WTN: 2016 I have brett/I am okay with that/I am enlightened

[Jenise]

A winery in Oregon so crazy it makes Sean Thackrey look normal, Minimus Wines, has come out with a red wine that they describe as a reverse saignee. It's a red, or rather reddish, wine made from pinot gris. On a white background the label contains only these words, full left justify:

I HAVE BRETT
I AM OKAY WITH THAT
I AM ENLIGHTENED

This was poured for me last night at--get this, here in the self-described City of Subdued Excitement where almost nothing ever happens--a brand new wine bar featuring only natural wines. Brian Miller, when you come to the 'hood' again, this is where we have to meet!

Damn was this GOOD. I'm kind of all over the place with natural wines. Some have been delicious, some merely curious, some just plain undrinkable (while others swooned). So I can't at all say I'm board with the whole natural thing, but this wine, THIS wine! Yes!

Pale taupey red, faintly cloudy/unfiltered, with cinnamon, mace, tangerine rind, clove, and god knows what else. And terrific acidity, of course. Not sour, just taut. The brett--supposedly a 'good' brett that the winemaker has isolated and purposefully introduced to this wine, was undetectable to me as such, but I don't mind and even like a little brett so this would not have stood out for me as an issue unless it was overboard. In all the best ways possible, this wine is about the most natural tasting natural wine I've ever had. Just loved it.

Here's an article if you want to read more about it. Note the phrase "cerebral tongue fuck".

http://www.wine-allthetime.com/home/2017/5/17/minimus-i-have-brett-ros

Very interesting! Looks and sounds like it would be fun to taste beside a Cornelissen Susucaru. (Or just on its own.) I wouldn't have thought PG had enough pigment to produce that saturated a red color, but what do I know?

I'll have to see whether the wine director I know named Bret has this on his radar.

Very interesting! Looks and sounds like it would be fun to taste beside a Cornelissen Susucaru. (Or just on its own.) I wouldn't have thought PG had enough pigment to produce that saturated a red color, but what do I know?

I'll have to see whether the wine director I know named Bret has this on his radar.

Well...this is just a skin-contact white that's made from PinotGris. If it's ripened enough, PG (and GWT) have
enough pigmentation to give the wine some color; from a pale garnet to an orangey rose color. This kind of
wine, sometimes made as an orange wine, is fairly common in Friuli where it's called a Ramato.
Tom