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97-99+ WA. "The 2017 Mourvèdre is composed of 88% Mourvedre, 9% Syrah and 3% Viognier coming from the Alta Mesa Vineyard in Santa Barbara County, White Hawk Vineyard in Cat Canyon, Watch Hill Vineyard in Alisos Canyon and Larner Vineyard in Ballard Canyon. Seventy percent whole cluster was employed. To be bottled in mid-August 2019, the wine is still maturing for approximately 21 months in a French oak barriques and 600-liter Demi-Muids, 50% new. Deep garnet-purple colored, it has a beautiful perfume of chocolate box, licorice and bouquet garni over a meat, blueberry pie and baked plums core with hints of tar and tobacco. Full-bodied, wonderfully concentrated and possessing loads of earthy and mineral accents intermingled with the black and blue fruits, it has a compelling velvety texture and great freshness, finishing very long. This spectacular Mourvedre is a must-try for lovers of Rhone varieties. n May 2019, I paid a visit to Andremily owner, Jim Binns, at his small winemaking facility in Ventura, CA. A former employee at Sine Qua Non, not only did this guy learn from the best, he has taken the baton and run off into his own very clever direction with it. I think it is safe to say that with the possible exception of Beaucastel’s Hommage a Jacques Perrin, there is no one in the world producing greater Mourvedre than Jim. It is a variety that he clearly loves and has mastered like no other. Most impressive is the quality of the tannins in his varietal label (85%+ Mourvedre)—astonishing when you consider how difficult it can be to get Mourvedre tannins this ripe! A new addition to the lineup is the 2017 Coup de Foudre. During our tasting of this wine, Jim commented, 'I allowed this to form from what I envisioned my best Rhone blend could be. All these Rhone varieties blend so well together—I thought it would be great to try to work on a top blend.'" Wine Advocate Interim, Jun 2019 |