The second wine that I picked up from the Fine Wine Source Wine Club for July was Chateau Bel-Air Laclotte. Usually, as is my disposition, I wander around the shop and do some wine tastings while I am there. Unfortunately, I was running around, in fact the whole month of July will go down in the books as a very hectic month for me and it is a good thing that I gave up smoking, or I would have been chain smoking cigars to keep my sanity, but that is for another time and another setting, if I ever get to wanting to remember the events. Also, the wine shop was very busy, which is a great thing, and not with tastings, but with filling wine orders for customers.
Chateau Bel-Air Laclotte 2015 is a Bordeaux wine, located in Saint Gervais about twenty-two kilometers from the city center of Bordeaux, but it is not a lauded commune. The majority of the wines from Bordeaux carry the Bordeaux AOC which is the entire region that surrounds all those great communes that one immediately thinks of, when they think of the name Bordeaux. The three main grapes of the entire region are Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. The owner of Chateau Bel-Air Laclotte, the Earl Vignobles Stephan Motut was born on the property and inherited thirty-two hectares of the vineyard, the chateau and the outlying fields in 2004. The vineyards are planted in a clay-limestone soil, which works for the winery as the wine is seventy percent Merlot and thirty percent Cabernet Franc. I couldn’t find any production notes on this wine, but I will venture to say that it was probably aged for at least a year, looking at the spread of time from vintage to when it is being sold at the shop.
Once again,
this is a wine that I have not tasted, but there are two sets of tasting notes
that I have. The first mentions
Blackberry, Raspberry and Red Plum. The
owner of the shop was a bit more enthusiastic in the description and said that
it was rich and loaded with complexity and layers of flavor, including terroir
and hints of tobacco and leather. Of
course, a Bordeaux wine is always the perfect wine to pair with lamb, beef,
veal or pork, especially if they are roasted.
This is another wine that I will open soon, because who can’t resist the potential thought of an
enjoyable and affordable Bordeaux wine.
I recently picked up the from the Fine Wine Source Wine Club, the Tortoise Creek “Mission Grove” Pinot Noir 2017. Tortoise Creek is part of the much larger Masterwines group which currently has six labels. Masterwines was started by Mel and Janie Master in 1990 sourcing wines from the Languedoc. Masterwines now produces wine in France, Italy, California, Washington and Oregon.
Tortoise Creek is a line of single variety wines and they were originally in the Lodi region of California and the majority of the wines are certified sustainable. Starting with the 2009 vintage Tortoise Creek has partnered with the Chelonian Research Foundation and they donate a portion of the proceeds to benefit and the conservation of turtles and tortoises, and the Foundation was founded in 1992 to support worldwide turtle and tortoise research. “Mission Grove” refers to the native Californian Olive cultivar, originally planted at the San Diego Mission by Franciscan Monks, and cultivar refers to the difference of the olive, an olive variety is original, and a cultivar had some human intervention, funny what I learn about. These Mission Groves are found northward bound from San Diego and it is not surprising to find that often there are vineyards alongside these olive groves, just like what is found in Europe, where the Franciscan Monks came from. This wine carries a California AVA, because sixty percent of the grapes come from the Clarksburg region and the other forty percent come from the Monterey region. The juice had a seven- day fermentation process and then was aged for twelve months in French Oak.
There are a
couple of tasting notes furnished for the wine, as I have not had a chance to
try the wine. One mentions a nose of
violets and ripe cherries with a finish of raspberries and other red
fruits. The other mentioned hints of
rhubarb, dried cherries and strawberries and this was from the owner of the
Fine Wine Source. It has been suggested
that this wine would be best for salmon, pork or chicken and for others a nice
mushroom entrée. I am sure that this wine will be tried
sooner, rather than later.
