Stephen McConnell: Delicate Monster
Stephen McConnell writes… “In addition to classic producers, I am constantly looking for smaller labels which run under the radar of *usual bling suspects* on social media. Enjoy the ride. Wine is life.”
Delicate Monster - 2016 Aridus Mourvedre
Transparent ruby, ambering toward the wide clear edge. A smudge-pot of smoky goodness envelopes the nose, dense cherry, watermelon and wet wood table-tops–intensely aromatic, lively and fresh while still maintaining an obvious warmth of concentration and ripeness.
In the mouth, focused on bright fruit and a funky baseline. South France burnt rubber and hot soil crank out sublime peaty notes mired in both lovely acid and comforting barnyard–the former shining through the shy fruit and the latter barely visible along the edges.
This is my favorite Aridus to date and an absolutely BEAUTIFUL Mourvedre. Restraint in all the right places and concentration in all the right places. I drink a lot of wines from the Sierra Foothills and Valle de Guadalupe, and you somewhat learn to expect a certain *vibe* in these hot-soil areas–both visibly and texturally. Not here. This is a delicate beauty stretching its wings in elegant beauty.
2016 ARIDUS WINE CO Mourvedre Arizona 13.8
Bianca Is That You? - 2016 Aridus Malvasia Bianca
THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST WHITES I HAVE HAD IN RECENT MEMORY.
Luscious aromatics of wilted lily and sweat power through dusty summer days of ball-fields and worn benches. Hi-altitude viscosity and melon-rind bite carry the wine so incredibly over the palate, the sweet fruit actually surprises you in the finish, but IT’S NOT DONE YET! Zesty and green from first sniff til 5 minutes after last swallow, it tingles the edges of the tongue with its vanilla-anise acidity and manages a full round mouthfeel in spite of all the sharp bite. THIS boys & girls, THIS is a Malvasia Bianca TOUR DE FORCE. Hell, it’s a WHITE WINE tour de force. I taste quite a bit of this variety, and never blog about it. But this. This is just a stupidly-good white. I actually feel bad for all the whites I have said are good in the past 6 mos. I am nearly speechless how good it is and I would trot this out in a myriad of tastings of lean CA whites with great success. I guarantee it.
2016 ARIDUS Malvasia Bianca Arizona 14.0
#ROSÉALLDAY -2016 Aridus Rosé 2016 ARIDUS Arizona 13.3
Dark pink. Greasy sage and chaparral with a bit of electrical fire and melted plastic. Fat bouquets of foliage adorn much of the nose, coupled with a reduction of sweetness. Sumptuously sweet in the mouth, crazy ripe fruit dulled down into flaccid areas of glycerine and Chinese 5-spice but a mouth-feel like a light red wine. Full oaky finish–smooth and lush–not rosé-ish at all. I would not kick this thing out of bed and I am LOVING these wines from Arizona.
Bringing Up Arizona - 2015 Aridus Malbec
Light ruby thinning to clear pink edges. Easily one of the lightest Malbec’s I have seen in my life. Quite surprising on that initial pour. Big carmel-ey dark chocolate wet wool nose rich and round with baked desserts and frosting searing on hot cookie-sheets. Mint-driven evergreen boughs keep everything firmly out of the ‘funk-zone’ which befalls many versions of this variety.
In the mouth, a juxtaposition between round and spicy, clean fruit and barnyard screams Malbec all over again. Acid-driven on entry to the point of Cahors-comparisons, it quickly rounds to a considerably more New World mouth-feel, lush and round, smokey and meaty, until that lovely off-ish green moldy Malbec beauty flashes through the finish, muddying and mellowing the tannin.
This is my first wine from Arizona and I gotta say…. As hesitant and apprehensive as I was: This is a serious winner.
2015 ARIDUS Malbec Arizona 13.8