Tried these two new Drew's last night:
1.Drew PinotNoir BaloVnyds/AndersonVlly (7 acre organiv vnyd; 50% w-c; 1.8 tons/acre; 13.5%) 2013: Med.light color; rather bright cherry/PN/cherry pie some earthy/dusty very light oak/pencilly classic AV PN nose; very tart/acid/grapefruity/tangy bright cherry/cherry pie/PN some earthy/dusty rather lean/eviscerated/austere/screechy flavor w/ modest lean/bitey tannins; med.long very tart/lean/eviscerated/austere/shrill bright cherry/PN/cherry pie finish w/ modest/bitey/green tannins; has plenty of flavor but very shrill/screechy/austere on the palate; on the palate like running your fingernails down a chalkboard (anybody remember what a chalkboard is?); may do something w/ age but it's a gamble. $40.00
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2. Drew Syrah PerliVnyd/MendoRidge (13.7%; 30% w-c; 5% Viognier co-frmtd; 1.8 tons/acre) 2013: Very dark color; very strong blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah some earthy/forest floor/piney light peppery/herbal light smokey/oak lovely nose; quite tart/screechy/grapefruity/tangy some blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/spicy bit peppery/herbal/thyme/RCCola light pencilly/oak rather lean/pinched/eviscerated flavor w/ some bitey/astringent tannins; long some blackberry/Syrah/boysenberry/cranberry very tart/tangy/austere/grapefruity/screechy light pencilly/oak finish w/ ample bitey/astringent/green tannins; quite an interesting/attractive Syrah on the nose but very lean/screechy/eviscerated on the palate; one can only hope that age will help. $45.00
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. JasonDrew is a card-caring member of the IPoB crowd. These two wines capture all the worst qualities of the IPoB mevement and the kind of wines that make Monktown attourneys post frothing-at-the-mouth rants. The wines were were so screechily acidic that they were painful to drink. They were wines that I'd hardly call "in balance" because of their high acidity. They were "in balance" if you only look at the alcohol levels..but that's not the sole criteria for the IPoB crowd. I'd like to ask Raj or Jasmine, to their face, if they actually think these wines are "in balance". I certainly don't think so. The only redeeming feature of these wines is that age, because of the high acidity, may bring these into balance and reveal some very interesting wines. But it's a gamble that only us nut-cases are willing to make. I really liked the aromas and the flavoers of these two wines, but for now, these two wines are pretty painful to drink.
The Drew Fog-Eater MendoRidge PN '13 that I had a week ago was much better drinking and "in balance" on the palate, if a bit less interesting.
Tom