Delightful wines from Wrath Vineyards

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These Wrath Wine tasting notes developed from samples derived from my recent interview with wine maker Sabrine Rodems at their state-of-the-art tasting room tucked into the foothills of Monterey AVA. Read the entire interview with Sabrine Rodems på Wrath Wines here.

Wrath Wines boasts a prodigious assortment of wines, wines borne of an epic knack for experimentation-gone-right by ‘grand alchemist’ Sabrine Rodems and owner Michael Thomas, with assistance from their merry band of winery cohorts.

Wrath Wines include three categories:

Ex Anima Series: Artisan, estate-sourced wines crafted ‘from the soul,’ featuring no new oak.

Wine Maker Series: Alchemic wines showcasing pure clones, varying whole cluster pressings, malolactic fermentation variations, and more.

Single Vineyard Series: Flagships wines emphasizing minimal winemaking technology and maximum expression of terroir.

A daunting task, drilling down into this deep well of sumptuous-to-spikey reds and snappy-to-sultry whites. This sampling focuses primarily on whites and ‘off-whites’.

Wrath Ex Anima Sauvignon Blanc 2014

Alcohol: 13.3%

Suggested Retail: $19

Robe: Transluscent lemon slip.

Nose:  Petrichor, white flowers, seawater, brief wheat grass backnote.

Palate: Light body + chiseled acids + elegant citrus tones = Stunning + Soul-stirring + Magnificent + Mysterious + Ethereal + Elusive never-ending, enticing story problem. A most unusual Sauvignon Blanc.

Suggested Pairings: Belly up to any oyster bar with this baby, and don’t look back.

Wrath Ex Anima Sauvignon Blanc
Wrath Ex Anima Sauvignon Blanc

Wrath Fermata Chardonnay 2013

Alcohol: 14.3%

Suggested Retail: $35

Robe: Pale straw robe.

Nose: Rich butter-toast, meyer-lemon nose.

Palate: Fermata means ‘halted’ in Italian. Malolactic fermentation halted at 50%, yielding this blend of buxom fullness paired with lean acidity.

Suggested Pairings: Try this with creamy cheeses or richer dishes like roasted chicken with beurre-blanc.

Wrath Fermata Chardonnay
Wrath Fermata Chardonnay

Wrath 3-Clone Chardonnay 2013

Alcohol: 14.5%

Suggested Retail: $35

Robe: Soft straw robe.

Nose: Almond, honey, ghost of citrus nose.

Palate: ‘Three graces’ blend of old-vine Mt. Eden, Wente and Clone 4 (plus a touch of newer Kistler vines) undergo full malolactic fermentation to create a medium-bodied, under-stated pour.

Suggested Pairings: Serve alfresco with a sedate supper of chilled langoustine salad.

Wrath 3-clone Chardonnay
Wrath 3-clone Chardonnay

Wrath Grenache, Alta Loma 2013

Alcohol: 13.4%

Suggested Retail: $39

Robe: Pellucid garnet robe.

Nose: Dusty red currant, cranberry nose.

Palate: Bio-dynamically produced wine with bright red fruit and mesmerizing hints of tobacco, leather and juniper on the mouth – not your Mama’s grenache.

Suggested Pairings: Break out the tapas and this little number for your friends who think they know everything there is to know about Grenache, then watch their eyes go tilt as they realize they don’t.

Wrath Grenache, Alta Loma
Wrath Grenache, Alta Loma

Wine: Ex Dolio Falanghina 2014

Alcohol: 14.1%

Suggested Retail: $29

Robe: Terra-cotta roiled honey-amber robe.

Nose: Exotic apricot, mirabelle plum, white peach nose.

Palate: Only one of three wineries in the United States that produces Falanghina. Unfiltered, unfined, aged on skins in terra-cotta dolium produce an ultra-light bodied, time-traveling mind-bender of a wine offering subtle minerality and an oasis of stone and Mediterranean-infused fruit flavors. Sui generis.

Suggested Pairings:  For regular humans, serve this wine with Mediterranean fare like firm, salty cheeses, or something sweeter, like dates or baklava. Or simply crack this wine open when you want to blow your most serious wine geeks’ minds.

LM Archer is a freelance writer based in Seattle and California. She is Francophile who considers wine an art and Burgundy the centre of the universe. She is the founder and editor of binNotes | redThread.

Wrath Ex Dolio Falanghina
Wrath Ex Dolio Falanghina

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