2014 Dirty and Rowdy Chardonnay Alder Springs Vineyard- USA, California, North Coast, Mendocino County (9/24/2019)
Y’all, I’m drinking this to the Dead on news of R Hunter’s passing, to set the stage… the finish on this simply melts into your soul, a long lasting lemon wax and shine, that’s what hit me first even though it came last. Nose is shy after an hour, but savory herb comes through and crisp fruit - green apple? Pear? - then w air the layers of complexity I can’t quite grasp pile on, mushrooms & thyme. Palate is an acid punch with a pillow, leaving you woozy but happy. (93 pts.)
Seriously, the nose on this? Insane. Now leaning in to chicken broth (what???) with sage, as much as any chardonnay can smell like chicken broth with sage. And the way the acid rounds out on the tongue is glorious. I’ll probably be back in 15 minutes with an entirely new direction this wine is heading… (RIP Robert Hunter)
An underrated wine in the D&R stable. Their Chardonnays don’t get a lot of noise here, the '13 is also killer.
Nice note
Hardy would improve of this co-branding.
I’ve only got one more! Day 2 by the way… more slate on the nose (and the savory notes are much more subdued), more mineral and steely overall, still a burst of lemon peel on the finish.
Dennis, I have a few left after drinking one on Saturday so I’ll try to remember to bring one at some point. I love the crispness and minerality of Dirty and Rowdy’s Chardonnay, some of which is from the producer but a lot seems to be Alder Springs terroir.
Maybe part of our annual visit in a few weeks? I’d have to source some of my own, of course, but I know there are some cellars with that stuff—maybe I’d try to find a wine I shared with Hardy in his Kodak-rep life…
Regardless, thanks for the note, Brad–I don’t believe I’ve tried any of the chards as yet. This one sounds fascinating.
Thanks Brad and all (love the Hunter tribute- RIP Robert)
The '14 Chard is a wine we are really proud of. It is still super young and needs a couple of hours of sound check / warm ups before it starts the show.
The '13 & '14 Chards had high demand (and our inventory system sucked at the time) so they are the wines we have the least amount of in library I have only opened one in the last 24months and shared one late late night with Ty Phillips and fam when they were out in June.
We made Chard in '15 and '16 and I just didn’t like them quite as much as the '13 and '14 so they found homes in the Familiar Blanc.
Only fair to bounce back now with our tasting and the 2013 Chard poured there:
2013 Dirty And Rowdy Chard
Full year for primary ferment, all concrete. Racked into old barrels for 3 weeks to warm up the wine. Very pretty resolved citrus and pear aromas. That’s excellent—great, restrained balance, fully mature yellow fruit and good carry. My #4 today and heard many other pleased noises at the table. 13.3%. Alder Springs fruit
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I have only opened one in the last 24months and shared one late late night with Ty Phillips and fam when they were out in June.