Mayhem Wines Brings A Bounty of BC Fruit

Terry Meyer Stone along with her brother JAK Meyer and their spouses, Andrew Stone and Janice Stevens have launched their new custom crush wine project called Mayhem Wines.  I received a sample of their VQA wines to taste and talk to you about; their 2018 Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer, and Pinot Blanc, and 2017 Merlot Cabernet Franc.  You may recognize JAK’s name from Meyer Family Vineyards. Terry Meyer Stone and her husband produce their own garagiste wine – Anarchist Wine Co. These wines are produced and bottled through Meyer Family Vineyards in Okanagan Falls.  Their logo is quite interesting, reminding me of a recorded plot showing an earthquake occurrence.  Maybe they are trying to shake up the BC wine industry with real quality value-priced wines?

The grapes are from their home vineyards on Anarchist Mountain, Osoyoos, and east of Okanagan Falls along McLean Creek Road. They also have relationships with other growers in the Okanagan.  Having a winery named Mayhem, makes more sense when one of the vineyards is on Anarchist Mountain.

Their motto is that “Every life well-lived should have a little Mayhem“. Life would be boring if there was no struggle.  Without darkness, you cannot appreciate the light.  I did not know what to expect from these wines, with the name selected as Mayhem. Let me tell you about my experience with these four wines.

My Tasting Notes of Mayhem’s Wines

The first 2 wines that I tried were their 2018 Gewurztraminer and 2018 Pinot Gris.  Both are aromatic white wines, with the grape’s homeland from the Alsace in France.  In general, BC does quite well with aromatic white grapes.

The Mayhem Gewurztraminer 2018 ($15.65++) is a deeper bright clear lemon-gold in colour.  It has a medium-plus intensity aroma, showing lots of lychees, along with green fruits and juicy fruit gum (some may say tropical fruit).  With decanting the green fruit component on the nose decreased but the wine overall was still very aromatic.  The wine is slightly off-dry, round with quite a thick mouthfeel.  Medium intensity acidity giving some acidic prickle as well.  You get lychee and juicy fruit gum as the main flavours, but over time in the glass, you get pear and pepperiness on the finish.  The wine has a medium-plus length finishing with lingering lychee and pepperiness.  There was no difference on the palate with decanting so enjoy as soon as you open it.

Rating: A nice straight-up Gewurztraminer with big flavours to enjoy.  Lots of lychees and juicy fruit gum aroma and flavour, finishing with some pepperiness.

The Mayhem Pinot Gris 2018 ($15.65) is a bright medium intensity lemon colour in the glass.  It has medium plus intensity aromas of citrus, lees, and juicy stone fruits.  The stone fruit aromas do increase in intensity with time in the glass.  I also pick up some dried leaf or stem on the nose, which adds some interest.  With decanting I picked up some bramble leaf on the nose as well.  The wine is dry but feels slightly off-dry, which I attribute to the fruitiness of this wine.  It has a medium-plus body, round and thick, with an acidic prickle backbone to start, which then gets smooth and then finishes peppery. The flavours in this wine evolve in the glass.  It starts off with stone fruit (peach and pear), then you add lime, grapefruit, lime skin, pepper, and finally crisp apple.  There is also a touch of honey.  It has a longer length finishing dry with lingering stone fruit flavours and some bramble leaf at the very end.  You also get some stoniness on the finish. The only change I detected with this wine after decanting is that the wine felt medium-bodied from medium-plus.  The fruit flavours stayed true.

Rating: – A Pinot Gris with interesting fresh fruit flavours that evolve quickly in the glass.

Both of the above are very nice wines, with no sign of mayhem.  I’d call them very harmonious and showing off fresh BC fruit.

The Mayhem Pinot Blanc 2018 ($15.65++) was a complete surprise to me.  I don’t usually get too much out of Pinot Blanc other than apples on the nose and palate.  This wine is bursting with intense citrus and stone fruit on the nose together with some bramble.  When decanting this wine you no longer pick up any lees; grapefruit skin becomes prominent as well as a touch of honey.  It is dry but quite round and mouth-filling, with loads of fruit character.  The wine starts with a slight acidic prickle but that smooths out.  It is primarily stone fruit flavours with a mix of green fruit and bramble leaf mixed in.  It finishes with a touch of honey and stoniness, tart green fruit and finally pepperiness.  With decanting the green fruit flavour is reduced and citrus flavour picks up.  A very cool wine; Mayhem reigns.

Rating: A very unusual Pinot Blanc for BC.  Lots of stone fruit and citrus character.  No boring apples here.

The Mayhem Merlot Cabernet Franc 2017 ($21.74++) a blend of 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Franc.  This wine has a delightful nose; lots of Earl Grey tea leaves together with ripe red fruits, sweet spices, and touches of vanilla and chocolate.  With decanting I picked up a touch of smoke, but it quickly faded while the other aromas continued.  The wine is slightly off-dry, very soft and round in the mouth.  Lots of body and flavour intensity.  Ripe red fruits and some perfumed roses, together with ripe raspberries, black cherries, ripe plums, and touches of cedar, vanilla and oak.  The tannins pick up on the mid-palate.  A medium-plus length finishing with a sweet fruit edge counterbalanced with puckering acidity.  Red cherries and plums, with lesser amounts of oak, pepper and cloves.  Decanting I think improves this wine as the puckering acidity on the finish diminishes and the tannins become very fine and soft, plus you get a touch of dark chocolate on the palate.  A delightful wine. Highly recommended.

Rating: A fresh and vibrant wine full of tea leaves and red fruit on the nose, a lush silky mouthfeel, soft tannins and a tasty mix of red fruits, enticing you to mayhem.

Where Can I Buy These Wines?

You can order these wines online directly from the winery, and they also have a wine club where you will get 2 shipments of wines with 6 bottles in each shipment every year. Mayhem Wines can be purchased at private liquor stores and select restaurants throughout the Lower Mainland, Okanagan Valley and Kootenays.  I checked and EverthingWine carries the Pinot Blanc and the Merlot Cabernet Franc wines.

These wines are very limited in quantity at the moment. Carpe diem.  Hopefully, over time, the volume of cases will increase.