Ruth Lewandowski is the ground-breaking wine work of USA garagista Evan Lewandowski, a bright star of the natural wine scene in California. Ruth is "a concept more than a living, breathing individual", an idea that encapsulates Evan's personal philosophies around land, environment, spirituality, winemaking and living. While Ruth's embodiment is personal to Evan, the wines under this label are expressive, beautiful, memorable and delicious. We've been waiting patiently for these wines to make landfall in Australia, and they have, in minute and precious quantity.Â
"When I last visited the United States, in 2019, I was able to catch up with Evan and run through his wines - they were the highlight of my lengthy wine-seeking mission through California. They popped out of the glass, imbued with immense complexity yet a levity, freshness and a sense of purity. They had structure, they had depth, but they were on the edge too, in that zone of eccentric, but detailed and engaging, a place where so often great wine lives. While the wines have a seriousness to them, they're ostensibly fun; drinkability is through the roof. They come from amazing vineyards too, some of the most significant sites reimagined and deified by the high profile, high quality-seeking sect of avant garde California winemakers. Outstanding wines any which way you come at them." - Mike Bennie.
In the wine Boaz we get a reinvention of old vine staples of carignan and grenache (with some cabernet for good measure), a richer style but with vivid freshness, a sheath of fine tannin and loads of savoury complexity. The Feints release is from the remarkable Fox Hill Vineyard in Mendocino. This is a site that got a swathe of amazing, Italian grape varieties planted to it and has become a totem for many of the younger gen natural winemakers. This wine combines an exotic array of these varieties - arneis, dolcetto, nebbiolo, barbera and montepulciano - the marriage results in a frisky, light, fresh-feeling red(ish) wine of high perfume and crisp texture. The Rose Cuvee Zero is a blend of our mate Matt Rorick's Rorick Heritage Vineyard tempranillo with souzao and touriga from Fox Hill. It's a substantial, textural rose with layers of fruit, spice and savouriness going on. One of the best rose wines we've got stuck into this year and definitely for those folks seeking top flight examples.
Whoa. Excitement abounds around these wines. Be prepared, there is bugger all of Evan's gear available..
