2020 Prima Materia Mourvèdre, Red Hills, Lake County
92 Points, Editor’s Choice, Wine Enthusiast
Tasting Notes
Grown at 1800’ elevation on red, obsidian-strewn soil resulting from Mt. Konocti’s volcanic upheaval, our Mourvèdre has the grape’s wildness tamed in a silky, medium-weight package.
Profile: Surprisingly elegant for this grape with clear black cherry fruit and very fine-grained tannin. Mourvèdre is famous for its animal side with gamey notes that include red meat, leather, smoke and herbs, and these are present but in nicely balanced form. Mourvèdre is a super-rugged grape with very thick skins and heat tolerance, so it showed well despite days over 100 degrees and some water stress.
Vineyard: A really unique sloping amphitheater that goes from 2,200’ all the way down to the lake at 1,400. Super steep, rocky, and pretty wild in a way that is perfect for this rugged grape. Lots of rattlesnakes and poison oak as well.
Winemaking: Harvested 10/10/20. Fermented gently in a small tank after destemming for 16 days. No stems were used to preserve maximal aromatics with a clean palate. Wood-basket pressed and then raised in neutral French oak barrels for 20 months without racking. The tannin was surprisingly fine-grained this year, keeping the winemaking straightforward.
Vintage: 2020. What can be said? Chaos, confusion, Covid. After a wet 2019 we were back to drought in northern California’s 2020 vintage and had 56 days at the vineyard hitting 95F or above – quite warm though not quite withering record-breaking heat accumulation of 2021. Ultimately it was a fruit forward vintage, with about 30% lighter crop than average which worked in the favor of tannin ripeness and picking a little earlier with this late-ripening grape.
Label Image: Johann Mylius was a composer, physician, and ardent alchemist. His Philosophia Reformata was a deep dive into what he considered scientific principles. “Here are the components of the secret fire: the fiery water and the watery fire which, excited by the ordinary elemental fire, cause the birds to fly.” Secret fire is the fourth form of fire, external to objects, and an interrelated part of the alchemist’s spirit, a residue of Promethean flame.
Specs
Varietal: 100% Mourvèdre
Appellation: Red Hills, Lake County
French Entav clone
Yield: 4.0 tons per acre
Aged: 20 months in four neutral French oak barrels
No racking until bottling
Unfined, unfiltered, but totally clean and stable
pH: 3.87
TA: 5.6gm/l
Alcohol: 14.1%
Production: 96 cases
What’s Included
3-bottles:
3x 2020 Prima Materia Mourvèdre, Red Hills, Lake County Case:
12x 2020 Prima Materia Mourvèdre, Red Hills, Lake County
Prima Materia Winery grows grapes and crafts wine and food with an Old World voice that celebrates uncommon grapes and their unique histories here in California and abroad.
Prima Materia is the product of two decades spent in vineyards, wineries, and cooking in restaurant kitchens that ranged from Michelin-starred to hamburger consulting. I planted most of Prima Materia’s grapes at 1,450’ of elevation in Lake County’s red volcanic soils, and every bottle hopes to capture a distinctive, Old-World-inflected voice in harmony with California’s vast and evolving wine history. Prima Materia is a bottom-up adventure that begins with digging holes, pounding stakes, and constant time spent in the vineyard. I am proud to work within an ancient agricultural tradition, and that vast, sometimes cyclical history is a central part of Prima Materia’s story and trajectory.
The wines are crafted in criminally small batches of two to ten barrels each. The winemaking and grape growing are intensively hands-on and sustainable, using stems and time, gravity, and buckets, rather than fancy impersonal machinery or mechanized processes. Prima Materia’s wines are unsulfured for much of their lives, allowing them to evolve as living things, and new oak is rarely used. The wines are unfined, unfiltered, hand-harvested, and hand-bottled.
The alchemical theme of Prima Materia is significant both in the vague sense of food and wine alchemy, or the alchemy of agriculture and growth, but also in the Jungian idea of alchemy being the interaction between us and the world we are exploring, both internal and external. Alchemy in this sense is the bold yet humble pursuit of knowledge through wonder, the natural and the personal, and uncovering hidden essences so that eventually art and craft might one day meet.
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, DC, FL, ID, IA, ME, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OK, OR, PA, TX, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations).
