2020 Extradimensional Wine Co. Yeah!, Innervisions Red, Sonoma County.
Hardy Wallace’s Extradimensional Wine Co. Yeah! label, a follow up to the Dirty & Rowdy Wines, continues his fantastic exploration of (his) wild fever dreams in winemaking with his latest set being a mind blowing collection of seemingly impossible concoctions, which include skin contact white varietals mixed with deep red grapes that straddles the insane, but somehow fold together in seamless fashion, with this Innervisions Red being one of the more tasty examples so far. The beautifully perfumed and grapey Innervisions Red is Zinfandel based blend of all organic and dry farmed grapes that include 75% Primitivo clone Zin, 10% Grenache, 10% Chenin Blanc, 3% Carignan and 2% Barbera, a grape Hardy has a real touch with, and interestingly no Mourvedre, his signature grape. This vintage, which has just 10% of Chenin Blanc, is very deep in color and flows across the palate with black raspberry, blueberry, plum and Italian cherry fruits along with dark florals, wild herbs, clove and briar spices, cedar, bay leaf and dried Turkish fig. These wines are on the funky natural side of the spectrum, though this bottling is more fruit forward and while not for everybody, it does excite the senses and is very good with simple and robust food choices, as it was with a pizza last night. I also want to remind you of Hardy’s Summer-Salters Rosé, a blend of 50% Primotivo and 50% Mourvedre, that I reviewed recently, is my favorite Extradimensional Wine Co. Yeah! so far, with this wine being a close second.
The Extradimensional Wine Co. Yeah! wines are naturally fermented with native yeasts and see long maceration(s), with most all the white grapes seeing skin maceration as well and they are mostly raised in neutral, well seasoned French oak barrels to preserve purity, nuance and highlight the unique profiles of each wine. Since leaving Dirty & Rowdy behind, Wallace has been set free to explore his own path and it has been a bit like watching Alice in Wonderland, with some paths leading to funkville, while others, like this Innervisions Red, being more crowd pleasing, but still with its own personality. Wallace says his Innervisions Red is a nod to Stevie Wonder’s funk / soul album, Innervisions, most known for the masterpiece, Higher Ground. Adding that, you should put some Innervisions in your glass and blast the album, this song and this wine operate on multiple levels. Hardy continues that both are a call to keep on moving and cycling through to the Extradimensional, whether you want to dance or trance, this will get you there. Me, less a fan of the music, does find this Innervisions Red delicious with a sort of old school charm. If you are a fan of the bizarre and especially orange wines, you’ll want to get on the mailing list, all of Hardy’s wines sell out fast, but even if you are more mainstream, you’ll find some tasty things as well, with this bottling and the 100% Mourvedre being excellent choices. Wallace, who exclaimed the 2020 Innervisions Red’s aromatics are ecstatic! Suggests drinking this wine, after decanting it for 45 minutes to an hour, with anything juicy cooked over charcoal or wood fire and served on a bed of wilted arugula and dusted with herbs.
($47 Est.) 91 Points, grapelive