This last sponsored tasting for the year at The Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan featured Korbin Ming who also brought a library wine from Moonridge Vineyards to taste alongside his current offering, plus a dessert wine.  It couldn’t get any better eleven days before Christmas.

We had been tasting wines from there estate vineyard on Moon Mountain District which is on the Sonoma County side; the western slopes of the Mayacamas mountains between the Sugarloaf Ridge and Carneros.   We started off with Korbin Kameron Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Mount Veeder Napa 2018; and Mount Veeder is located on the eastern slopes of the Mayacamas mountains.  This reserve wine was aged for eighteen months in entirely new French Oak barrels and about sixty cases were produced.  A deep, dark garnet colored wine that offered notes of blackberries, raspberries, cassis, cedar and traces of nutmeg.  On the palate this was a big chewy wine offering tones of blackberries, black cherries, vanilla, oak, black pepper blending with big tannins, great acidity and a long-count finish of concentrated fruit and terroir.   

We then followed the 2018 vintage, with the Korbin Kameron Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Mount Veeder Napa 2019.  This wine was aged for eighteen months in French Oak, of which seventy-five percent was new, and they produced fifty cases.   I have to admit, that couldn’t really discern any great differences between the two vintages.  A deep, dark garnet-colored wine that offered notes of black fruit, cassis, cedar and sous-bois.  On the palate this was also a big chewy wine offering tones of blackberries, black cherries, currants, vanilla, oak and black pepper blending with big tannins, great acidity and a long-count of concentrated fruit and terroir. 

The tasting was completed with Korbin Kameron “Sweet Isla” Late Harvest Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc Moon Mountain District 2018.  . The wine is late harvested Sauvingnon Blanc with an addition of fifteen percent Botrytised Semillon. One week of cold soaking and fermented on the skins for an additional two weeks to pick up extra color and flavors, called phenolics, which was a really long and cool fermentation for intense aromatics. The wine was aged for eight months in neutral oak. .  A beautiful wine that was just magnificent and reminded me of a French Sauternes with a nose of honeysuckle, a silky texture offering notes of sweet lemons, apricots and marmalade with a nice long count in the finish.