About Dirty & Rowdy

The Dirty (Hardy and Kate Wallace) and Rowdy (Matt and Amy Richardson) families came together for a simple purpose – make wines that they actually want to drink. In 2010, they did just that when they formed a small family partnership based in Sonoma, Dirty & Rowdy Family Winery (www.dirtyandrowdy.com), that sources fruit from the highest quality northern California sites.

We had the pleasure of meeting Hardy Wallace at a tasting in NYC a few years back, and after hearing the winery’s story and tasting the amazing wines, we became wine club members and have been taking advantage of our yearly allocation ever since.

Amadour County is situated southeast of Sacramento in the Sierra Foothills. This is where the highly acclaimed Shake Ridge Ranch Vineyard is located, around 2,000 feet above sea level. Planted in 2003 with additional vines added in 2009, Shake Ridge Ranch has been organic since 2013.

Looks: Bright purple-red in the glass

Smell: Dark fruit with some spiced notes

Taste: Rich flavors of raspberries/cherries with some licorice and leather notes

Texture and Finish: Medium-bodied, lighter mouth-feel than I expected, silky tannins, good minerality on the finish

Pairings: Beef, lamb, venison

Style: Red Wine

Grape Type(s): 100% Mourvèdre

Region: Amador County, CA, USA

Price: $45

I won’t promise that finding the 2014 Dirty & Rowdy Shake Ridge Ranch Mourvèdre will be an easy feat, this has been in my cellar since I bought it as part of my allocation and less than 300 cases were produced, BUT, it’s a beauty if you can locate a few bottles.

Cheers,

Veronique