Wildly Fun California Mourvèdre

Today’s Story: Dirty & Rowdy Family Winery

Dirty & Rowdy is a small, family-operated winery founded in 2010 by couples Hardy & Kate and Matt & Amy with the goal of producing minimal intervention “honest wines.” Known for their range of Mourvèdre bottlings, Dirty & Rowdy also produces Petite Syrah, Chenin Blanc, and blends that include a GSM and Semillon-dominant white almost all with 100% whole cluster native fermentation, either zero or minimal SO2 added, and no filtering or fining when bottled. Dirty & Rowdy sources their fruit from vineyards in Mendocino, Monterey, Contra Costa, El Dorado, and Amador Counties, with most vineyards organically farmed or at a minimum “responsibly” farmed and unique.

Today’s Wine: 2018 Familiar Mourvèdre

100% Mourvèdre; 13.2% ABV

The 2018 Familiar Mourvèdre is opaque pale purple in color with ruby hues near the bowl of the glass. I decanted this for about an hour, and the nose displays aromas of blueberry, sweet blackberry, plum, violet, dried green herbs, smoked meat, wet gravel, and a hint of oak. Once in the mouth, this wine showcases notes of tart blueberry, black raspberry, strawberry rhubarb, licorice, smoke, red and purple florals, wet granite, and stemmy underbrush. This is medium- to full-bodied with medium (+) acidity, medium tannins, and a medium (+) length finish. 100% whole cluster native fermentation with organic grapes, bottled unfiltered and unfined with minimal SO2 added. 700 cases produced.

Price: $30. This is a really fun, well-made wine to drink and something that broadens the palate of most of today’s wine drinkers. If you’re looking to explore, check out these wines. Pair this with herb-roasted lamb, duck breast, or I imagine this goes quite well with Dirty & Rowdy’s spicy fried chicken (which I will hopefully try one day).