How would you respond if someone that you know asks you to bring a decanter? Well since it was my Brother-in-Law and he is staying at a hotel, I didn’t even ask why, or what, or how or any of the questions that we learned one semester in an English course on Journalism. Unfortunately, I don’t think “journalists” of today ask those questions either, but I digress. I quickly found a decanter, my best cork screw, an “Ah-so” just in case, a foil cutter, and because I almost made it to an Eagle Scout a funnel and a coffee filter. My Brother-in-Law doesn’t make requests like this lightly, as I remember one trip that we made down there to see them, he had asked that we bring two decanters and he and I decanted a Chateau Mouton Rothschild 1961, a Chateau Margaux 1961, a Chateau Latour 1961 and a Chateau d’Yquem 1961. Since that dinner party, he has asked me to duplicate such services and who am I to object? I was like a kid waiting for the penny candy store to open when I had a dime in the palm of my hand.
Since I had to spoil the surprise with my blurting out the wine in the title of this article, I was still impressed and in awe, as I usually don’t have a chance to encounter a thirty-year-old First Growth from the Medoc. As I looked back, Chateau Margaux is probably the one First Growth that I have enjoyed more often than any other of those heavy hitters, so I guess God does smile upon me. Since the Twelfth Century, “La Mothe de Margaux” was known, or “the Margaux Mound” as it is the highest elevation in the Medoc and easily seen, even by laymen. At the end of the Seventeenth Century Chateau Margaux occupied 265 hectares, a third of the land devoted to vines and it has stayed that way ever since. As the fame of Chateau Margaux grew both across the Channel and across the Atlantic Ocean, the winery hit a brick wall, as the “people” took over the estate and the Lord of the manor was introduced to the guillotine. In 1801 there was a new owner, and it was he that razed the old home and built the edifice that is now recognized as Chateau Margaux. In 1855 at the Second Universal Exhibition, a blind tasting created the Official Classification which has really stood the test of time with only some tweaking since the exhibition. The winery survived the blight of Phylloxera and the vines were grafted with vines from America that were resistant to Phylloxera and the winery continued to make its well-respected wines. While the winery has had different owners and the ups and downs of vintages, it is still a First Growth and maintains that image.
1989 was considered a dream year at Chateau Margaux, as it was one of the earliest harvests since 1893 and it had one of the highest sugar levels since their legendary 1982 vintage. The harvest was hot and dry with not one day of rain to create any problems. The wine is a classic blend for the winery of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. With all of the accoutrements that I took to open the wine, only the foil cutter and the corkscrew was necessary. The thirty-year-old cork held and did the job it was made for and I might add that the ullage was very promising. I had forgotten to bring a candle, so we used the beam from my iPhone so that I could watch the wine at the neck of the bottle for if and when the sledge began appearing and it was not excessive. As I decanted the wine, I had first dibs on the nose of the wine, but the whole suite was luxuriating in the wine and the fruit was still very strong. We actually left the suite and went and had dinner and returned to enjoy the wine with some cheese and crackers after dinner. Part of the discussion during dinner was about the wine that had been decanted and when we returned and poured some of the wine, the color was still strong, as I was anticipating some brownish-brick red color that I have encountered over the years with older wines, but this ’89 was still like a teenager with its feistiness. The winery claimed that they thought the wine was excellent for drinking from day one, but after thirty years, the dark cherries and fruit was still holding strong along with the spices that I always expect from any of the Great Growths. The terroir was still there, but the tannins had softened a bit. I did send out a few announcements of this wine to some dear friends that evening, but the general consensus was that we had opened this wine too soon, which made my Brother-in-Law very happy, as he told me that he still has a few more in the cellar. As an added bonus and a great way to end this article, when I went to photograph the cork and removed it from the bottle, the dregs of the bottle still exploded a month later with black cherries and I am still smiling as I write this last sentence.
