Hello and welcome to my weekly dig through the pile of wine samples that show up asking to be tasted. I’m pleased to bring you the latest installment of Vinography Unboxed, where I highlight some of the better bottles that have crossed my doorstep recently.

This week included another lovely wine from Cantina Kurtatsch, the excellent co-op winery in Alto Adige. The wine they call “Amos” is an unusual and compelling blend of white grapes that offers a wonderfully bright balance of fruit and freshness.

I also received a coupe of wines from Sirin, a brand developed by a company called Ranch Wine and Spirits, which looks like it is all about developing brands for placement in bars and restaurants. Their Chardonnay and Pinot Noir were both tasty enough. I preferred the Pinot Noir.

While we’re on the subject of Pinot Noir, Minus Tide sent along their latest vintage of their Manchester Ridge bottling, which offered a really lovely combination of savory and fruit character, with the energy of the cooler reaches of Mendocino County.

Perhaps the “main event” this week are another tranche of wines from the Extradimensional Wine Co. Yeah! including their Mourvèdre, for which proprietor Hardy Wallace is well known. All these wines are worth experiencing, including their orange wine, which is an unusual blend of grapes from the Brousseau vineyard in the Chalone appellation. It speaks of its deeply mineral soils. The other three wines, a Cabernet Sauvignon, a Cabernet Franc, and a Merlot are from a plot in the Santa Cruz Mountains that Wallace was convinced to visit and subsequently fell in love with. They are each quite compelling, but my favorite of the three was the Merlot for its wonderfully floral lift.

Finally I’ve got two heavier wines to recommend, although their weight is something I’m quite disappointed with, from a bottle perspective, that is. Both have opted to signal their aspirations with heavy glass, environmental impact be damned.

The first is a ripe, Riserva Montepulciano from Masciarelli that will appeal to those looking for dark and rich wines, this one with supple tannins, if a bit high octane. It is made from a single vineyard, and ages in new French oak.

The second is a classically-styled Napa Cabernet, from a small producer named Hoopes Family Vineyard. Proprietress Lindsay Hoopes, a former prosecutor, has been in the news lately for counter-suing Napa County over the fact that they are trying to prevent her from holding wine tastings despite a permit saying she is permitted to do so. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the courts. In the meantime, we can enjoy her wine, though not the weight of the bottle.

Notes on all these below.

Tasting Notes

2021 Cantina Kurtatsch “Amos” White Blend, Südtirol Alto Adige, Italy
Pale greenish gold in the glass, this wine smells of white flowers, star fruit, and citrus peel. In the mouth, juicy bright green apple and grapefruit pith flavors have a zippy crunchiness to them thanks to excellent acidity. There’s a faint salinity to the wine that lingers with hints of lime zest and orange peel in the finish. A blend of Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Kerner, and Sauvignon Blanc, all fermented separately and later blended. 13.5% alcohol. Score: around 9. Cost: $24. click to buy.

2021 Sirin “Reserve – TNT Vineyard” Chardonnay, Sonoma Mountain, Sonoma, California
Pale greenish gold in color, this wine smells of lemon pith and lemon curd. In the mouth, white flowers and lemon curd flavors mix with a hint of pineapple and pastry cream. Softer acidity than I would like. A faint bitterness lingers in the finish. 14% alcohol. 110 cases made. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $54. click to buy.

2021 Extradimensional Wine Co. Yeah! “Close Encounters” Skin Contact White Blend, Chalone, Central Coast, California
Light to medium amber gold in the glass, this wine smells of poached pear, apricot, and yellow herbs. In the mouth, bright and juicy orange peel, apricot, and pear flavors mix with orange pith and a hint of salinity. Lightly chalky tannins. Juicy and fruity but with a nice more serious texture and hint of herbal quality. From the famed Brousseau vineyard. A blend of 40% Chenin Blanc, 40% Chardonnay, 8% Viognier, 6% Roussanne, and 6% Marsanne. 45 days on the skins. Destemmed and light filtration. 13% alcohol. 99 cases made. Score: around 9. Cost: $55.