2020 Prima Materia Mourvèdre - $60 = 27.26%
2020 Prima Materia Mourvèdre
This past Wednesday I got a notice from UPS of a pending shipment from Wine Country Connect. It was too early for my next shipment to arrive, and a look at the shipping information showed a 5 pound box with a Reference Number of PRIMAMOURVEDRE. A quick search made me fairly certain I would be receiving a 2020 Prima Materia Mourvèdre (the only other year I could find for it was 2013). An email from Alice a bit later confirmed the pending Rat duty. Thursday (and this week in general) was a wonderful relief from the scorching weather we have had since the beginning of summer, and the wine (along with a Casemates glass) arrived late Thursday afternoon at a bottle temperature below 80.
We already had (non-wine-drinking) guests invited for Friday, so I waited until after dinner get to the wine. No capsule or wax, a composite cork (with a different material on the bottom 1/4 inch), bottle at 62 degrees. (Not much use repeating the front picture)
A brilliant ruby red in the glass, very clear, nicely coated the glass with legs.
The primary scent I could detect (perhaps a bit muted as I had a recent bout with COVID and lost taste & smell) was cherry (my wife thought there could be some cranberry). The palate was very black cherry, good acidity, very tasty from front to back. As the wine warmed I picked up some more spices, and perhaps a bit of a floral character. I haven’t had a lot of pure mourvèdre (I know I have had some Juan Gil Monastrell Jumilla in the past, I and found this wine to be much more enjoyable). It seemed very drinkable without food. I noticed the winery price is around $35 and thought that a Casemates case price might come in at $15-18 (and noticed the $13.33 this morning).
I left the corked bottle on the counter to revisit tomorrow (perhaps with an appropriate food).
The bottle held up well for day 2. After yesterday I got lamb on my mind, and pulled a boneless lamb leg our of the freezer, and when thawed put in garlic slivers, and a rub with rosemary, thyme, garlic, salt and pepper. Cooked on the grill (a slow charcoal chain with wood chunks along the path). It went well with the wine, which was perhaps a bit smoother then yesterday, and still very enjoyable.
I am teetering on the brink of ordering vs. my overflowing storage. Decisions, decisions.
@GatorFL If the delivery window is accurate, getting closer to shipping south. I’ll start thinking about shipping Nov 1 in southeast SC, more comfortable later in the month.
92 Points. Editors’ Choice.
This varietal Mourvedre expresses itself elegantly with its fine-grained tannic texture, lovely acidic backbone and lengthy finish. Find aromas of red and black cherry, red and black plum, roses, basil and tarragon. The palate confirms the nose and adds to it well-integrated oak notes of nutmeg, clove and toast. — Stacy Briscoe 9/1/23
This winery has had offers the the last two BerserkerDays, positive chatter about their wines on the board.
I have to start off by saying this one was hard to review because it took me a minute to pin down what I was tasting. This was the first Mourvèdre I’ve had, so I didn’t know what to expect. I had the bottle last night over dinner with some friends, and it was so good I was planning on picking up a case. Then this morning I see it doesn’t ship to Connecticut…sigh. I’m glad I was able to rat it so I could enjoy at least a bottle of it!
After opening the bottle and pouring a glass the aroma reminded me of something fruity with a little heat. The first sip tasted of cherry and a little, ever so slight, hint of smoke. But where the magic happened was after swallowing. It was an explosion of taste. There were some tannins, but nothing puckering. It stood up to food (we had lighter fare), but all agreed it would go well with a steak. It was complex, but something about it was familiar and it was driving me crazy that I couldn’t put my finger on what it was.
It had a good amount of legs, and on a whim we decided to put what remained in the bottle in the fridge for a bit as we finished our first glass. As it sat in our glasses we got a hint of black pepper. Each sniff I took made me want to take another sip. As it continued to breathe I got an ever so slight hint of alcohol on the nose and on the palate.
We pulled the bottle out of the fridge and filled our glasses with what remained. It was really great chilled, and we all agreed it would make a great wine to bring on a picnic. But this was when it hit me what the wine reminded me of, port! We joked it was a port light! We had some chocolate crepes for dessert and the wine went amazing with this, which made sense!
It’s not dry, and not sweet, but it had legs for inches, so the sugar must be there balancing everything out. (The closest thing we could compare it to was a Syrah). This one was phenomenal.
What’s with all of the interesting varietals all of a sudden? Not sure I’ve ever bought two different cases in a week, but can’t let this one slip through my fingers…
Thanks all for the feedback. This Mourvèdre is technically dry at .7gm/L residual sugar, but for us all of the 2020 wines had a real sense of fruit sweetness due to the warm vintage, here it made for a nice drinkability!