I have stated that we have been in the midst of graduation parties and the clan from Louisville have twins that graduated this year. Since almost all of their relatives, for both of the parents are in the Detroit area, they decided to have the celebration up in the Metropolitan area, I guess rather than expecting everyone to drive down to Louisville, though some of us, I am sure would have, but the turn out would have been considerably lighter in attendance. They had shipped some of the stuff for the party ahead of time to our house, for convenience, especially since the center pieces were going to made and carried to the party. They also had packed lighter, since two of the kids would be coming in another vehicle, and since they had less, they had an adventure and did the trip in their new Tesla, which held four of the family members quite comfortably. They had to schedule a lunch break in Dayton, while the car got a “charging” to make the rest of the trip. Since they were staying in their usual residence, which is only a stone’s through from us, we met them for dinner after they unpacked and had the car parked overnight at one of the hotel’s charging stations.
That night there were six of us for dinner at Sweet Lorraine’s, one of the usual locations that we all get together, especially the first night, because they can walk back to their suite. I remember the original Sweet Lorraine’s when they opened up, while I was in college and Lorraine was Detroit’s Alice Waters. In fact, as a side note, we just recently had to drive by the original restaurant location and it was said to see all locked up with “For Sale” signs on the building. The children have literally grown up with this restaurant, so they knew almost exactly what to order, and since one of the children requires a special regimen and it has always been no problem accommodating his diet. The adults sat at one end and caught up, through the course of a couple of different appetizers and four different entrée orders. A fun evening and it seems if the two sisters have never been apart, even with the miles in between, almost as if they still live in the same community, if not the same block and street.
After a
needed cocktail for the travelers, we all shared a couple of bottles of Ramon Bilbao
Rioja Crianza 2015. Even though there
are a few grapes that are allowed traditionally to make Rioja, this wine was
pure Tempranillo. Ramon Bilbao was established in the Rioja Alto back in 1924
and they are firmly ensconced in the region making quality wines. This
particular bottle was a Crianza which by law in Spain requires a minimum of
twelve months in oak and then another twelve months in bottle before being
released. Oh, by the way, I forgot to
mention that my Brother-in-Law called me and asked if I could bring over a
decanter, before we had dinner.
It is almost a sin, if we don’t stop at MAWBY Sparkling while we are up in the Traverse City area of Michigan. You can find Mawby out near Suttons Bay and whether you know it as L. Mawby Vineyards or M. Lawrence, one thing is for sure you will have a fun time visiting the winery and tasting/drinking the wines. I have probably written about Mawby the most of all the wineries in Michigan and part of that is because my Bride has fallen in love with their products. In 1973 Larry Mawby founded Mawby Vineyards with a small parcel of land. He had a passion to make wine and that passion led him to now only making sparkling wines from the Nineties on to date. In 2009, he began a partnership with the Laing Family; but I have often heard with respect from the other wineries that Larry Mawby is considered the “Godfather” or the “Dean” on winemaking in the region. In conversations over the years with winemakers they all hint at, but never describe the heart and largesse the man has, as well as his love for the local wine industry.
While he is a passionate winemaker and a conservationist, he has whimsy and fun at the winery. The tasting room is built on a hillside and parts of the roof line are almost adjacent to the slope of the hill, so there is a sign asking “No fiddling on our roof.” We have never been there when it hasn’t been busy, there are the tour busses, but mostly when I look at the parking lot, it is individual cars there to do some tasting and most of the time buying. Because the winery makes sparkling wine in both the Charmat Method that is so common in the New World, but they also make wine in the Classique Method, but they stress that they do not make aerated wines. The winery is open year-round, because some of the wines take from one to seven years to produce, and some of the wine is Non-Vintage which allows them to maintain a certain taste and style year after year, just like they do in Champagne, France. While I have never been to France, I would venture to say that the tasting rooms there are not as jovial and carefree as at Mawby, and when one tips the host/pourer the sound of bells fill the air and everyone knows that somebody was happy with their experience.