2021 Minus Tide “Manchester Ridge Vineyard” Pinot Noir, Mendocino Ridge, Mendocino, California
Light to medium garnet in the glass, this wine smells of raspberry and raspberry leaf. In the mouth, bright raspberry and green herb flavors mix with a hint of road dust and a touch of red apple skin. Bright and juicy with a lovely faint tannic grip and lovely savory notes lingering in the finish. Excellent acidity. 13.5% alcohol. Score: around 9. Cost: $48. click to buy.

2021 Sirin “Wildcat Mountain Vineyard” Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast, Sonoma, California
Medium garnet in the glass, this wine smells of cherry and black raspberry. In the mouth, bright cherry and cranberry flavors mix with orange peel and a hint of sour cherry. Faint cottony tannins linger with orange peel in the finish. 14% alcohol. 70 cases made. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $70.

2021 Extradimensional Wine Co. Yeah! “Mariana’s Vineyard” Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Cruz Mountains, California
Very dark garnet in the glass, this wine smells of black cherry, cassis, and dark earth. In the mouth, lightly muscular tannins wrap around a core of black cherry and sour cherry fruit that has tremendous citric brightness and fantastic acidity. An interesting dichotomy between dark fruit and brightness that recalls the difference between the tart skin of a plum and the dark sweet fruit within. Powdery, muscular tannins with a stony quality. Contains 15% Merlot. Made with organically farmed grapes. 13.2% alcohol. 52 cases made. Score: around 9. Cost: $125.

2021 Extradimensional Wine Co. Yeah! Merlot, Santa Cruz Mountains, California
Dark garnet in the glass, this wine smells of ripe plums and violets. In the mouth, wonderfully juicy and fresh flavors of plum and plum skin are shot through with citrus peel and sour cherry. Bright and zippy, with lightly grippy tannins that have fine-grained, suede-like quality. Lovely finish. Contains 6% Cabernet Sauvignon. Made from organically farmed grapes. There’s a faint salinity here as well. 13.5% alcohol. 44 cases made. Score: around 9. Cost: $125.

2021 Extradimensional Wine Co. Yeah! “Mariana’s Vineyard” Cabernet Franc, Santa Cruz Mountains, California
Very dark, opaque garnet in the glass, this wine smells of dark loamy earth, plum, and dried herbs. In the mouth, dark plum and black cherry fruit are shot through with potting soil and a faint orange peel brightness. Lovely salinity in this wine, coupled with acidity makes the mouth water. Faint charred meat quality lingers in the finish. Contains 14% Merlot and 6% Cabernet Sauvignon. Made from organically farmed grapes. 13% alcohol. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $125.

2022 Extradimensional Wine Co. Yeah! “Marvelous” Mourvedre, Contra Costa County, California
Medium garnet in the glass, with a faint haze, this wine smells of boysenberry and flowers mixed with aromatic herbs. Including lavender. In the mouth, wonderfully juicy boysenberry, lavender, blueberry, and floral flavors have a faint aromatic sweetness welded to a chalky salinity that is wonderful. Faint, cotton ball tannins buff the edges of the palate. 85% Old Vine Mourvèdre, 10% Old Vine Grenache, 5% Old Vine Carignane. Del Barba Vineyard. 13% alcohol. Score: between 9 and 9.5. Cost: $55. click to buy.

2018 Masciarelli “Villa Gemma – Riserva” Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, Abruzzo, Italy
Inky, opaque garnet in the glass, this wine smells of violets, licorice, and blackcurrant syrup. In the mouth, black licorice, black pepper, black cherry, and cassis flavors are wrapped in a thick fleecy blanket of tannins. Notes of dried flowers linger in the finish. Very good acidity, but the 15% alcohol definitely shows. Packaged in an unnecessarily heavy bottle weighing 1.54 kg when full. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $62. click to buy.

2018 Hoopes Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville, Napa, California
Very dark, almost opaque garnet in the glass, this wine smells of black cherry, cocoa powder, and tobacco. In the mouth, juicy black cherry, cola, and brown sugar flavors are wrapped in lightly muscular, fine-grained tannins. Notes of dried herbs and a hint of oak linger in the finish. Excellent acidity keeps the wine fresh. 14.5% alcohol. Packaged in an offensively heavy bottle weighing 1.78 kg when full, meaning the bottle weighs significantly more than the wine inside of it. Score: around 9. Cost: $123. click to buy.