“Pure, balanced, and juicy, and it will be outstanding.” – Jeb Dunnuck

Nailed it again with that barrel impression, Jeb. Outstanding it is!!!

Were you tuned in for Aaron Pott’s visit during the Midsummer Marathon? Remember his Original Gangster Grenache that took the site by storm? For those in the know, finding ANY Pott-made small production gems is a rare sight.

For this price? About as believable as Medusa, King Midas, and the Minotaur…

But the proof is here, before your eyes. If you fancy yourself a fan of White Burgundy, aged Riesling, and top white wines made by rockstar winemakers, listen up. You may remember the previous vintages of these utterly BEGUILING, charming, down-right “White Mythicals,” yes?!

This is the return of Moura RESERVE! Aged an extra year (beyond the nothing normal about it normal) in Tuscan amphora for greater depth and concentration. Balancing complexity, power, and age-ability. And all that slipped under $30!

At 94 points, this is a MUST-HAVE, guilt-free indulgence to stack deep in your cellar. We truly love their mountain red. And the regular release of Moura white is truly unique – we simply don’t get many great Albariño our way. But THIS?! Total gamechanger!

First, Albariño! If you’re looking for whites to discover and have yet to fall in love with this Iberian treasure, lock in. BUT what even may wine professionals miss is just how profound, complex, and age-worthy the Spanish white variety is. Especially when crafted by a master winemaker like Pott. “It’s an especially dense, layered style of Albariño that emphasizes texture more than true varietal character. Even so, it’s a deeply intriguing wine.” explains Vinous.

But truthfully, this wine is super avant-garde. Only a handful of producers, even in the variety’s home of Spain (like Eladio Pineiro, Pazo de Señoráns, Palacio de Fefiñanes, etc) engage in such extended aging before release as this does. They are exceptionally rare and double the price of this SERIOUS, built-to-last white.

Herbert Perliss purchased their Calistoga property 35 years ago, and, with Aaron’s help, he planted a minuscule 2.6-acre vineyard to power their wines. With such a small vineyard to source their estate wines from, Perliss Estate has expanded that vision under the direction of Herbert’s son, Anthony. Together, he and Aaron created the Mythical label to expand beyond their estate confines. They make just three wines - the Cab that has joined our short list of recent top-sellers, a lovely fresher-style Albariño, and this cutting-edge white beauty showcasing Albariño’s more serious side.

In the Portuguese/Galician dialects, Moura refers to mythical, enchanted women in Iberian folklore, and that name could not suit this wine better. The New York Times explains the two faces of Albariño, it can make either “a popular commodity wine: cheap, aromatic, easy to drink and forget” or SERIOUS interpretations from top winemakers that are “relatively expensive for Albariño… if you can find them, made in tiny quantities and snapped up.” Bingo, Mr. Asimov, and that can be found in Lodi!

Wine rarely catches us by surprise. But this multi-faceted, weighty, sleek white works on so many levels. Apricot, lemon verbena, baked apple, dried and fresh blossoms, crushed stones, orange oil, rooibos tea, cardamom, yuzu marmalade… we could go on! Try it, and you’ll see – this puts many great whites triple the price to shame. You MUST experience it to believe.

The quality here is hardly a surprise, since it comes with the Perliss namesake. Theirs are wines you “obtain” rather than buy. Hard to get, extremely limited in production, and pricey. Aaron Pott is a huge reason for their success. Per Forbes, “In the world of winemaking, where passion meets precision, few names carry as much weight as Aaron Pott.” Known for his plush, sumptuous, expressive wines made under Greer, Seven Stones, Blackbird, and his own, he’s quite simply one of the best in the game. And making lesser-known varieties shine is one of his lesser-known superpowers!

Serious, complex, age-worthy white… and highly limited.

94 Points – James Suckling “Yellow apple, pear skin, Sicilian lemon, talc and white flowers on the nose. The palate is taut and focused, with lovely texture and austerity from 10 months in concrete, supported by bright acidity and generous fruit texture. This is delicious, with so much tension and approachability. Drink or hold.”