Opened what I think was my last bottle of Chendawg II. Kicking myself a little because I wanted to see how this aged more. But already it has shown a lot of changes since my first taste. It’s settled down, become a lot more subtle, still has the range of different elements I encountered before, but now more like a pastel than a bold acrylic painting. This might be as close as this wine gets to an “awkward” phase — and it’s not awkward at all, it just seems more “in between” states of being. Still a magnificent bottle of wine.
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Had a bottle of the 2022 Old Vines Grenache last night, and it needed a ton of time. I opened it at 4, and on a quick check it was light as a feather. Decanted, and poured some at 6. A little more substance, but still on the tutti-fruti side of things. About 7:30 or so everything deepened, even the color. More earthy/savory finally entered the picture. Kept changing as long as I kept checking.
Leave this wine alone. It needs more time sideways.
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For those wishing for more Mourvèdre.
April.
It is ready (for release). Approachable with bones for the haul. In my very very short list of personal faves.
100% Full Spectrum Mourvèdre (pink to black)
Amador County - 50% Shake Ridge 50% Rocca
Buckle-up and Blast off
Thank you 
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‘22 Partial Eclipse, pizza, and Pi day is a great combo.
PnP on the wine because I was running late from work. Red fruit, Garrigue, and slight forest floor on the nose. Great acidity and a long finish. Another amazing wine.
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The array of Extradimensional wines never cease to amaze me in regards to how they smell and taste but also how well they pair with food.
2023 Extradimensional Full King Crab lll.
I like Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc and skin fermented varieties like Roussanne, Marsanne, and Viognier. Blend them together like in the Full King Crab lll and my like becomes love.
Lovely citrus, floral notes, juicy stone fruit and rocky minerality this was the absolute perfect match with Baked Halibut with brown butter and toasted pine nuts.
This is what enjoying wine with a meal is all about!
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Anyone have opinions on when to drink my bday purchases?
2023 Evangelho Vineyard Old Vine Mourvèdre
- 2023 Shake Ridge Ranch Mourvèdre
- 2022 Ancient Groove Old Vine Mourvèdre / Carignane
- 2022 Santa Cruz Mountains M-CF Mariana’s Vineyard (56% Cab Franc, 44% Merlot)
- 2023 Shake Ridge Ranch Barbera
- 2023 Mariana’s Vineyard Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay
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Jay- Apologies for the delay. I’ve been off the board for a few weeks and just catching up.
There is no rush to open anything as they all have bones to age and develop.
Here is what I would open from first to last
2023 Mariana’s Vineyard Chardonnay (90min decant).
This is both deep and bright. Joyful Wow. IMHO it is nearly perfect. Drink now to 2033
2022 Ancient Groove (90-120 min decant)
This is a beautifully balanced wine. It is medium bodied with ample chewy/gentle tannin. Drink now to 2030.
2023 Shake Ridge Ranch Barbera (90-120 min decant)
Bright red awesomeness. Still primary with lip-smacking red fruit. Drink now- 2023
2023 Shake Ridge Ranch Mourvèdre (120min decant)
Damn. This is a beautiful wine that I think will be right up your alley- Depth, crunch, almost weightless. This is fun now and will mature beautifully. Drink now -2035+
2023 Evangelho Mourvèdre ((120+ min decant)
This is the “biggest” feeling wine -even at 13%. It is dense and concentrated via the 135 year old vines, yet still fresh. To me, Evangelho always shows well but it can go 12-15+
2022 Santa Cruz Mountains M-CF (Decant 180+ minutes)
In some ways this is the wine to open last as it has so much upside and at the same time it could almost be what you open first just because it is flat out delicious right now. Bright, light, yet concentrated and very very long. Drink now-2032+
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Thank you, Tom!!! We had the 2023 and the newly bottled 2024 open last night. They were rocking and delicious.
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2023 Shake Ridge Ranch Mourvèdre (120min decant)
Damn. This is a beautiful wine that I think will be right up your alley- Depth, crunch, almost weightless. This is fun now and will mature beautifully. Drink now -2035+
Speaking of! Popped this last night, and it was just beautiful even with only 15 minutes of air. There’s still half a bottle left, and I’m eager to see how it has developed. So good.
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Thank you! I had one open on Wed. It is my fav. vintage of Shake. So light and so much going on.
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I brought the 2023 Evanghelo to one of our regular tastings two weeks ago, and it was indeed a big boy. Very tasty. It’s the ripest one I can remember so I am going to tuck those away.
2023 Shake Ridge, I saved for myself at home. Soon….
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Had the 2021 Family Band last night and it was drinking VERY nicely! Nice follow-up after a 2018 Giacomo Conterno Barbera d’Alba Vigna Francia with dinner, as it provided a different take on the concept of wine acidity.
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Oh Yeah! Thank you!
Spring Release is coming 4/7. Here is the podcast with all the wine details…
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2022 Mariana’s Vineyard M-CF
Hey, what happens when you give an Extradimensional wine a Lafleur blend? Apparently it was the product of low yields, not by design, but you wouldn’t know it. It feels so effortlessly put together, the most svelte and finessed of the Mariana wines to date. It is just calming. Sleeker and less fleshy than last year’s pure Merlot, and basically weightless. There is something almost pinot noir-like about it, at least in its figure if not its flavor. It’s pure red fruits with a wisp of herbs that remind me of fresh basil leaves. The structure is mild so there is no reason to feel guilty about opening this now.
2016 Dirty & Rowdy Fred & Dora’s Petite Sirah
This was more similar to the bottle I had on release than I’d remembered. It still has the barnyard funk and also the spritz of the CO2 even years later. It packs a bigger punch in the fruit department than anything else I can recall Hardy making, as it’s sweet, dense, and dark. But the muscular tannin it had on release has relaxed quite a bit and you just have to shake out that gas to give this a friendly texture. Drank with Jacques Pepin’s mustard garlic chicken, which Jacques likes to have with Cote du Rhone, and this did a marvelous job standing in for that purpose. Or, it might even have a more Bandol-like personality than the mourvedres, ironically enough. But definitely a southern, hearty feel.
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Thank you, Keith. I did not want to sound brazen in our release notes, but Lafleur is the inspiration for this wine. One of my favorite wine visits ever was at Lafleur with Jacques Guinaudeau. The wines were spellbinding and his generosity of time and wine over the top. There should have been a reference to his epic mustache in the name… 
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New release looks insane!
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Absolutely!
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I support “Epic Mustache” as a future EWCY moniker
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