The day that we were there, they were serving tastings from ten different sparkling wines and three ciders (which are also sparkling), the wines just like the tasting room are never still. I also didn’t pay any attention if there was a fee for tasting or a limit, because I knew going in that my Bride was on a mission to get some wine. The first wine that we tried was from the proprietary “Winemakers Selection” and never to be repeated. The Freestyle is a Semi-Dry Rosé made from fifty percent Chambourcin and twenty-five percent Marquette and twenty-five percent La Crescent (a complex hybrid developed by the University of Minnesota and released in 2002 and Saint-Pepin and Muscat Hamburg are two of the grapes that were used). The wine had a distinct deep pink color and a nice sweet finish that most people could have without any problems. The next wine was the Sandpiper Semi-Dry NV, which we have had before, and is only available at the winery, it is aged in Stainless Steel and undergoes two fermentations and it a blend of Chardonnay, Vignoles, Cayuga, Riesling, Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and Traminette. I think that this could be the perfect everyday sparkler as it would pair easily with most dishes. We then tried the Green Semi-Dry NV also done in the Charmat Method and is a blend of Cayuga and Riesling in a more fruit forward taste and finish. The Us NV was a classic blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, aged in Stainless Steel, then later blended with some reserve wine, aged and with an added dosage to maintain a certain finish and bottled. I would recommend this wine to anyone that likes a nice traditional tasting sparkler with some fruit in the finish, but dry and crisp. We had the Grace Brut Rosé NV done in the Classic Method using Pinot Noir grapes which were pressed whole cluster and fermented in Stainless Steel and then blend with reserve wine, bottled and aged and at degorgement a small amount of Regent is added to the bottle. This wine reminded me of the classic “Pink Champagnes” of my youth with some great taste and a very pretty soft pinky-salmon color. The last wine that we did at the tasting was the Talis Brut Estate Grown Traditional Method NV, a blend of Vignoles, Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and Chardonnay grapes that were hand picked and pressed whole cluster. The juice was fermented in Stainless Steel and blended with reserve wines kept in a solera system of oak barrels, and then fermented and aged in the bottle with the classic degorgement. The wine had the pretty soft “gold” color with a deep rich taste and finish, evoking some toast to the pallet. A wonderful time was spent there and I guess the staff thought I was old, as they carried the cartons to the car for us and we were on our way home.
Rove Estate sits at the highest point of elevation on the Leelanau Peninsula and a family owned farm for five generations. Creighton and McKenzie Gallagher represent the sixth generation farming the family plot and the estate is named after the “Rovers” who had left Ireland around three hundred years ago and are part of the “Winegeese” from that diaspora. The estate pays homage to their legacy. Creighton had developed an appreciation and a passion for wine growing up in the Traverse City region.
In 2010 he was offered a chance to buy part of the family farm and fifteen acres of cherry orchards that needed to be replanted, and thus Rove Estate began. Rove Estate Vineyard and Tasting Room opened in the Spring of 2016. Not only are they a center for wine tasting, they offer live music year-round on the sunset patio and a fireside picnic area, they also have hiking/snowshoe/cross-country skiing amidst the vineyards depending on the season. The winery offers a couple of different wine club arrangements and they offer five tastings for seven dollars, they also offered three different wine flights of four glasses of wine. While and when we were there, they were offering seventeen different wines and three different ciders. All wines are from estate grown fruit and all carry the Leelanau Peninsula AVA.
The first
wine that we tasted was the Rove Estate Gewurztraminer 2017 that was aged for
six months in Stainless Steel. The wine
offered the customary floral nose with a soft grapefruit tang and a short
finish. We then tried the Unoaked
Chardonnay 2017 that was aged for six months in Stainless Steel. This wine offered yellow apples and a very
easy drinking crisp acidic Chardonnay.
