfur Dioxide (a common preservative and antioxidant used in nearly all wine production), so I had to give it a try, but with every intention of blending the wine back in with the 2016 French Creek Red. Well, what I came up with was too wild, too unruly, too charming to blend, so I had to bottle it separately. I love this wine, and I think you will too.
For those tasting note lovers amongst you: The aroma is brambles, holiday spice and lovely delicate red fruit with a touch of orange peel (think of that twist of orange in a great Negroni or Old Fashioned). On the palate, the wine explodes with structure and acid, just screaming out for food. The fruit is super pure dark raspberries and we have a reappearance of the great brambly character from the nose, with a lick of minerals. The finish is refined tannin and spice.
Three things to note with this wine: 1) The lack of Sulfur Dioxide means that the wine might not be quite as stable as most that you purchase, if stored properly, it will age perfectly well, but please store it properly! I don’t want it left on anyone’s kitchen counter for 4 months! 2) It has a tendency to show a hint of a spritz, this is just another side effect of no Sulfur Dioxide (if you want to dig into the chemistry and reason for this, please come see me or email me, we won’t bore everyone with the details), if you don’t like the bit of spritz, just splash the bottle into a decanter and wait an hour, it will be gone. 3) I really made this wine for me to drink during the holidays. I highly recommend that you open a bottle or two with family for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukah, or whatever your preferred Fall/Winter holiday is and enjoy it with friends and family, I can’t think of a better accompaniment to a great (or even indifferent) holiday
meal.
Now, to business. First, this is the prerelease offer to everyone who purchased the 2015 French Creek Red. You will have until Halloween to buy the 2016 “Sans Soufre” before I send a similar letter out to the whole list, please don’t wait too long to order, I only have 42 cases of wine to sell. Second, I have decided to offer this wine in 3 packs as well as 6 & 12 packs. 6 & 12 packs will receive better pricing, and the same subsidized shipping that I offered on the first release. To order the 2016 Devium Mourvèdre “Sans Soufre”, follow the below links:
3 Pack = $102 (add actual ground UPS rate for shipping)
6 Pack = $192 (add $20.00 for shipping)
12 Pack = $360 (add $30.00 for shipping)
One final note, I will have both the 2016 “Sans Soufre” and the 2015 French Creek Red open Nov 3rd-5th for Fall Release weekend in Walla Walla. Come by Sleight of Hand, taste some great wines from both labels and say hello. As always, don’t hesitate to drop me a note at keith@deviumwine.com if you have any questions, or just want to say hello.
Thank you all so much for your support. Happy Halloween!
Keith