< Tasting Notes

Wines for July
- July 2026

Cancer Fire Horse Time!!

(**NOTE - Links are embedded in each winemaker’s names to direct you to their respective websites. Know thy vintner!**)

DEUX PUNX 'Cowgirl' Orange Chardonnay 2024 * Russian River Valley, Sonoma, California
Dan Schaaf and Aaron Olson founded Deux Punx in 2008 as two wine-addicted, ex-punks determined to make wine that refused convention. They operate out of Punk Dog Wineries, a shared warehouse space in Napa's River East neighborhood, embracing the minimalist and experimental style of winemaking that attracted them to wine in the first place. Their philosophy is straightforward: don't screw with the vineyard. All wines undergo native fermentation, minimal sulfur additions, neutral oak aging, and ambient temperature fermentation. They enlist artist friends to create their labels, resulting in unique, quirky artwork paired with quality juice. As they say: "Deux Punx isn't wine for trends or trophies. It's wine with a pulse." Dan is the punk. Kayne is the un-punk. The clash between noise and restraint, chaos and clarity, is what makes these wines what they are. Wine is meant to be shared and enjoyed, not cellared and ignored.

This orange Chardonnay comes from the 2024 vintage, a new site called River Road Vineyard in Russian River Valley planted on sandy loam soils. The grapes were 100% destemmed and fermented on the skins for approximately three weeks, then pressed and aged in neutral oak for eight months. This is Deux Punx at their most playful: a wine that defies easy categorization. It's zippy, textured, and wide awake. Bursting with citrus peel, apricot, and tart apple skin, layered with chamomile, white tea, and spice notes. The palate has real presence, dense and structured, with bright acidity keeping it lifted and alive. A gentle almond note creeps in on the finish, adding warmth. The winery describes this as a turning point: more precision, more weight, and more character. Raw and textural, but with sharper edges and a deeper core. There's a tension to it that reveals raw and unfined qualities.

NERD ALERT!! - Orange wine—sometimes called amber wine—results from fermenting white grapes with extended skin contact, a technique predating the separation of white and red winemaking. The three-week maceration here pulls color, tannin, and texture from skins while preserving the grape's natural acidity. This defies wine categorization: it's neither white, nor rosé, nor red, nor orange in the traditional sense. Deux Punx's refusal to categorize matches the wine itself. Working in neutral oak preserves the fruit's essence rather than imposing oak character. The wine's low alcohol and high acidity make it food-friendly and sessionable, ideal for situations where you want wine that doesn't demand attention but rewards it when given.

Grape(s) - 100% Chardonnay

Flavors - Citrus peel, apricot, tart apple skin, chamomile, white tea, spice. Dense and structured with bright acidity. Gentle almond on the finish. Unfiltered, unfined, raw. Fresh on the surface, quietly complex underneath.

Serving - This wine's tension and texture work beautifully with grilled vegetables, fish preparations with citrus, or lighter poultry dishes. The white tea and chamomile notes suggest pairing with cuisine featuring herbs and floral elements. Chill it slightly for warm weather drinking, or serve at room temperature for deeper appreciation. The wine's personality makes it perfect for casual gathering where you want something interesting without pretense.

Album Pairing - TALKING HEADS - ‘More Songs About Buildings and Food’ - 1978 * Post-punk pioneers who refused to fit into any established box, Talking Heads embodied the same spirit as Deux Punx: playful yet serious, experimental yet accessible, refusing safe choices. Dan is the punk, Kayne is the un-punk—the same tension that defines Talking Heads' interplay of David Byrne's neurotic precision against the band's joyful chaos. The album title itself—about everyday subjects elevated to art—mirrors how Deux Punx takes a simple orange wine and creates something that demands attention precisely because it refuses categorization. Both embrace irreverence alongside genuine craft. Both prove that art isn't compromised by fun; it's elevated by it. The album's synth-driven post-punk energy matches this orange Chardonnay's energetic texture. Both are about refusing bullshit while maintaining artistic integrity. Talking Heads' "Don't Worry About The Government" and "Thank You For Sending Me An Angel" capture the same spirit as a wine that exists for no reason other than because the winemakers wanted to make it exactly this way. Neither apologizes for what it is.

