Anarchy Wine Co.
On a burning, magical July California evening we opened up a magnum of Anarchy Wine Co.’s “The Heretic.” Steaks were on the grill as we milled about in the dust and the heat, talking around a campfire next to the lake. The brooding oak trees lent us their dense shadows as last light faded. As the wine opened up and the steaks came off the grill we sipped the red ink in eager, lusty hunger. Suddenly everyone fell silent, the fiery steak fat burning around in our mouths along with the hissing pepper of the wine. It was hard to see out past the shadows of the trees. Each of us was looking out into the distance, detached for a moment, letting the wine dance with the steak’s pepper and texture. The Heretic prefers darkness. And it suddenly was night.
The Heretic is petite syrah in all its muscular, taught rage, mellowed out just enough that you’ll maybe think about introducing it to your parents. You see petite syrah is a varietal that likes to yell a little. It’s a grape that intends to own its own turf. The Heretic showcases the unkempt personality of this wondrous grape while putting in just enough smooth french oak tannins to comb its hair down. Bold fruit and the sinewy, insistent texture of these tannins lead you into all the tensions between your animal nature and your willingness to live in civilization. This is the kind of wine you bring to a gunfight.
These wines come from the immoral soul of Christian Tietge, owner and winemaker at Anarchy Wine Co. Christian Tietge is one of the original gangsters of Paso Robles winemaking. He was blending zinfandel back in the day when people just didn’t do that, and making stainless steel chardonnays 20 years ago when all everyone could think about was chardonnay with heavy oak. Rumor has it that he once punched a nun. And it’s a proven fact that he’s pissed on the grave of Richard Nixon.
At Anarchy Wine Co. you’ll find wines that eschew high culture and timid sensibilities, wines that evoke raw fervor and pagan religious ecstasy. The Anarchy is ZSM (Zinfandel, Syrah, Mourvedre) a dense, punchy wine that’ll remind you of a woman with muscular thighs. Explore Farewell to Kings and you’ll realize why the nobles were never our betters.
Do you still remember your first concert? Did you ever smoke weed under bleachers? Do you want to quit your job? Ask us if Anarchy Wine Co. should be on your tour. It might be time for a revolution.