Been a while since I had a bangin’ white Rhone, and I really need to drink more of these. I drink too much Chardonnay! And Riesling… and Chenin… But where are my Rhone-clones??? Mendocino might be a bit of an asterisk to some–but it whouldn’t–and Alder Springs certainly needs no introduction. Have you ever had a bad wine from Alder Springs? I can only think a a couple Hardy Wallace bottles which I was a little iffy on, but the dedication and power is always there, despite vagaries in style. Here we have a likewise powerful Roussanne-dominant blend, with smatterings of usual suspects rounding out the beauty. Dusty and dank of nose, the creamy power exptremely evident throughout, buttered-down richness spiked with sharp infusions of Marsanne and Picpoul Blanc.
A rigid backbone of structure elevates things past typical California *white wine* boringness, the fruit a sharp apple and taut pear with gooseberry and green tomato providing savory roundness. Wines like this should be on every resty list on the planet, and perhaps Chardonnay’s dulling influence on the masses could be broken. But people are afraid to step outside their comfort zone–and that’s sad. I know my readers don’t have this problem, but these wines are extremely thin on any retail shelf. A bit of bitter angst charges through the finish, polishing the focus into greenery and briar. At cooler temperatures it becomes meager and thin, lacking fruit and aplomb, so drink it at near-cellar coolness for maximum effect. Beauty in a bottle.
2022 TERMINIM ‘Cepages d’Or’ RM/MN/VG/PB 55/16/16/13 Alder Springs Mendocino Co. 14.0
Stephen McConnell 