WTN: Call of the Idlewild

I got into the Idlewild wines following TomHill's tantalizing description of the Arneis. I also obtained:

2012 Idlewild Carignan, Testa Vineyard - Dark berries, hillside bushes, some baking spaces and an appealing juicy tartness. I'd be buying more if it hadn't sold out while tasting through these wines. $32

2013 Grenache Gris, Gibson Ranch Flowery, fruity, spicy, and reminiscent of ESJ Bone-Jolly Rose with its depth and structure. Bright acidity makes it very food friendly for a wide range of dishes - ribs, grilled chicken, seared ahi and even a ribeye from the barbie. 12.9% $28

2013 Vin Gris, Yorkville Highlands Pink grapefruit, summer flowers, melon and a minerally undertone. The lightest of the four wines I had, but not a light-weight performer. As with the others, sufficient acidity to make it food-friendly. Also like the others, good by itself.

I'm quite impressed with these wines and have more on order, waiting for the summer heat to wane before shipping. I'm also looking forward to see what Sam Bilbro has in the fall release to add my order.

[David M. Bueker]

I'm looking forward to the fall season as well.

[Jenise]

Good title; I'm definitely going to have to find some Idlewild. Sounds like mailing list only at this point or is that simply what an outofstater has to do?

[David M. Bueker]

Pretty small production, though I know Sam does show the wines outside of California.

Winesearcher shows hits in California, New York and New Jersey.

I got into the Idlewild wines following TomHill's tantalizing description of the Arneis. I also obtained:

2012 Idlewild Carignan, Testa Vineyard - Dark berries, hillside bushes, some baking spaces and an appealing juicy tartness. I'd be buying more if it hadn't sold out while tasting through these wines. $32

2013 Grenache Gris, Gibson Ranch Flowery, fruity, spicy, and reminiscent of ESJ Bone-Jolly Rose with its depth and structure. Bright acidity makes it very food friendly for a wide range of dishes - ribs, grilled chicken, seared ahi and even a ribeye from the barbie. 12.9% $28

2013 Vin Gris, Yorkville Highlands Pink grapefruit, summer flowers, melon and a minerally undertone. The lightest of the four wines I had, but not a light-weight performer. As with the others, sufficient acidity to make it food-friendly. Also like the others, good by itself.

I'm quite impressed with these wines and have more on order, waiting for the summer heat to wane before shipping. I'm also looking forward to see what Sam Bilbro has in the fall release to add my order.

Doug,
I may have mentioned this here before but the Grenache Gris is from 140 year old dry-farmed vines in McDowell Valley and, IMO, has the structure to age medium term, at least. I have several shoved in the back of the cellar so we'll see.
Big fan of this winery.
Best, Jim

Good title; I'm definitely going to have to find some Idlewild. Sounds like mailing list only at this point or is that simply what an outofstater has to do?

According to the website, wines are released to the list first. So you could probably order without being on the list, but you would risk some wines selling out before you could order.