The last white wine that we tried was the Riesling 2015, which like the
other whites were aged for six months in Stainess Steel. This wine had some rack time and offered some
dried apricot, honey and peach and was what I would term as semi-dry with a medium
length of time for a finish. We then
tried the Cuvee Rosé 2017 which was
a blend of sixty percent Cabernet Franc and the balance in Merlot. The wine was aged for ten months in two-year-old
French Oak barrels. A very soft nose and
a delivery of red cherry and a little spice with a decent finish. The last wine was the Cabernet Franc/Merlot
2014 which was half and half and was aged for fourteen months in French
Oak. This was the most robust of the wines
that we tasted and it offered dark fruit and spice and a decent finish.
Officially it is The Village at Grand Traverse Commons and I really wanted to see this place and perhaps get a bite to eat, before a few more wine tastings, I mean sometimes I really have tunnel-vision or so it seems. I enjoy things of beauty, age and grace and can truly revel in architecture from days gone by. The Northern Michigan Asylum finished their first building in 1885, and some may think that is the perfect setting for me. Northern Michigan Asylum eventually became the Traverse City State Hospital, as many institutions that were originally built for Tuberculosis Hospitals were no longer needed, once that disease was eradicated. Over the years from the time of the Asylum to the Hospital, it grew to be a thousand plus acre site within Traverse City and it was rather self-sufficient with farms, warehouses, a power plant and other adjunct buildings. Some forward-thinking individuals saved this entire complex from the wrecking ball and building by building they are slowly renovating and re-utilizing the structures for an assortment of uses. We walked through one of the earliest renovations that now contain boutiques and shops and restaurants on the garden level of the building with an assortment of business in the floors above and this is right across from a three hundred acre park that was being used for a charity event while we were there, hence parking was tough, but we had the good fortune to find something rather close as we pulled into the grounds. The old chapel on the grounds is now used for weddings, banquets and even theatrical productions, and besides office rentals, they are now selling condominiums and loft residences. We strolled through the ground level corridors looking at the assorted shops, I guess the old merchant in me, still admires small businesses. Interspersed in the corridors one will also see some old artifacts that were found within the huge complex from the hospital days that were luckily not tossed out as junk. Also while we were walking around, we had to side step a good crowd that were on a guided historic tour, which if we had more time, I would have enjoyed, as they were explaining what the different rooms were originally constructed for, as well as the old steam tunnels and they were also going to see some of the structures that have not been renovated yet. It is also considered one of the largest mixed-use historic redevelopement projects in the United States. It was a charming way to spend the morning.
Halfway through our exploration of the corridors we discovered The Red Spire Brunch House that showed real moxie for utilizing almost every square foot to create a restaurant and even with tables out in the corridor as well, the restaurant was packed. We actually had to leave our phone number as we explored the rest of the corridors as we waited for a table to be open. A table was not possible, so we sat at the counter and on the other side of the counter was a hive of productivity as we were watching the kitchen do their magic. I have to tell you, that since I was a child, my Mother used to make me poached eggs with her poaching pan and I have never stopped enjoying them to the point that I very seldom have fried eggs, except as an omelet; and that may have been the start of my being a pain in the arse about food. I had the Traditional Eggs Benedicts while my Bride had Crab Benedict, which substituted home made crab cakes for English Muffins, and my dish surprisingly had English Muffin Bread rather than the classic muffins.
This brunch
may not have even been mentioned, because I didn’t notice it at the tables out in the
corridor, but at the counter we discovered that they were making Mimosas. Not only did they have Mimosas, but they made
them in the manner that we prefer, a glass of bubbly and a soupcon of orange
juice. The first time that I saw this
particular bubbly was in Las Vegas, but we have now encountered it often, and
in fact I have noticed in some newspaper ads for brunches around the Detroit
area that they tout that they use Wycliff.
Wycliff Brut California Champagne is by the William Wycliff Winery which
is under the umbrella of the Gallo Winery group. This screwcap bottle of
sparkling wine is geared strictly to restaurants and catering companies, so
that the consumer cannot check the retail price of the wine or buy it on their
own. Since it is part of Gallo, I am sure that they have made sure that they
were grandfathered in with the term “California Champagne.” This wine is
made by the Charmat Method, which is a more economical way of producing a
sparkling wine and since it was being mixed with orange juice, it was more than
adequate. Traditionally the wine would be made with Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and
Pinot Meunier and I will presume that all or part of those grapes are being
used. All I can say is that it was a great way to start the day off. The only thing lacking was the pop
of the cork. Our day was off to a great
start.
