94 Wine & Spirits

"Bill Easton has worked with these head-pruned vines off and on since 1992, when they were planted at 2,200 feet on a south-facing slope in Fiddletown’s decomposed granitic loam. In the cool 2011 vintage, he picked the last of the mourvedre on November 16 as the lower rows were beginning to frost. That late harvest created a wine of captivating contradiction: as meaty as lamb stock, yet with a high-toned thread of acidity that refreshes the wine with bright red fruit tones while mineral Foothills tannins sharpen the wine’s edges. With two days of air, it continues to develop in a heady direction, its aromas suggesting loam, pine and smoked meat, yet presenting its pungent complexity with surprising delicacy, the tannin vertical and fresh. This is a vigorous, singular expression of Foothills terroir that would be beautiful decanted with braised lamb shanks. Domaine de la Terre Rouge, Plymouth, CA"