I am interrupting my flow of September stories to mention the wine club selections from The Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan.  And no, I do not live there, nor do I work there, but I do enjoy my visits there.  By now, you must realize that I am very unassuming and very quiet when I am in the store, in fact that probably don’t even see me.  That is the farthest from the truth, but if they are busy with customers, I manage to stay low key.  As I wander around admiring some of the new cases of wines, that will probably be gone, by the next time that I am in the shop, as they really understand their customer’s collecting habits.  I was there to pick up the October Wine Club selections that are curated by the owner and his staff; one from the Old World and one from the New World. 

The Old World was represented by Domaine Jean-Christophe Mandard “Les P’tites Notes” Touraine 2020 from the Loire Valley in Mareuil-sur-Cher; located in the heart of the Loire castles, between Chambord and Chenonceaux.  The winery is now into its fifth generation of family control when Jean-Christophe joined with his family in 1993 and managed the Mandard business; and now his son Jean-Baptiste has joined in 2020 to help with the twenty-seven-hectare estate.  The estate produces wines with either the AOP of Touraine or Touraine Chenonceaux on the left bank of the Cher and the estate has two distinct soils.  They grow four white varieties and five red varieties.  This wine is sixty-percent Pinot Noir and forty percent Gamay Noir.  The wine is described as having the finesse of Pinot Noir and the delicacy of Gamay, with velvety tannins mixed with cherry and undergrowth aromas.   

The wine representing the New World is Fox Run Vineyards Dry Riesling Seneca Lake-Finger Lakes 2020.  The Finger Lakes of New York state is probably the best-known wine region of the eastern United States and especially known for their Riesling wines.  There is eleven Finger Lakes in all, carved out by the movement of glaciers during the Ice Age.  Of the eleven lakes Cayuga was given its AVA in 1998 and Seneca in 2003, the entire Finger Lakes AVA was awarded in 1982.  Seneca Lake is the largest and there are thirty-five wineries.  Fox Run Vineyards is located on what was a Civil War era dairy barn and ranch, and the first grapes were planted in 1984 by Larry and Adele Wildrick.  In 1994, it was purchased and expanded to fifty acres of east facing vineyards on glacial soils.  In 2012, the vineyards changed hands again and is now a family owned and run winery.  They focus on non-hybrid European varieties and they are dedicated to being good stewards of the land, by being environmentally sound in their farming practices and sustainable techniques.  The 2020 growing season was considered one of the best in the decade and considered close to perfection; with a mild Spring, lots of sunny weather and just enough rain in the Summer, with a warm, bright, and dry Autumn.   The grapes were picked in the morning with a cool temperature, the fruit was gently crushed and pressed.  Fermentation was conducted at moderated temperature using three different yeast strains, with the wine chilled just before reaching dryness, to leave a small trace of residual sugar.  I will make a presumption that the wine was processed and aged in Stainless-Steel tanks for about eight months, and just under a thousand cases was produced.  Tasting notes furnished by the winery offers notes of citrus with lemongrass and lime zest.  On the palate, a perfectly balanced wine with a focused finish.