After stopping at five wineries on the Old Mission Peninsula and having drove from Bay Harbor after lunch, we had worked up an appetite. Logistically while we were plotting out the day, we discovered this restaurant maybe half way up the peninsula and rather than driving past our hotel for the evening to dine in Traverse City, we decided to try the Old Mission Tavern that was a stand-alone restaurant with a vista of acres of vineyards. The restaurant is about twenty-five years old and it has the feeling of Traverse City, before it was discovered by Chicago and has been forever changed. Thankfully, so far the waterfront playground for Chicago has only been for a destination for foodies and “tasters/swillers” and when you talk to some of the locals, you feel that they are not keen on the gentrification of the area, but as long as the Asian Carp and some of the other detriments of Chicago stay in Illinois, the locals seem to be able to survive the rise of restaurant prices.
There we were situated with views of the East and West Traverse Bays and the farmlands, it truly felt like we were up North. The Old Mission Tavern had that rustic feeling that old Michiganders equate with the what the area used to be. The restaurant was also interesting in that there was art work on display everywhere by local artists and they had a back room that was filling up as we got there for a big party, while we were having dinner. We had ordered the Smoked Whitefish Dip with Garlic Rounds to start out with, and we were surprised that it was served hot, and I would say that it was the first time that either of us had this dish hot, it was interesting and a change of pace. My Bride had three blue lump Crab Cakes with Beurre Blanc, asparagus and rice. I had Baby Back Ribs basted with a Cherry Barbecue Sauce (shades of the old Traverse City, the Cherry Capital of Michigan) and accompanied with Grilled Shrimp. I was happy, because the meat fell off of the bones, as I have no desire to gnaw on a bone.
We had
tasted so many different wines just prior to having dinner, that we had no
desire to get a bottle of wine, even if we could take it home with us. Of course, we were still going to have some
wine, but we just wanted something light and we found it in some glasses of
Domino Wines Pinot Grigio California 2017 from the Delicato Family Wines. They
began growing grapes in 1924 and began making wines in 1935 and now they have
eighteen different labels domestic and internationally. This particular wine appears only to be
offered in Magnums and perhaps the entire line is done this way to aid
restaurants and catering companies to offer a series of easy drinking
wines. The wine was crisp and not too
sweet and worked fairly well with our entrée dishes, even though it felt like
we were cheating on the peninsula.
Two brothers, Todd and Carter Oosterhouse, long time natives of Traverse City established Bonobo Winery four years ago. The brothers are attempting to maintain the classic Up-North feel to the winery while bringing in the new chic concepts that have been evolving in the area. They want to bring world class wines with a rustic setting, but with elegant tones. They wish to blend the traditional, ecological and philosophical feelings of the community. The nineteen-acre estate grows Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc and they also have agreements with some of the local growers as well to boost the production.
If you are like me, you might think that the winery has a unique name and it does and it is named after the Bonobo Conservation Initiative to preserve the Bonobos monkey, preserve the tropical rainforest and to try to empower local communities in the Congo Basin. It is quite a goal for a couple of brothers in Traverse City. The winery is following the trend of the other local wineries by having a couple of different wine clubs, having a small plate menu and they charge ten dollars for five tastings. They do have a nice view and some outdoor lounge areas, if you want to get a larger glass of wine and just relax and admire the setting.