@InFrom Unfortunately there are some shipping challenges with Ct. between registration fees, label fees, sales tax, crazy high excise tax, and monthly reporting even if nothing ships, plus a big fee to collect sales tax and a bond!
Well, the reviews have convinced me, sounds like a good one to have on hand as the holidays approach. I’ve never had this as a pure varietal, so very much looking forward to it. Appropriate order number, too!
/giphy reverent-tasteful-addition
Eek… was going to buy after thinking about it since yesterday. But cases Sold Out!?? Any chance we can get some re-appropriated into the case quantity?
I got my case and opened the first bottle yesterday and have never had this experience before. The first sip both days was a bad experience, almost a vinegary sensation,like this was going to be a bad wine.
Paired with food it was fine. I don’t get the Port comparison yet, probably if it ages some more though yeah.
I get leather and like others say black cherry is good to think about on how to enjoy it more.
This is NOT a sipping wine to bring to a party. It must be paired with food.
I think this would have blended well with a syrah instead of by itself.
2020 Prima Materia Mourvèdre, Red Hills, Lake County
92 Points, Editor’s Choice, Wine Enthusiast
Tasting Notes
Specs
What’s Included
3-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
Not for sale online, $432/case MSRP
About The Winery
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, DC, FL, ID, IA, ME, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OK, OR, PA, TX, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Monday, Oct 9 - Tuesday, Oct 10
2020 Prima Materia Mourvèdre
3 bottles for $54.99 $18.33/bottle + $2.67/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $159.99 $13.33/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations).
2020 Prima Materia Mourvèdre - $60 = 27.26%
Damn. Nice price. Love the grape. I’m actually drinking a 2010 mourvèdre from tablas Creek right now.
Only 96 cases produced! This will sell out if we get a couple good rat reports and some vintner participation.
2020 Prima Materia Mourvèdre
This past Wednesday I got a notice from UPS of a pending shipment from Wine Country Connect. It was too early for my next shipment to arrive, and a look at the shipping information showed a 5 pound box with a Reference Number of PRIMAMOURVEDRE. A quick search made me fairly certain I would be receiving a 2020 Prima Materia Mourvèdre (the only other year I could find for it was 2013). An email from Alice a bit later confirmed the pending Rat duty. Thursday (and this week in general) was a wonderful relief from the scorching weather we have had since the beginning of summer, and the wine (along with a Casemates glass) arrived late Thursday afternoon at a bottle temperature below 80.
We already had (non-wine-drinking) guests invited for Friday, so I waited until after dinner get to the wine. No capsule or wax, a composite cork (with a different material on the bottom 1/4 inch), bottle at 62 degrees.
(Not much use repeating the front picture)
A brilliant ruby red in the glass, very clear, nicely coated the glass with legs.
The primary scent I could detect (perhaps a bit muted as I had a recent bout with COVID and lost taste & smell) was cherry (my wife thought there could be some cranberry). The palate was very black cherry, good acidity, very tasty from front to back. As the wine warmed I picked up some more spices, and perhaps a bit of a floral character. I haven’t had a lot of pure mourvèdre (I know I have had some Juan Gil Monastrell Jumilla in the past, I and found this wine to be much more enjoyable). It seemed very drinkable without food. I noticed the winery price is around $35 and thought that a Casemates case price might come in at $15-18 (and noticed the $13.33 this morning).
I left the corked bottle on the counter to revisit tomorrow (perhaps with an appropriate food).
@Mark_L $15-$18 was also my guess!
The bottle held up well for day 2. After yesterday I got lamb on my mind, and pulled a boneless lamb leg our of the freezer, and when thawed put in garlic slivers, and a rub with rosemary, thyme, garlic, salt and pepper. Cooked on the grill (a slow charcoal chain with wood chunks along the path). It went well with the wine, which was perhaps a bit smoother then yesterday, and still very enjoyable.
I am teetering on the brink of ordering vs. my overflowing storage. Decisions, decisions.
This sounds amazing, I wish it were cooler out.
@GatorFL If the delivery window is accurate, getting closer to shipping south. I’ll start thinking about shipping Nov 1 in southeast SC, more comfortable later in the month.
@GatorFL @Winedavid49 This still ships 2 day?
