2021 Extradimensional Wine Co. Yeah!, Full King Crab White, Brosseau Vineyard, Chalone AVA, Monterey County.
The Full King Crab White Blend by Hardy Wallace at his Extradimensional Wine Co. Yeah! is a unique and tasty single vineyard blend of 40% Chardonnay, 30% Chenin Blanc, 15% Marsanne and 15% Viognier from chalky complex limestone based soils at the Brosseau Vineyard, in Chalone. If you’ve ever had the magical Mas de Daumas Gassac, a rare Languedoc white blend that sees between 5 to 7 days of skin contact, with 25% Viognier, 25% Chardonnay, 25% Petit Manseng, 15% Chenin Blanc and 10% other grape varieties including Marsanne, you’ll see the inspiration here! Coming from Brosseau’s organic vines in Chalone and set on chalky limestone, granite and volcanic soils the golden/yellow Full King Crab White shows plenty of pithy stone peachy fruit, quince, bright lemony citrus, green apple and stony/mineral notes along with a touch of yeastiness, tangy herbs, a hint of honeysuckle and lingering melon flesh textural element. There is a faint savory edginess from the skin contact, but it is perfectly balanced in this dry white that turns more generous with air and warm, mainly thanks to the opulent use of Chardonnay, while still having an invigorating sense of tension, impressive.

Winemaker Hardy Wallace tells (us) the reason this White Blend is called what it is, saying you can’t name a wine, “Full King Crab” unless it is both outrageously good and has a story to share. So he continues to share that not far from Big Sky, Montana, is the Corral Bar, which he calls a local’s spot ideal for a cold beer and a shot. On a recent visit with friends, he locked (eyes) in on some graffiti written on the bathroom wall. Instead of seeing the typical profane scribble, he read, “Otta Get The Full King Crab!!” The message struck me, and not because I craved the full king crab (it wasn’t on the menu). It went deeper. This is a message to always grab the full king crab in life – in whatever form it may appear. Hardy is known for his fanatic love of Mourvedre, but he is also deep into skin contact or fermented whites as well, and while this one isn’t as much of an orange wine in style, you’ll have to enjoy the funk to get through his offerings, which is not a bad thing. This lightly skin macerated Full King Crab is quite good and distinctive, almost old world in character with its mineral intensity and salty tones making it a brilliant food wine. Typically, Wallace does things with all natural methods, spontaneous fermentations, no new oak, and is very sustainably minded in his grape sources, preferring organic and or holistic farming to make his very unique wines, with this Full King Crab being no different as far as I know.
($45 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

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