Hug 2007 Mourvédre Santa Barbara Highlands
Hug 2007 Mourvedre
by Haydn Adams | Beyond Napa Valley Wine Blog
Appalachian: Santa Barbara
Alc: 14.1%
Haydn gives it: 84pts
Mourvédre’s had their day in the sun, but today they are relatively unknown. Chances are probably great that you’ve had a Mourvédre before, but the name wasn’t on the bottle. More times than not this varietal shows up with it’s two other compradres in the rhone blend, Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre. The Mourvédre is a beefy grape, with some strong characteristic. So I was jazzed when I discovered Hug Cellars producing a single varietal Mourvédre coming out of Paso Robles.
The age of this wine is very clear from the very first pour. On the appearance scale, we’re talking light ruby to indigo/violet. This dear young one just got into the bottle. The reddish tones were there but the violet/purple tones made it known it was a very young wine. I’m curious to know how long ago this wine was bottled.
The nose showcased wonderful tones of deep fruit, blackberries and plum. There was also a little bit of spice on the nose, which came out quite pronounced on the inital whiff.
While the nose was delightful, the palate didn’t fair so well. All of the aromas came through on the mid-palate but they bounced around on the tongue like someone shook up the wine like they way Champagne is shaken up before uncorked during a celebration. The wine felt like it was still in bottle shock. Two theories for this. 1) The wine was just bottled maybe a month or two ago or 2) California Overnight, the shipping company, pulled a Jimmy Carrey in Ace Venture Pet Detective and played soccer with the packaging. Ok, so maybe I’m going a bit too far, but it could have come from too much movement in shipping.
The silverlining? After two days of it sitting completely still, the wine did soften. The tastes were still bouncing around, but with less movement. I could detect more of a pronounced plum tone with a mixture of some sort of spice.
Overall, I could see this wine shining in a few months. Very low tannins for an ’07, it has a lot of potential. I gave it 84 pts due to it having possible bottle shock, and I’m looking forward to trying it again in the late summer when it has time to nap in the cellar.
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Haydn Adams is the author of the book, Wineries Beyond Napa Valley: Dry Creek and Alexander Valley, an insider’s tasting guide to the hidden gems region. He also contributes to the Beyond Napa Valley Wine Blog, writes for vinvillage.com, and can be found roaming the hills of Sonoma County looking for the next hidden gems. You can contact him at haydn@beyondnapavalley.com