WE says:
92 Points. Editors’ Choice.
This varietal Mourvedre expresses itself elegantly with its fine-grained tannic texture, lovely acidic backbone and lengthy finish. Find aromas of red and black cherry, red and black plum, roses, basil and tarragon. The palate confirms the nose and adds to it well-integrated oak notes of nutmeg, clove and toast. — Stacy Briscoe 9/1/23
This winery has had offers the the last two BerserkerDays, positive chatter about their wines on the board.
fwiw
@kaolis A little The Wine Write interview with Pietro here
@kaolis I quite liked their previous zin offer.
@CorTot @kaolis Yeah, I had one of the 2018/19 NV Zins a couple weeks ago. These guys are making the kind of wine I like.
I have to start off by saying this one was hard to review because it took me a minute to pin down what I was tasting. This was the first Mourvèdre I’ve had, so I didn’t know what to expect. I had the bottle last night over dinner with some friends, and it was so good I was planning on picking up a case. Then this morning I see it doesn’t ship to Connecticut…sigh. I’m glad I was able to rat it so I could enjoy at least a bottle of it!
After opening the bottle and pouring a glass the aroma reminded me of something fruity with a little heat. The first sip tasted of cherry and a little, ever so slight, hint of smoke. But where the magic happened was after swallowing. It was an explosion of taste. There were some tannins, but nothing puckering. It stood up to food (we had lighter fare), but all agreed it would go well with a steak. It was complex, but something about it was familiar and it was driving me crazy that I couldn’t put my finger on what it was.
It had a good amount of legs, and on a whim we decided to put what remained in the bottle in the fridge for a bit as we finished our first glass. As it sat in our glasses we got a hint of black pepper. Each sniff I took made me want to take another sip. As it continued to breathe I got an ever so slight hint of alcohol on the nose and on the palate.
We pulled the bottle out of the fridge and filled our glasses with what remained. It was really great chilled, and we all agreed it would make a great wine to bring on a picnic. But this was when it hit me what the wine reminded me of, port! We joked it was a port light! We had some chocolate crepes for dessert and the wine went amazing with this, which made sense!
It’s not dry, and not sweet, but it had legs for inches, so the sugar must be there balancing everything out. (The closest thing we could compare it to was a Syrah). This one was phenomenal.
Rats tipped me over on this one. In for a case.
What’s with all of the interesting varietals all of a sudden? Not sure I’ve ever bought two different cases in a week, but can’t let this one slip through my fingers…
/giphy fluent-voluptuous-flag
Thanks all for the feedback. This Mourvèdre is technically dry at .7gm/L residual sugar, but for us all of the 2020 wines had a real sense of fruit sweetness due to the warm vintage, here it made for a nice drinkability!
@PrimaMateria For our Connecticut Labrat: is it true that this can’t be shipped to the Nutmeg State?
@InFrom Unfortunately there are some shipping challenges with Ct. between registration fees, label fees, sales tax, crazy high excise tax, and monthly reporting even if nothing ships, plus a big fee to collect sales tax and a bond!
Well, the reviews have convinced me, sounds like a good one to have on hand as the holidays approach. I’ve never had this as a pure varietal, so very much looking forward to it. Appropriate order number, too!
/giphy reverent-tasteful-addition
/giphy duly-willowy-wood
Mmmmmmourvedre . . .
No MA either
I have way too much wine but this is tempting. No GA saved me from myself.
Could not resist as this is one of my favs. Second case in two weeks. Yikes.
@ttboy23 hmmm…
Eek… was going to buy after thinking about it since yesterday. But cases Sold Out!?? Any chance we can get some re-appropriated into the case quantity?
@pmarin I just checked, both sizes are available atm.
I’ve been tempted to get a 3-pack since the sale went live. FOMO may inspire action sooner rather than later.
@InFrom if it tips the scale for you, I would take one. (But if you want all 3 for yourself, no worries!)
@longtones No, that will do it! (Enabler!)
@longtones I’ll be in touch!
/giphy primo-cynical-space
Rats & FOMO got me!
/giphy predominant-aboard-wilderness
I got my case and opened the first bottle yesterday and have never had this experience before. The first sip both days was a bad experience, almost a vinegary sensation,like this was going to be a bad wine.
Paired with food it was fine. I don’t get the Port comparison yet, probably if it ages some more though yeah.
I get leather and like others say black cherry is good to think about on how to enjoy it more.
This is NOT a sipping wine to bring to a party. It must be paired with food.
I think this would have blended well with a syrah instead of by itself.