We tasted last week at Pig+Fig some Donkey & Goat orange/red wines:
1. Donkey&Goat Stone Crusher Skin Frmt Roussanne ElDorado (11.8%; U/U; 224 cs) 2022: Med.dark golden quite hazy color; strong phenolic/skin-contact/bit resinous slight floral/Rouss/honeysuckle some pencilly some complex nose; fairly tart strong phenolic/resinous/skin-contact light floral/Rouss rather austere bit complex flavor w/ modest tannic bite; very long skin-contact finish that tracks flavor; not a lot of Rouss fruit & dominated by the skin-contact character; a wine that badly needs age & should/may be a wonderful wine in 5-10 yrs. $42.00
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2. Donkey&Goat Ramato PinotGris FiligreenFarm/AndersonVlly (12%; U/U; 298 cs; Frmtd on skins 7 days) 2022: Light garnet/orange/cranberry rather cloudy/hazy color; some phenolic/skin-contact bit apple cider strong cranberry/floral/rose petal rather fragrant fairlt fragrant attractive nose; bit tart fairly phenolic/skin-contact bit apple cidery light floral/PG/ramato/rose petal bit complex flavor w/ light tannic bite; med.long lightly tannic finish that tracks flavor; a bit on the austere side but a pretty classis PG ramato like many from Friuli; will be much better in 4-8 yrs. $35.00
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3. Donkey & Goat The Bear Fenaughty & Lightner Vnyds Eldorado RW (12.2%; Counoise Blend; U/U; 398 cs; www.DonkeyAndGoat.com) Berkeley 2019: Med.dark color; very attractive floral/cherry/strawberry classic Counoise bit earthy/dusty/OV quite pretty perfumed nose; fairy tart/tangy strong cherry/strawberry/Counoise slight tannic/bitey rather pretty bit russtic flavor w/ light bitey tannins; med.long bit peppery/austere bit tannic/bitey finish that tracks flavor; a lightweight very pretty classic rustic/Counoise. $42.00
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4. Donkey&Goat Mourvedre Twinkle Calif (12.1%; U/U; 156 cs) 2023: Med.dark color; strong plummy/Mourv/bit blackberry bit earthy/dusty/OV slight pencilly/oak quite attractive nose; bit soft some rich/lush strong plummy/Mourv/bit peppery some earthy/dusty light pencilly/oak bit austere/coarse flavor w/ light rough tannins; long plummy/Mourv finish that tracks flavor; a rather rustic expression of Mourv w/o the somewhat soft/soupy character it often shows; probably will benefit from several yrs age. $30.00
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5. Donkey&Goat Cabernet Pfeffer SilettoVnyd/SanBenitoCnty (12.2%; U/U; 219 cs) 2022: Rather light color; some earthy/dusty/OV rather herbal/CabFranc-like/bit peppery slight SanBenito/jammy/grapey slight pencilly/oak bit SouthFrance/rustic rather interesting nose; lightly tart fairly lightweight bit herbal/peppery slight CabFranc-like some earthy/dusty/OV bit SanBenito/jammy/grapey flavor w/ light rustic tannins; very long finish that follows flavor; a somewhat Cabernet/CabFranc-like character w/ an interesting peppery character; speaks stongly of SanBenito/grapey character; quite an interesting if lightweight red. $38.00
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6. Donkey&Goat Syrah FenaughtyVnyd/ElDoradoCnty (13.8%; U/U; 149 cs) 2020: Very dark color; very strong blackberry/blueberry/Syrah/bit peppery light pencilly/oak/toasty some earthy/mushroomy/ElDorado bit rustic/earthy interesting nose; lightly tart fairly rich/lush strong ElDorado/mushroomy/earthy/dusty/loamy some blackberry/blueberry/Syrah classic ElDorado Syrah bit rustic flavor w/ light bit rough/drying tannins; fairly long/lingering rustic/earthy Syrah finish that tracks flavor; quite an interesting expression of Calif Syrah and shows a strong earthy/mushroomy/truffly ElDorado character; needs 4-8 yrs of age; a sort of a rough&tumble/rustic expression of Calif Syrah. $40.00
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More donkerbahh from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. Founded in 2004. I first met Tracy & Jared Brandt when they first showed their first vintage at a FtMason RhoneRangers tasting. I liked their wines quite a lot. But I was most struck by their passion for making Calif Rhône wines. They eventually parted ways & now Jared primarily runs D&G. They were inspired to make Rhône wines from working w/ Eric Texier, one of the Rhône's premier winemakers. They were one of the first in Calif to make a skin-contact Roussane orange wine.
The D&G wines are all "natural" wines. Natural wines can be a mixed bag, ranging from "interesting" to downright dreadful/undrinkable... natty/funky/mousey. I am happy to report that all these wines were perfectly clean w/ no trace whatsoever of natty character. I would have to say that Jared is one of the few winemakers who has mastered the natural genre.
I had not tried the D&G wines for a number of yrs and thought it was time to revisit them. I'm glad I did. They're not as intense/polished as many Calif Rhones and have a sort of rustic character to them but I would put D&G in one of the first tier of Calif Rhones.
Tom