26 Jul Please The Palate Wine of the Week: âmevive wine 2021 Ravie, Santa Barbara County

The word ‘ravie’ translates to the feminine version of ‘delighted’ in French and when I drank this wine, I was delighted. I was delighted because it was fresh and fun but also had complexity and structure. One sip made me want another and another and that is why the âmevive wine 2021 Ravie, Santa Barbara County is the Please The Palate wine of the week.

About âmevive

“âme” means “soul” and “vive” means “life”. Together âmevive is a made-up word that means “soulful, lively soul, living soul”. The name perfectly represents the wines of Alice Anderson who focuses on the land as a whole. Alice has been organically and regeneratively farming the 10-acre Ibarra-Young Vineyard in the Los Olivos District in the Santa Ynez Valley for four years, and also sources from other organic and biodynamic vineyards in the valley. She focuses on French and Spanish varieties. Each of her labels has artwork of the native flora and fauna of the vineyard. For the 2021 Ravie, the front label was painted by Alice’s mom, Eileen Anderson. It is the image of Anna’s hummingbird (Calypte anna) which are common around coastal California. The image on the back label was painted by Alice and depicts a variety of native flowers commonly found in the Santa Ynez watershed.

Tasting Notes

Ravie is a GSM from Santa Barbara County. The Grenache is from the Buttonwood Vineyard, Syrah is from a dry-farmed organic vineyard called Tres Hermanas, and the Mourvèdre is from the Ibarra-Young vineyard. The Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre were harvested and fermented separately with different percentages of whole cluster. The grapes were pressed in the basket press and aged separately in neutral French oak until a month before the final blend was made and the wine was bottled unfined and unfiltered. The final blend is 55% Grenache, 25% Syrah, and 20% Mourvèdre – it is about 80% whole cluster in total. The word ‘ravie’ translates to the feminine version of ‘delighted’ in French. While this word has a special meaning to Alice, I will say that is an appropriate name for the wine, as I find it to be delightful. The wine is elegant and light on its feet. It has a pretty nose upfront with aromas of red fruits and a savory note in the back. On the palate, the wine is lively with crunchy tannins and a lingering finish. This wine will make you salivate, wanting another sip.

Where To Purchase

The âmevive wines are all small lot productions. Only 175 cases were produced of the âmevive 2021 Ravie, Santa Barbara County, which retails for $30. While this particular wine is sold out, keep an eye out on the âmevive website for new releases and grab them when you can!

Meet The Winemaker

Listen to the interview I did with winemaker Alice Anderson on the Wine Soundtrack podcast.