Somehow, we ended up tasting six of the seven wines being offered that day and only one of the wines offered carried the America AVA, the rest were Old Mission Peninsula AVA. The first four wines that we tasted all spent two months aging. We were really going with the white wines at the winery and the first was the Pinot Gris 2018 and it was aged in Stainless Steel and offered a very pretty wine with a soft nose and Michigan apples in the finish, the production was 345 cases. The Pinot Blanc 2018 was also Stainless Steel aged and offered Fuji apples and a bit of crispness and a production of 350 cases of wine. The Chardonnay C 2018 offered some floral notes and lemongrass and was a nice glass of wine, and they made 250 cases of it. The Rosé 2018 spent twenty-four hours on the lees and then two months in Stainless Steel and this was made from Pinot Gris and offered a very distinct finish of pear and they made 620 cases. The Chardonnay Select 2017 was aged for seven months in neutral French Oak and offered some hints of butterscotch and it was very easy to drink, though not as dry as I would have preferred. Our hostess decided that we were rather serious, since we were taking notes, photographing and came by ourselves and not in a party bus, so she wanted us to try the new wine. We were there on a Friday and the wine was just bottled Sunday of the same week. The Bonobo Red America AVA 2018 was a fun wine that offered some red fruit, a bit of vanilla and some pepper. The wine was forty percent Merlot from Saugatuck, Michigan, forty percent Cabernet Franc from the estate and twenty percent Cabernet Sauvignon from Walla Walla, Washington. The juice was first aged separately for two months in Stainless Steel and then blended and aged for an addition eight months in French Oak. There were 465 cases produced. You could feel some pride about the winery even in the tasting room, where sometimes you encounter individuals just going through the motions, and we liked that.
For the last couple of years, I have had a request from a friend, that I grew up with from the old neighborhood that I should make it a point to go to Tabone Vineyards. I know a lot of people that don’t drink wine as their beverage of choice, but I guess by now they know that I am rather partial to wine for myself. Tabone Vineyards is located in Old Mission Peninsula just north of Traverse City. They have been growing grapes there for about twenty years and in 2014 they established themselves as a winery, instead of growing the grapes for other wineries.
One of the first things you notice when you arrive at Tabone Vineyards is the Maltese Cross symbols, and when I was a kid, just outside of my immediate neighborhood in Detroit, one could find a concentration of Maltese families, including their own newspaper, the things that I remember. As I was trying to get myself situated for the tasting, I mentioned the friend that recommended that I go to the winery, but the name was lost on the hostess that was taking care of us, and I decided not to press the issue. I guess I better stick to blogging, because I do not have the tenacity to be a newspaper journalist from the old days. Once again, the tasting was priced at eight dollars for five samples, and there was the suggestion of getting a Cheese and Charcuterie Plate as well as the offer to buy a club membership, and we declined on both offers and we nursed the five tastings between the two of us.
The winery offered twelve different wines to try, and we had to pick out five wines to try; and all the wines were estate grown. The first wine that we tried was the Bubbly Riesling 2016 and the wine spent eighteen months in what they called “bottle conditioned” and there was no residual sugar. This was a very crisp and dry sparkling Riesling, and I believe my first one in this category. I have some problems with real dry wines, but I did pick up some apple tones with this wine. The next wine that we tried was the Chardonnay 2016 and this was their “unoaked” wine that was aged for eighteen months in Stainless Steel. This was a nice fruit forward wine and some good acidity, so that you would want another glass. The next wine that we tried was the Chardonnay Oaked 2016 and I was told that this wine had twelve months in Stainless Steel with some Oak Chips and then six months in Oak Barrels. I was surprised that this wine offered more citrus and some terroir compared to the Unoaked version. We then tried the Semi-Dry Riesling 2014 that was aged in Stainless Steel. I got some pear and some terroir from this wine. The last wine that we tried, and it was offered in two different versions, but we were touted to try the Red Wine 2016 as compared to the Red Wine 2017. Here we had some more of the old school Michigan Red wine with a blend of Baco Noir, Marechal Foch and DeChaunac and aged for six months in Hungarian Oak. It had a little bit of cherry and a lot of the spice that is prevalent for this wine. I liked this wine for some barbequed food.
The Wine Raconteur 