Martian Wines

Robert Dentice

Robert Dentice
I am in LA for NYE and made a spur of the moment decision to go to Los Alamos to breath some fresh air and hopefully see some vines. I reached out to Martian winemaker Michael Roth who could not have been more welcoming. The winery is five years old and will be Demeter certified soon.

We tasted through almost every wine in barrel and a few bottles.

Really exciting wines and some of the best renditions of Natural Wines that I have tasted in the U.S. Michael is clearly a knowledgeable and passionate winemaker who understands this style. We talked about a lot of things including a recent visit of his to Lapierre.

The Los Alamos climate seems really suited to this style of winemaking (we tasted a few more good wines from the area at dinner A Tribute to Grace Grenache, Lieu Dit Sauvignon Blanc, Noble Storm Pinot Noir).

I didn't take detailed notes on the wines but from memory recalled tasting an Albarino, Grenache Blanc, Grenache, Mourvedre, Syrah, Tempranillo and I think a Viognier.

The winemaking is non-interventionalist, some carbonic, low SO2. The wines are very clean, fresh and pure expressions of the variety.

I liked all of the wines very much but the Mourvedre was my favorite.

I should also add that the wines are very reasonably priced.

Martian

If you are ever in the area I highly recommend Full of Life Flatbread:

Full of Life
 
Before delving into the website (and before reading carefully), I saw the Los Alamos and Martian and thought this to be some crackpot winery trying to play on the Area 51 vibe or the White Sands spaceship area. Weird name and marketing, but a nice website.
 
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