Medium ruby, cloudy with no edge. Beautiful grimy, sweaty forest floor and tarry splendor explodes out of the glass, carrying with it dripping savory fruit, over-ripe cantaloupe, candy cane and the sweet melancholy of rhubarb pie. Late-breathing brings a much younger, cellar-infant to the foreground, fruit brightens into strawberry and a taut wire of minerality pervades.

This is another of the debut Santy Ynez Valley single-vineyard offerings from Section Wines in Buellton, and like all its freshman brothers and sisters, the label is emblazoned with the incredible artwork of  Wallace Piatt, a Santa Barbara artist whose giant grimy color-patch glimpses into urban Western pop-culture are the perfect backdrop for these raw, soulful wines.

In the mouth, the perfume translates easily to tongue, expanding the fruit far beyond what is obviously a dense, concentrated mass. Initially a wisp of bitter, it immediately blossoms into full rich roundness, EVERYTHING in the nose on point and expanding–all the savory sweet mint-laden grime youthfully brilliant, skin-bitter and shining brightly into a sharp curl of tannin. This is STUNNING Mourvedre.

2014 SECTION WINES Mourvedre Demetria Vyd. Santa Ynez Valley Santa Barbara Co. 14.0

www.sectionwines.com