Winemaker Notes: This is bar none my favorite block at Shake Ridge Ranch in Amador. The Mourvedre is perched on a steep hillside looking over all the alpine views. The wine from this site is always surprising in nature given the warmer climate (most of the offerings taste old world, which is counterintuitive). And this wine is particularly special as it's my first 100% Mourvedre. 

Have you ever felt like you had a whole meal in a wine? The flavors start with the appetizer course of shitake mushroom. You feel your way through the savory mid-palate that begs for some rosemary herb-crusted beef to greet it, then you finish with a zing of raspberry coulis as a grand farewell. This wine swings through flavors like Indian Jones. It tastes different with wasabi peas (although still good!) as it does with a beef teriyaki (yes we paired it with both in one evening to much delight). It’s a shapeshifter that brings to mind the magical meal gum from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Enjoy this wine that I think of as the essence of Fall itself.