We had these three Wrath wines last night at our Wino's tasting at Laura's Pig+Fig:
1. Wrath Chardonnay, SanSabaVnyd, Monterey (14.3% | 50% Mt. Eden + 32% Wente + 18% Dijon Clone 17, 77 cases; http://www.WrathWines.com) , 2023: Med.light gold color; light buttery/pencilly/Fr.oak/butterscotch quite melony/Chard rather floral/fragrant lovely nose; lively/elegant/restrained bit more oak fairly tart floral/melonyChard elegant/fragrant very light penilly/oak bright some lemon curd flavor; very long elegant/restrained floral/melony finish that mocks flavor; quite a lovely restrained expression of Chard. $49
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2. Wrath Chardonay 3-Clone, SanSabaVnyd, Monterey (14.3% | 34% Mt. Eden + 33% Dijon Clone 17 + 33% Kistler | 10 mo. Fr. oak, 20% new), 205 cases, 2024: Light gold color; quiet melony/Chard/floral very light pencilly/Fr.oak fairly perfumed lovely bit more complex nose; lightly tart brisk light/elegant Chard/floral/melony clean/bright bit more complex flavor; very long bright//elegant finish that mimics flavor; a bit more light/restrained but a bit more interesting/complex in character. $35
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3. Wrath PinotNoir KWRanch/SantaLuciaHighlands (14.4% | 50% Pommard 4 + 50% Dijon Clone 667 | 10 mo. Fr. oak, 20% new), 384 cases, 2022: Med.dark color; very fragrant/cherry/PN/black cherry rather floral very light pencilly/oak vey perfumed/aromatic high-toned PN nose; lightly tart PN/cherry/floral quite perfumed very light pencilly/oak very perfumed/floral quite lovely flavor w/ modest restrained tannins; very long perfumed/floral/PN finish that mimics flavor; a bright lively/restrained/elegant expression of PN you don't find much in Calif. $55
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More rathschlokel from TheBloodyPulpit
1. Wrath was a new wine producer for me.Their vnyds are located just over the ridge from the SantaLuciaHighlands AVA. Subject to a lot of maritime climate influence. Specialize in PinotNoir & Chard. But they also grow Syrah & Falanghina that I would love to try. These are three wines Meghan Ryan brought to share with us. She has been quite a fan of their wines.
I was quite taken by the two Chards. They were both on the restrained/elegant side but still showed plenty of intensity. Spoke strongly of Chard with a great deal of purity. Maybe resembled a bit Savoie Chard more than big/bombastic Calif Chard. Pretty far removed from Rombauer in style. Rombauer Chards are the punching bag for big/over-oaked/buttery Calif Chard, but I find their Carneros Chard not at all like that.
Of the two, I slightly preferred the SanSaba to the 3-clone because it showed a bit more intensity. The 3-clone was a bit more restrained but showed a bit more complexity. Both are very restrained/stylish Chards the likes you don't find much in Calif.
I also liked the PN quite a bit for its understated/elegant/floral expression of that grape w/o a strong influence of Fr.oak. It reminded me more of Italian Pinot from the Alto Adige. Or maybe the GD Vajra Pinot from the Piemonte w/o the strong oak signature. Maybe a bit like Swiss Pinot w/o the earthy character. Whatever....a lovely atypical Calif expression of Pinot.
Thanks to Meghan & Tom for introducing us the the Wrath wines. Always nice to be edumacated more in wine.
Tom