“Ingredients: Grapes” is the last line on the label of Absentee Winery’s 2020 XXP. The line is a shot across the bow of conventional winemakers who may not be able to say the same about their wines. But it’s also a reminder that wine is simply grapes. And while there are many factors that determine how the grape goes from fruit to wine, there’s a simple joy in remembering that wine only has one ingredient, grapes. 

Absentee is helmed by Avi Deixler out of Mendocino County in California. Avi, like many of his peers, has the ability to break down a problem and find an unconventional but ultimately better solution. Barrels for example are a critical part of the winemaking process but buying new barrels can be a very expensive proposition. There is, however, a large supply of used barrels, though they come with their own set of problems. The biggest problem is that the previous user's wine has seeped into the grain of the wood and can taint Avi’s wine with unwanted bacteria or chemicals like sulfur. So instead of just using the barrels as is, Avi takes an angle grinder to the inside of the barrel. and shaves each down to fresh grain making them like new. Dodging what could be a very bad outcome if he were to ferment his wine in those barrels. Avi also has a serious sulfur allergy making him especially conscientious of what’s going into his wine. As you can imagine, his wines are unsulfured, unfined, and unfiltered.

On to the 2020 XXP. XXP is a Grenache harvested from the Poor Ranch (a dry farmed, organic outfit in Hopland, California). The wine, like some of the natural wines out of the Beaujolais, is carbonically macerated* then fermented in oak until bottled. The outcome of this work is full-bodied wine, dark in color, but with the bounce and light of a lighter-bodied reds (pinots, gamays, etc). One thing that also stands out is the alcohol content. 14.5% ABV, high by natural wine standards, does little to affect the drinkability of the wine, but perhaps it begs the question of “what to eat?” Avi’s XXP, while being full-bodied but juicy, could go with any number of meals. While XXP would fit in well on the table with soups and stews, it would also go well with fowl of many kinds, hamburgers, and/or roast vegetables. 

Due to the wine not being sulfured and a small amount of residual sugar remaining when bottled some bottles may have some effervesence when openend, we love a bubbly red but if you don't, let it sit open for a few minutes before enjoying. 

Winemaker/Estate: Avi Deixler/ Absentee Winery 

Label: XXP

Country/Region: Mendocino County, California 

Grape: Grenache

Making of: Grapes are dry and organically farmed, aged in oak, no sulfur, no fining/filtration

Notes:  Cranberries, Apples, Pine, Hay

Food: Braises and stews, roasted chicken, roasted veggies 

*Carbonic maceration is the process of fermenting grapes in an environment free of oxygen. The tank is filled with carbon dioxide and whole clusters of grapes. In this anaerobic environment the grapes start fermenting from the inside out until the grape skins burst.