RONSEL DO SIL 'Vel’uveyra' Mencia 2024 * Ribeira Sacra, Galicia, Spain
María José Yravedra is an architect by training who studied viticulture and winemaking at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid while writing her doctoral thesis on wine architecture. She and her husband purchased a small, dilapidated winery with century-old vineyards on the banks of the Sil Canyon in Ribeira Sacra, one of the world's most extreme grape-growing regions. Vineyards there cling to treacherously steep terraces built by ancient Romans called bancales, ranging from 300 to 700 meters above sea level. All pruning, maintenance, and harvest are carried out by hand on these historic terraces. María José works with old vines of native grapes, practicing natural farming and biodynamic principles she describes as "heroic" viticulture—a sincere balance with nature through love and compromise. She composts each year with gorse from pruning remains, and sheep graze the vineyards annually. The cellar itself is built into a hill by the Sil River, using gravity instead of pumps to transfer wine into old wood barrels and concrete tanks. She produces around 45,000 bottles annually from ten hectares. Ronsel do Sil is named for the wake that passing boats leave on the Sil River.

Vel'uveyra means "to gaze at the vineyard" in the local Galego dialect. This blend comes from estate's steep terraced vines ranging from ten to sixty years old, picked at various altitudes from granitic soils. The grapes undergo cold pre-fermentation soaking before fermenting spontaneously in large 5,000-liter oak foudres, then age eight months in concrete before bottling. The result shows the Mencia variety's characteristic spicy dark fruit on the nose with hints of white pepper and brambly fruit. Medium body with remarkable clarity and a dark core showing blue/purple color with watery edge. The wine has the Syrah-like character typical of Mencia at its best, fresh on the palate with good acidity. At just 12% ABV, this is a wine meant for impromptu moments, light enough to vanish yet serious enough to linger. The wine's delicacy belies its heroic origins on near-vertical terraces where every grape was fought for by hand.

NERD ALERT!! - Ribeira Sacra's terraced vineyards represent some of humanity's oldest winemaking infrastructure. The Romans built bancales—terraces—that remain structurally sound nearly 2,000 years later, a testament to engineering brilliance and labor intensity. Mencia is a noble Spanish grape gaining international recognition, though it remains relatively rare outside Spain. The variety's high natural acidity and mineral character express cool-climate terroir beautifully. The combination of granitic soils, cool Sil River influence, and extreme altitude creates wines with remarkable freshness despite their age-worthiness. María José's use of concrete tanks for aging represents a conscious choice: concrete, unlike oak, doesn't impart flavor, allowing the terroir and variety to speak without interference. The wine's 12% alcohol reflects careful harvesting at optimal ripeness without overripening—a balance requiring intimate knowledge of each vineyard site.

Grape(s) - 85% Mencia, 10% Garnacha, 5% Negreda

Flavors - Spicy dark fruit, white pepper, brambly fruit. Medium body with clarity and dark core. Blue/purple with watery edge. Fresh palate with good acidity. Syrah-like character with elegance despite cool-climate ripening.

Serving - The wine's structure and spice pair beautifully with grilled meats, particularly Spanish preparations like chorizo or Galician-style seafood. The brambly fruit and white pepper notes complement roasted mushrooms or herb-forward dishes. The acidity cuts through rich sauces while the medium body prevents overwhelming lighter preparations. Serve slightly chilled to enhance the wine's refreshing quality, or at room temperature for deeper appreciation of spice complexity.

Album Pairing - PJ HARVEY – ‘Dry’ - 1992 * María José's heroic viticulture—a sincere balance with nature through love and compromise on treacherously steep terraces—finds its musical counterpart in PJ Harvey's sparse, heroic approach to songcraft. Dry is an album built on difficult terrain, sparse arrangements that demand your attention, and an uncompromising artistic vision. Harvey's guitar work evokes Spanish landscapes ("Written on the Forehead," "Dress"), and the album's overall aesthetic mirrors the architecture of Ribeira Sacra: ancient, extreme, shaped by human will and natural force simultaneously. Both represent women working in male-dominated domains while maintaining uncompromising visions. Both channel difficulty into beauty. Harvey's willingness to make uncomfortable music mirrors María José's insistence on farming vineyards that most would abandon. The album's lean instrumentation—Harvey's vocals, guitar, percussion—leaves no place to hide, just as these terraced vineyards leave no place to hide inferior fruit or lazy viticulture. Both Dry and Vel'uveyra demand patience and reward it with unexpected depth.

