WTN: Good wine gone bad

[David M. Bueker]

• 2021 Idlewild Flora & Fauna Red - USA, California, North Coast, Mendocino County (2/3/2024)
  Been through several bottles of the 2021 vintage of what was once my favorite California “red wine” blend. It has calmed down from its overly spiky youth, but it has no depth. I don’t know the blend of this vintage, but it seems as though the Barbera has taken a back seat, and with it so has the fruit and depth. This is thin on flavor, high on acid, and just no fun to drink. There was no wine I drank more of than this one from 2014-2020, but I’m done. They have taken this wine in a direction I don’t want to follow. (78 pts.)

[Jenise]

We didn't plan to have wine last night but curious about your note and my inventory issues, as mentioned to you elsewhere, I decided to pop a cork on this guy. I opened one of these shortly after delivery, found it too grapey, and haven't had any other vintages. Anyway, without knowing precisely what you hoped for, I wonder if you didn't have one of those inexplicably bad bottles. This was NOT thin on flavor, and the barbera was out in front. So was some unfortunately sour lactic notes that I didn't like, and there was a streak of starchy, hay-like non-fruit flavor about four layers down, but it wasn't as bad as I expected. I recorked and put in the fridge for another day--it needs pizza or spaghetti in a red sauce.

[David M. Bueker]

Problem is I am five bottles into a ten bottle buy, and they have been different shades of unenjoyable.

[Jenise]

Well, that's the part where I couldn't know exactly what you were expecting. I'll put my remaining two bottles aside for 2-3 years out, see what happens.

[Jenise]

So today, two days later, we had spaghetti with red sauce and pulled the cork again on this one. It had been refrigerated and sealed with a Vac-u-vin. And the results? Awful. Not just grapey, but oxidation's setting in. After a few sips, we dumped it on the rhododendrons. You were 100% right. There's nothing here to wait for.

[David M. Bueker]

I think Sam has become way too fascinated with using every grape he can plant, instead of focusing on making good wine. Perhaps there is also an influence from his partner in crime who makes “natural” wines from Italian grapes. Either way, it makes culling one more list a very easy (if sad) decision. He wines used to be so good!