Tried this over the weekend:
1. Dirty & Rowdy Especial Mourv SantaBarbaraHighlandsVnyd/SBC (12.4%) P&B by GetYourself a CastIron Skillet/SantaRosa 2013: Med.light color; quite bright/spicy some plummy/Mourv/black cherry light pencilly/oak rather fragrant/almost Pinotish some earthy/dusty/southern Rhone/garrigue somewhat exotic nose; rather tart restrained/understated some plummy/Mourv/black cherry/earthy quite spicy/garrigue bit herbal/earthy rather lean flavor w/ light/gentle tannins; med.long tart/lean/restrained light plummy/cherry/Mourv almost Pinotish light earthy/herbal/garrigue/dusty finish w/ light/gentle tannins; not your typical Calif Mourv; more like a Jura Poulsard or Pinot or like a AltoAdige Schiava; quite an interesting rendition of Mourv. $29.00
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. This is, of course, the operation of HardyWallace & friends. He makes his wine at PunchDown in SantaRosa just over the fence from BottleBarn. When I was out there in April for RR, having heard a lot on the WineBoards about him, scheduled a visit w/ Hardy. I was quite taken by the genuine passion he shows for his craft. He clearly doesn't take himself too seriously..though I'd call his wines fairly serious.
Hardy specializes in Mourv because he believes it expresses terroir more than any other grape (hmmmm...I thought that was PinotNoir...no..Riesling...no...Nebbiolo..heck..I'm confused now), as claimed by RonMansfield, and takes Mourv from ShakeRidge/Amador and AltaMesa/SBHighlands amongst other sources. If he made Chard and Pinot, he'd be right on the front lines of the IPoB croowd.
Most Calif Mourv is dominated by huge fruit/plummy/licorice/boysenberry/ample alcohol. This Mourv is quite different from the usual Calif Mourv. Almost Pinotish in character. Does it express terroir more than other Calif Mourv? Beats heck out of me....I wouldn't recognize the terroir of SantaBarbaraHighlands if it hit me upside the head. But I found the wine to be very unusual & interesting and one I liked quite a lot.
Tom