DOMAINE DEVEVEY ‘Champs Perdrix’ 2022 * Hautes Côtes de Beaune, Burgundy, France
Jean-Yves Devevey is a farmer's farmer, in it for the passion rather than self-promotion. He operates eight hectares spread across the Côte de Beaune, Hautes Côtes de Beaune, and Côte Chalonnaise, farming organically and working with meticulous attention to detail in both vineyard and cellar. His goal is always to get the finished product to taste the way the fruit does in the field, freshly picked from the vine. He hand harvests everything, ferments at ambient temperatures using spontaneous fermentation, and ages in neutral French oak plus sur lie, letting the wine develop complexity without imposing oak influence. The vineyard Champs Perdrix sits at the top of the hill in Nantoux, planted in 1991 on thin soil with substantial chalk and hardly any clay. The name comes not from partridges but from "Peillerix," referencing pierreux (rocky) soil. Devevey works with growers who farm clean, adding nothing, tweaking nothing, dressing nothing up. If the site is right and the picking is right, nothing needs adjustment.

This 2022 Chardonnay comes from a vineyard at high elevation on distinctly chalky, rocky soils. The fruit was hand harvested, fermented with ambient temperature and native yeasts in neutral French oak, then aged sur lie with no battonage. The resulting wine shows remarkable brightness and precision. Pale yellow with golden reflections, the nose is intense with notes of fresh citrus, toasted almonds, and a woody touch. The palate shows lively fresh attack with beautiful tension, vanilla and butter notes harmoniously blending with citrus and dried fruit. The finish is long and persistent. The wine drinks beautifully now with its crystalline precision yet shows the aging potential typical of quality Burgundy from chalky soils. There's nothing pretentious here—just clarity, precision, and the sense that every element was considered and nothing was wasted.

NERD ALERT!! - The Hautes Côtes de Beaune sits above the famous Côte de Beaune, often overlooked but producing wines of remarkable quality at lower price points. The thin soils and chalk create wines with exceptional minerality and tension. Devevey's choice of neutral oak allows the terroir to shine rather than imposing oak character. Sur lie aging—leaving the wine in contact with dead yeast cells—adds creaminess and complexity without new oak influence. The ambient temperature fermentation means fermentation happens as nature dictates, not at precise laboratory temperatures. This requires trust in the fruit and the process. Hand harvesting and selection mean only the best fruit reaches the cellar. These choices—all about restraint, trust, and clarity—define natural winemaking not as a trend but as a philosophy rooted in respect for terroir.

Grape(s) - 100% Chardonnay

Flavors - Fresh citrus, toasted almonds, woody notes. Lively fresh attack with beautiful tension. Vanilla, butter, citrus, dried fruit. Long, persistent finish. Pale yellow with golden reflections.

Serving - This wine's bright acidity and mineral character make it exceptional with oysters, grilled fish, or seafood preparations. The citrus notes complement lighter poultry dishes, while the tension works beautifully with aged hard cheeses. The wine's tension and precision prevent it from overwhelming delicate preparations while its weight handles richer sauces. Serve slightly cool to enhance the mineral character, or at room temperature for deeper appreciation of the wine's textural complexity.

Album Pairing - BILL CALLAHAN – ‘Apocalypse’- 2011 * Jean-Yves Devevey is a farmer's farmer, working with understated mastery, letting the work speak for itself without self-promotion. Bill Callahan's Apocalypse embodies exactly that aesthetic: sparse arrangements, deep listening required, the conviction that less is more when executed with absolute precision. Callahan recorded much of this album in isolation, selecting instruments and approaches based solely on what the song needed, nothing more. Devevey approaches his Chardonnay the same way: what does the fruit need? What does the site express? What's unnecessary? Both artists share a commitment to restraint as a form of mastery. Callahan's understated delivery and carefully chosen words mirror Devevey's belief that the wine should taste like fruit in the field—no manipulation, no show, just clarity and truth. Both refuse to explain themselves or seek validation. Both prove that the most powerful expressions often come from knowing what to leave out. Callahan's "Drover" and "The Rococo Zither" capture the same spirit as this wine: patience required, rewards immeasurable.

