In 2016, former wine shop employee and occasional cooper, Avi Dexler started making wines with minimal intervention, thus the name ‘Absentee.’  Flaws is made from an unspecified blend of Grenache and the virtually unknown Abouriou, farmed organically and harvested by hand on Poor Ranch, along the southern bank of the Russian River. Dexler shaves down the interior of used oak barrels to breathe new life into them and into his wines. The grapes ferment spontaneously in the barrels and are literally rolled once daily for ten days to enhance extraction before being pressed and returned to the same barrels to complete fermentation and age for a year prior to bottlling without fining, filtration, or sulfur. The nose combines wild berries, a whiff of the barnyard  and a hint of vanilla. Lively cherry and tart blueberry meet woodsy earth, spice, and smoke with a slight tingle on the palate. Pair with slow cooked beef cheeks on polenta or a spicy root veggie tagine.