DIRTY & ROWDY
Before we started importing Dirty & Rowdy, I would wait patiently for the bi-annual email from the winery, purchase what I could, and would drive down to Montana to pick up my loot. The wines were so confounding I could hardly contain my joy and confusion. They were unapologetically Californian, yet low in alcohol, and had all the drinkability I craved.
Hardy Wallace, the winery’s co-founder and helmsman, started his winding professional life as a classic East-Indian musician. Despite his skill and passion, the limited work he could obtain led him to the tech industry. Here he schmoozed clients at fancy dinners, ordering bottles of wine he himself desperately wanted to try. This gave him a unique opportunity to taste glamourous wines without breaking his own bank account. Eventually, his love of wine took over and he entered a contest to win a year-long job at a winery – needless to say, his charisma won him the opportunity. From here he learned some essential technical skills and made powerful friends. Fast forward a couple years and he was able to exploit these relationships to start his own project with his wife and best friends.
The winery’s mantra is to question everything and make wine they want to drink. This meant a focus on more balanced wine (lower alcohol, brighter acid, well placed tannins) that still translated terroir. They wanted to work with organic and sustainably farmed fruit from a wide range of sites. This led them to many incredibly old vineyards in the underrepresented nooks and crannies of old California. In this vein, they have also thought about their packaging, using carbon neutral Noma Corks for some of their cuvées.
Their winemaking is equally analogue. All the reds are fermented as whole clusters, are crushed by foot, settle naturally in neutral vessels, and are bottled unfined, unfiltered, and with judicious levels of SO2. These old-school techniques somehow capture the energy and purity of the sites from which they come. I’m seldom as happy as I am with a bottle of the Familiar Mourvèdre by my side.
GROWN AND MADE ON THE TRADITIONAL LANDS OF THE: SOUTHERN POMO | ME-WUK (COAST MIWOK) | GRATON RANCHERIA | POPELOUTCHOM (AMAH MUTSUN) | CHALONE | RUMSEN | OHLONE | MIWKOʔ WAALIʔ (MIWOK)
ESTIMATED RETAIL PRICE: $41.00 CAD
CSPC: 787405
2019 FAMILIAR MOURVEDRE
This cuvée is Hardy’s introduction to Mourvèdre. It is a multi-vineyard blend spanning Monterey, Mendocino, Contra Costa, El Dorado, and Amador Counties. Each of the vineyards is farmed organically. This year, thanks to less substantial heat spikes, they were able to let the fruit hang longer to obtain extra intensity and depth. This wine was fermented in open-top vat with 100% stem inclusion. It was raised in neutral barrel before being bottled, unfined and unfiltered. Hardy uses NomaCorc on this cuvée to ensure the wines are TCA free.
ESTIMATED RETAIL PRICE: $51.00 CAD
CSPC: 833795
2019 FAMILIAR ORANGE
This wine is a blend of Chenin Blanc (60%), Semillon (30%), Marsanne (4%), Roussanne (3%), and Viognier (3%). It comes from vineyards all across California including Monterey, Mendocino, and Napa Valley. The grapes were destemmed and fermented on the skins. The wine was then pressed off into neutral barrel and tank. Initially this wine was supposed be blended away to make their Familiar Blanc, but it tasted so good they decided to bottle it on its own. 320 cases produced. 11.2% ABV
ESTIMATED RETAIL PRICE: $68.00 CAD
CSPC: 833798
2018 MSG
This wine comes from the Chalone AVA adjacent to Pinnacle National Park. At 1700-1900 feet above sea level it benefits from drastic diurnal swings. Soils here are a hodgepodge of limestone, granite, and volcanic rocks. It is made from Mourvedre (41%), Syrah (39%), Grenache (10%), and other unnamed grapes (10%). The grapes were fermented whole cluster in open top tanks before being pressed into old barrel for élevage. The wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered. 151 cases produced. 13.5% ABV
ESTIMATED RETAIL PRICE: $68.00 CAD
CSPC: 787407
2018 SHAKE RIDGE RANCH MOURVEDRE
Amadour County is located just south and east of Sacramento in the Sierra Foothills and is home to the highly revered Shake Ridge Ranch Vineyard. It is roughly 2000’ above sea level and features decomposed granite soils as well as a plethora of large rocks like soapstone and quartz. The vineyard has been organic since 2013. Whole clusters and indigenous yeasts were used during fermentation. As per usual, additives were avoided and the wine was bottled unfined and unfiltered with minimal SO2. 135 cases produced. 13% ABV
ESTIMATED RETAIL PRICE: $68.00 CAD
CSPC: 833796
2018 ENZ MOURVEDRE
Hardy considers this wine his best rendition of this vineyard yet. Hailing from the Lime Kiln Valley, these dry farmed vines were planted in 1887 and rediscovered by the Enz Family in 1967. Soils here are mostly limestone but feature granite as well. The grapes were fermented whole cluster before being pressed off into old barrel. 140 cases produced. 13% ABV
ESTIMATED RETAIL PRICE: $68.00 CAD
CSPC: 833797
2018 BROSSEAU GRENACHE
This wine is made from Grenache grown in Brosseau Vineyard. At 1700 feet above sea level, this vineyard is perched in the Chalone AVA of Monterey County. Soils here are diverse ranging from Limestone, to Granite and Volcanic. The grapes were fermented whole cluster in open tank. The wine was then pressed off into neutral oak barrel for élevage. It is bottled unfined and unfiltered with minimal sulphur. Only 80 cases produced. 12.5% ABV
ESTIMATED RETAIL PRICE: $56.00 CAD
CSPC: 817247
2018 FRED & DORA PETITE SIRAH
This wine comes from 80+-year-old dry farmed vines in Talmage, Mendocino County. The soils are mostly Redvine Series, red-brown alluvial soils weathered from sedimentary rock. The grapes were fermented whole cluster in open top tanks before being pressed into old barrel for élevage. The wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered. 80 cases produced. 12.5% ABV
ESTIMATED RETAIL PRICE: $52.00 CAD
CSPC: 817244
2019 SKIN FERMENTED SEMILLON
This cuvée is a celebration of the uniqueness and beauty of Semillon, one of California’s unsung heroes. The grapes were harvested relatively early at roughly 18-20 Brix. 70% of the grapes were destemmed and fermented on skins for 24 days. 10% was fermented as whole clusters for 15 days before being pressed off. The remainder was direct pressed to concrete egg. It was eventually bottled unfined, and unfiltered.
ESTIMATED RETAIL PRICE: $34.00 CAD
CSPC: 817241
2018 FAMILIAR BLANC
Like the Familiar Mourvèdre, this is a blend of all their white cuvées. Vineyard sources include Mendocino, Napa, and Monterey. This is a quirky blend of Semillon (55%), Chenin Blanc (16%), Pinot Blanc (15%), Viognier (10%), Muscat (3%), and Marsanne (1%). 40% of the grapes were fermented on their skins anaerobically for a short period of time before being pressed off. The rest was direct pressed into neutral barrel. After a short élevage, the wine is racked and bottled without fining nor filtration. Hardy uses NomaCorc on this cuvée to ensure the wines are TCA free. 12% ABV