2019 Filaments Wine, Mourvèdre, Adler Springs Vineyard, Mendocino County.
This was my first experience with the Filaments Wine and I was impressed by the delicacy and graceful qualities in their garnet and dark ruby edged 2019 100% Mourvèdre bottling from the wonderful Alder Springs Vineyard, well known for its delicious Rhône grapes, it is a wine that slowly seduces you with an earthy array of red fruits and a slightly lighter frame than you’d expect for this varietal. Mostly known for powerful expressions of Bandol and minor roles in Châteauneuf du Pape, such as Vieux Télégraphe and Beaucastel, Mourvèdre, also known as Mataro in California, can be tannic and meaty, but this Filaments version is silky and elegantly presented in the glass. The palate is medium full and loads with dusty plum, baked cherry, grilled orange and vine picked brambly berry fruits, along with a touch of creme de cassis, lavender, tangy herbs, a touch of pepper, wilted florals, old cedar and a subtle hint of leather. The winemakers say they completely de-stemmed the grapes at crush and it went through a natural fermentation lasting 14-days with twice daily punch downs. After primary the wine was racked to a neutral 400L puncheon and one 228L barrique where it aged 20 months. This delicous Mourvèdre, which is vey much at home with simple robust meat dishes, was bottled all unfined and unfiltered with just 41 cases produced. I am interested in the full collection of offerings here, especially the Sonoma Valley Bedrock Vineyard Merlot and the Alder Springs Grenache. Adler Springs, notable for Syrah as seen in many of Pax’s top notch versions, Bedrock and the Rudius Syrah “Emerald Pool”, one of my favorites in the past, also has supplied Michael Cruse awesome Tannat, the former Dirty & Rowdy label Mourvèdre, just to name a few.
One of California’s most unique terroirs and famous for some special Rhône varietals, the Alder Springs Vineyard, which is located in northern Mendocino County near Laytonville and 150 miles north of San Francisco. This vineyard is part of the 6,000-acre Alder Springs Ranch, a forested property that reaches up to heights of 4,000 feet with a climate that is moderated by the vineyard’s elevation and how close it is to the Pacific Ocean, some 12 miles away. Farmed with passion by Stu Bewley who has made some wineries famous for the quality of the grapes here at Alder springs, and who has given Filaments some tasty Mourvèdre for this wine. He originally planted the first blocks in 1993 after discovering, what Filametns say, is a location with the ideal combination of sun, soil, and drainage to produce outstanding grapes. The whole 140-acre vineyard site is set on decomposed sandstone soils up at elevation, with most blocks around 1,700 and 2,700 feet up. This is a cool climate vineyard, that retains lots of zesty acidity and where yields are pretty small, adding to the depth and concentration in the wines, such as Filaments lovely Mourvèdre. Owner winemakers, Kevin Farrow and Erik Latshaw, who has worked at Patz & Hall and Bedrock, only recently formed Filaments Wine in 2015, met at UCLA, while rooming together senior year and finished their college year enjoying Erik’s employee discount at LA’s Wally’s Wine & Spirits, where they exported old world wines that gave them their future inspiration. A big thank you to Germaine Esquivel, a sommelier at the Post Ranch in Big Sur for introducing me to this wine. These reasonably priced Filaments Wine offerings are pretty rare, but I do recommend keeping an eye out for them and or joining the mailing list.
($34 Est.) 91 Points, grapelive