Medium ruby, surprisingly blueish at the edge. All that tarry goodness we expect from the variety blows out of the nose, along generous peppery briar, green-stalk and weed-eating, a dull rasp of mineral drying the black cherry and raspberry.
Tasting it introduces smoky agitation to the palate, awkward and unbalanced. The fruit feels thin while chubby and manipulated, a cloying jolly-rancher sweetness clouding a grape I feel should have NO Jolly Rancher sweetness. Burnt-feeling over the middle, peppery herb Mourve placemarks ticking themselves off but something seriously feels wanting in this wine. Watery and uninteresting with glossy full-page catalog-shots of all the important things instead of actual dirt.
2019 MICHEL-SCHLUMBERGER Mourvedre Santa Clara Co. 13.9
Stephen McConnell 