Complex summer whites

When I think of summer whites, I tend to think of light and refreshing quaffers. Summer's a carefree time of year, and al fresco picnics, summer barbecue, or hanging out by the pool isn't always the time to sit and think about your wine. But if you are looking for something with a little more complexity and versatility, I've had two wines recently that can work in either direction.

Dirty & Rowdy Family Wines 2012 Skin and Concrete Fermented Semillon, Yountville, Napa Valley is 2nd release of this skin-macerated 100% Semillon. It's a little less viscous than the inaugural release, but still has that wonderful complexity, tannic structure, and acid backbone that I liked in the 2011. It's a cloudy bright gold color with perfumy aromas of lemon and orange zest, savory spice, earth, and frommage. The palate is bright, adding mineral depth to compliment the melange of flavors. There's a nice rich feel and presence on the palate, gaining a slight bitterness and salinity on the finish that adds a nice dimension. This would be great with brie, or a citrusy halibut.

A visit to the Brander Vineyard in the Santa Ynez Valley was a nice refresher on their wonderful lineup of Sauvignon Blanc. The Brander 2011 Estate Sauvignon Blanc au Naturel, Santa Ynez Valley is notable for its 24 hours of skin contact during fermentation, giving the wine added complexity and depth before finishing fermentation and aging in stainless steel. The bright grapefruit and gooseberry is there, but is balanced by layered notes of dried herb, lavender and hints of spice. This is a great California Sauvignon Blanc. I'd like this with a grilled barbecue chicken and a summer salad.

Something dirty and rowdy this way comes.

If there’s a single migratory pattern worth mentioning since the last US census, it would have to be renegade wine bloggers moving west to stake claims in the wine business. Whether in wine writing, social media, or winemaking, there are plenty of fresh faces and interesting projects.

And if one person blazed the trail, it would have to be Hardy Wallace. From the Dirty South Wine blog, to high profile social media work with wineries, to finding a home championing and then making minimal-intervention “natural” wine, Hardy’s smiling face and genuinely enthusiastic (yet sarcastic) wit have become something of a personal brand. All of this has culminated with the first release of Dirty and Rowdy Family Winery, a partnership of Hardy and fellow Atlanta ex-pat and food blogger/videographer Matt Richardson.

Their winery features aesthetics more akin to an indie rock band than a winery. A surreal cartoon involving a leopard, snake, weedwhacker and hedge clippers adorns the label. Artsy still life photos of people and winery scenes and iron skillet fried chicken are prominent on a website proclaiming them as “America’s #1 Winery.” As a Generation X’er informed by the counter-cultural and subversive aesthetics of 80’s hardcore punk, these are all things that I enjoy and appreciate. It’s kitschy and clever without undermining the integrity of the winery.

As for the wine, the varietals are Sémillon and Mourvedré. The first release features a 2011 Semillon from the Gamble Vineyard in Yountville in Napa Valley, and a pair of Mourvedré wines (2010 and 2011) from the Santa Barbara Highlands Vineyard in a remote eastern corner of Santa Barbara County.

I opened a bottle of the 2011 Dirty and Rowdy Sémillon, Yountville,Napa Valley ($28) to pair with rosemary roasted chicken. This is from valley floor silt soils. Fermentation was divided into to two native fermentations, one taking place in concrete egg and the other on the skins in open-top fermenters. Aging took place in neutral French oak.

In the glass the maceration on the skins showed in the rich and cloudy gold color. The bouquet presented a mélange of interesting expressions – running the gamut from dried floral, to white pepper & herb, to mushroom & earth, to frommage and then to citrus zest. Complex but wound tightly. It was surprisingly rich on the palate considering the low alcohol (+/- 12.5%), with crisp freshness along with mineral and earthy highlights accenting the floral fruit and spice. It had that nicely weighted gliding thing going on throughout the palate before finishing with fine tannin. Rich and complex and structured are the keys here.

This is serious Sémillon. If you ever pine for aged Hunter Valley Sémillon then sock this baby away for a bit and let it unfold- this could satisfy that urge. Or just open it and let it breathe and enjoy – it’s beautiful stuff, and an exciting new addition to the new wave of California wine.