2001 Bonny Doon Vineyards DEWN Freisa

Region: Monterey, California, US

Composition: 100% Freisa

Background: This is a Bonny Doon DEWN club wine I picked up once I became a member a few years ago, and I admit that I mostly picked it up because I absolutely adore the label. The artist is Gary Taxali, and I love his stuff (I own some non-wine-label pieces). Anyway, I vote this label for being one of the best labels ever. And if you look at the link above, you can see that it references the two very different reactions to Freisa (immensely appetizing or truly repugnant) people seem to have.

What is Freisa? You certainly don't see it like you see some other grapes, but it is an Italian grape native to Piemonte and produces light fruity wines with strawberry-raspberry qualities. You will usually find it lightly carbonated, and it is consumed fairly young, although some producers make wines you can age (for a few years, at least). Bonny Doon has a frizzante version of Freisa offered, but this is their first dry and still offering.

Notes: A very nice dark clear ruby in the glass. Violet and strawberry nose, very girly and pretty in a perfume-y way. Completely different once you get it in your mouth... tannic, leathery, and kind of rustic, with a very strange finish that is practically fishy (olives? tuna?). A very strange tin can flavor reappears on your palate after you think the finish is, um, finished. Too acidic overall and seems out of balance. I could live with a lot of it, but the fishy can part really makes me not like this.

And it breaks my heart because I usually find Bonny Doon wines to be pleasant enough. It also makes me sad that the wine with one of the best labels around is just not very good. I will have to try another dry Freisa sometime to see if I really don't like the grape or if this is just one of those freak things: a bottle of wine I can't appreciate at all. I could have gotten a bum bottle, too... I have another one stashed away somewhere so I will have to dig it out and compare. I can't believe the finish on this wine was anything intended.

Cost: around $15

Overall: D (but I still love you, Bonny Doon! call me!)