Filaments Wine, Alder Springs Vineyard, Mourvédre, Mendocino 2018

Kevin Farrow and Erik Latshaw (winemaker/owners of Filaments Wine) are all about the "less is more" philosophy.  In his own words, Eric says, "I feel that grapes arrive with all their potential for great wine intact, and everything I do is mostly going to subtract from that potentiality." This duo places the most significant weight of winemaking out in the vines versus the cellar.  They source outstanding fruit, treat each grower as a partner in crafting their wine, and apply a minimalist hand during fermentation.  For Kevin, that means when the grapes arrive at the winery, he "does his best not to mess up the hard work that's been done." Exercising restraint in winemaking is complex and requires faith in the quality of grapes, and simple, traditional techniques often result in the best, most expressive wine indicative of its place of origin.  The name Filaments aptly applies to Kevin & Erik's belief that they exist as the thin thread linking grapes from premier vineyard sites to the eventual bottle in your hands.

Kevin and Erik began exploring the world's wine regions one bottle at a time while living as roommates in Los Angeles.  They took full advantage of Erik's employee discount at the famous Wally's Wine & Spirits in Beverly Hills to learn about the styles and techniques of winemakers worldwide.  The two nurtured their friendship and mutual love of wine by enjoying many bottles together over the following years, and in 2012, Erik jumped from sales to production at Patz & Hall.  He fatefully met Morgan Twain-Peterson of Bedrock Wine Co. during this harvest internship.  One of Morgan's most impactful contributions to California's winemaking community is his mentorship with a faction of disciples who have gone on to create their brands, many of whom have been featured in this wine club.  By way of introduction through Erik, Kevin started working for Morgan at Bedrock in 2014, and the following year, Morgan granted Kevin one ton of Merlot grapes, kick-starting the Filaments brand.

With their ethos of "specializing in small-lot wines from compelling sites" in mind, the two pursued a contract from one of California's renowned vineyards, Alder Springs.  After testing multiple sites, owner and farmer Stu Bewley planted the first vines on the 6,000-acre property in the early 90s.  He found that Alder Springs' soil composition, microclimate, and elevation made it an unexpectedly exceptional plot for grape growing.  Stu is no stranger to experimentation and introduced hundreds of obscure varietals like Petite Arvine, Falanghina, and Mourvédre to the same vineyard blocks while using regenerative farming techniques at a time when those two words did not buzz as they do today.  Stu's commitment to his property inspired the Filaments to craft their first-ever Mourvédre.

Kevin and Erik harvested their rows of 100% Mourvédre in mid-October of 2018.  They de-stemmed and fermented the fruit with native yeast, punching down twice daily to extract color and tannin from the grapes.  The wine aged in a combination of neutral puncheons and barrels for 17 months and moved to bottle unfined and unfiltered.  Hints of violet and black pepper complement beautiful blue fruit aromas on the nose.  Grippy tannins structure the palate's vanilla-spiced blueberry jam and weathered leather flavors.  Tasting this wine has us dreaming of a Thanksgiving spread and would surely make a delightful pairing—only 68 cases produced of Filaments' debut 2018 Mourvédre.