OSA MAJOR ‘Mataro’ Mourvèdre 2024 * Clarksburg, Sacramento Valley, California
Emily Fernwood is a native of the California Bay Area who spent years after college traveling and working harvest gigs around the world, from California and Oregon to Australia and New Zealand. She graduated in 2018 from UC Davis's Viticulture and Enology Master's program alongside other innovative winemakers. Recognizing that the time felt right to return home and explore California's incredible geological and historical diversity, she founded Osa Major Wines in 2020 as a true one-woman operation—from trucking grapes to selling bottles and everything in between. Her philosophy centers on exploring a lighter and brighter side of California winemaking, defying expectations about what certain grapes can express. From vineyard to cellar, winemaking is the act of finding balance between controlling nature's chaotic tendencies and allowing the marvel of growth and fermentation to lead. Every year, every vineyard, and every fermentation is a glimpse into an infinite number of small miracles. Osa Major's wines are dynamic, friendly expressions made with a fair and modern approach—wine for drinking and sharing, not collecting.

This Mourvèdre comes from Clarksburg, where Emily chose to treat the grapes in ways unconventional for the variety. Most Mourvèdre wines are dense and tannic, but Emily employs cool fermentation and gentle cap management similar to how she would handle Pinot Noir, resulting in an elegant, perfumed expression. The grape's dark fruit and structure remain, but the cool fermentation preserves aromatics and delicacy typically associated with lighter varieties. The result is a wine that bucks expectations: approachable and elegant despite the grape's notorious difficulty. The color shows beautiful ruby with youthful character. The palate reveals dark fruit with spice and subtle tannins, a wine you can enjoy now yet with enough structure to age gracefully. At its core, this is a wine made entirely on Emily's terms, refusing convention while honoring the grape's inherent qualities.

NERD ALERT!! - Mourvèdre (also called Mataro or Monastrell depending on region) arrived in California during the 1860s as part of the Pellier collection but was primarily used for bulk jug wine production. In the 1980s and 90s, the Rhone Rangers began seeking out old-vine plantings, and critical acclaim from winemakers like Bonny Doon and Cline Cellars elevated Mouvedre's status. Today, fewer than 1,000 acres are planted statewide. Treating Mourvèdre like Pinot Noir—using cool fermentation to preserve aromatic lift and delicacy—represents an experimental approach that challenges conventions about what varieties "should" be. Emily's choice reflects the natural wine movement's core philosophy: listen to the vintage, the vineyard, the grapes, and make decisions accordingly rather than following predetermined templates.

Grape(s) - 100% Mourvèdre/Mataro

Flavors - Dark fruit, spice, perfumed aromatics. Elegant and approachable despite cool-climate style. Beautiful ruby color with youthful character. Subtle tannins with aging potential.

Serving - The wine's elegant structure and dark fruit pair beautifully with roasted meats, particularly lamb or game. The spice notes complement herb-forward preparations, while the perfumed aromatics suggest pairing with preparations featuring rosemary, thyme, or oregano. The wine's subtle tannins and balanced acidity make it food-friendly without being demanding. Try it with braised vegetables, aged cheeses, or preparations with umami-rich elements.

** AUDIOPHILE LP OF THE MONTH CLUB VINYL**

Album Pairing - SHARON VAN ETTEN – ‘We've Been Going About This All Wrong’ - 2022 * Emily Fernwood sold everything to travel the wine world before returning home to California to make wine entirely on her own terms. Sharon Van Etten recorded this album in her custom-built home recording studio in California, producing it entirely herself after a decade of exploring orchestral arrangements, stripping everything down to bare essentials. Both artists reclaimed complete creative control and agency. Both were determined to work through challenges by reasserting their power and staying squarely at the wheel of their creative vision. Both explore a lighter, brighter approach to their craft after years of experimentation—Emily treating Mouvedre with delicacy instead of density, Van Etten moving from grandiose arrangements to atmospheric, intimate rock. Both insisted on making things exactly how they envisioned them, refusing compromise. Both prove that returning home can mean finally becoming yourself. The album's themes of motherhood, love, control, and what we can and cannot control mirror Emily's daily work—finding balance between controlling fermentation and allowing nature its role. Both are intensely personal statements made by women working alone, creating something dynamic and alive without apology or explanation. Van Etten sings "things are not dark, only darkish"—Emily's elegant Mouvedre, refined and approachable despite the grape's reputation for difficulty, captures exactly that spirit.

REMINDERS

• To celebrate our valued club members we offer 20% off all food ordered on the day you pick-up. 

• If you can not pick up on the pick up dates please contact mckay@barmiriam.com and we will hold your allotment offsite and can arrange for a future pick up.

• Email mckay@barmiriam.com to buy more single bottles or a case with special club pricing.

• Queen Anne Bottle Shop is open Tuesday-Saturday from 3:00pm — 8:00pm.

• Wine pairs best with friends. Tell your friends.