Blue Rock Winery – Part One

Posted on November 17, 2025 by thewineraconteur

Another wine tasting at The Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan and it is always fun to encounter a new winery, at least to me, it was a new winery and the tasting was overseen by Carla Jeffries, who handles liaison work with the media and the trade; and not only that, she was originally from Michigan, and it was a pleasure to hear her talk about the wines.

The Blue Rock estate dates to 1880 and when Italian winemaking came to Sonoma County’s Alexander Valley bringing olive trees, vine cuttings and traditional wine lore techniques. The first wine that we had was Blue Rock Winery Viognier Gapstone Vineyard Petaluma Gap Alexander Valley 2023.  Gapstone Vineyard is considered a jewel among the northwestern slopes of the Petaluma Gap.  After harvest and pressing the juice was divided in two.  The first half underwent aging in once used French Oak barrels for creating sensory mouthfeel and texture, while the other half went to Stainless-Steel tanks to retain the floral and mineral notes.  The barrel fermented half was allowed to ferment and age with lees stirring for two months; while the other half after Initial Fermentation was immediately chilled after the fermentation to inhibit Malolactic Fermentation. The straw-yellow colored wine offered notes of honeysuckle, lemon and honey.  On the palate this medium-bodied well-balanced wine displayed tones of pears, almonds and lemons and ended with a nice medium-count finish of fruit, citrus and terroir. 

Blue Rock Winery was originally settled by Italians who work down the road at the Italian Swiss Colony winery, while the original stone house was once Villa Maria winery which closed during Prohibition.  It was acquired by Kenny and Cheryl Kahn in 1987, who have maintained the Old-Word feel to the estate, even by importing more Italian olive tree cuttings, as well as maintaining some of the original olive trees that are close to 150 years of age.  Our next wine was Blue Rock Winery Baby Blue Blanc Sonoma County 2023.  The Baby Blue Collection is a set of wines that show the creativity of the winemaker to enhance the base wines.  This wine is a blend of seventy-five percent Sauvignon Blanc, sixteen percent Semillon and nine percent Viognier.  The wine was fermented and quickly aged in a period of about three months in a mix of Stainless-Steel and Neutral Oak, with an additional four plus months in bottle before release.  The pale straw-yellow wine offered notes of white peaches, honeysuckle, orange blossoms and lemongrass.  On the palate this medium-bodied, well-balanced wine displayed tones of grapefruit, lychee, tangerine, wax cherries and ending with a medium-count finish of fruit and minerality. 

Besides the grove of olive trees, the grounds also have an organic vegetable garden left over from the Kenny Kahn’s farming techniques from his days in Tennessee.  There is also a 130-year-old Bocce Ball court from the original days, and there can also be found wild turkeys, feral pigs and other wildlife that share the estate.  The final white wine was the Blue Rock Winery Chardonnay Petaluma Gap Gapstone Vineyard Sonoma County 2022.  This wine is pure Chardonnay grown on their Gapstone Vineyard of tightly spaced rows of two clones of Chardonnay on coastally drained, silty gravel soil.  The wine is barrel fermented in French Oak, of which twenty-five percent is new with the lees stirred every two weeks; and aged for fourteen months with an additional four months of bottle aging.  This soft golden-yellow wine offered notes of green apples, tropical fruit, lemon-lime, vanilla and other spices.  On the palate this medium-bodied, well-balanced wine displayed tones of tropical fruits, lemon curds blending with some additional refreshing acidity and ending with a medium-count finish of fruit, honey and minerality.

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A Blogging Celebration

Posted on November 14, 2025 by thewineraconteur

I started my little wine blog in May 2012, and Facebook just before that.  It was strongly suggested that I get an Instagram account, which I finally did in March 2017; I guess I am slow to try new things.  Using WordPress for my blog was good, because I had no idea what I was doing, and some people still question my ability to know.  WordPress offers help and guidance; Facebook and Instagram have rules that one only encounters if they have done something wrong.  All is good.  Thank you.   

With the blog, I kind of tiptoed around, and I think that I have finally found my voice and conceit (literary and not ego).  This will be my 2,519 article and the start of 5,251 photos as near as I can estimate.  Of course, this does not even scratch the surface of all the wines that I have tried since my high school days, which is easily over fifty years ago.  I am just a working guy who has had the good fortune of having experienced not only some of the best, but also some of the more questionable wines on the market, but I write about all the wines that I have encountered.  Through the years I have met and enjoyed many people that I have learned from, and some that I have had other experiences with.  Also, I had some that were getting excited for me, as they looked at my numbers.  Thank you.

Now Instagram is a strange environment, and people are chasing for imaginary goals and numbers.   I have been invited to join people that could increase my numbers, but I have had no desire to do any hanky-panky.  In fact, I think that there have only been a few accounts that I have followed first, as I usually wait for someone to follow me. Since I have no designations or accreditations in the wine industry, I have never bothered to proffer recommendations or to describe myself with lofty titles like being an influencer, that are so trendy today.  The account that put me over the mark has a statement of their profile that I thought was perfect for the occasion, as they proclaim, “Never run out of wine, always have some on hand!” and with our cellar exploding with around three thousand bottles, I guess that describes my Bride and me. Today, I received a message from Instagram that I now have 10,000 followers which I am sure will waver around that number for a couple of weeks, as there are some people that follow you, and once you reciprocate, they drop you, as they only want your “follow.”  We may have Chili tonight, if we do, then I will celebrate with Margaritas and we are going to a new restaurant tomorrow, so I will find a wine or two to celebrate then.  Thank you.

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Taking Coals to Newcastle

Posted on November 11, 2025 by thewineraconteur

Now most people realize that the title of this article is a useless endeavor, but I will get to that story soon enough.  As I had to make a trip to my favorite wine shop The Fine Source in Livonia, Michigan. 

My Bride was asking about a certain Port wine that we have in the cellar, as she was thinking of giving a bottle as a Christmas gift, now I have to tell you that just about all the gifts have been purchased, she has written the Annual Newsletter and has started addressing the cards.  Anyways, I went to the shop, thinking that I better get some more of the Port wine, the winery decided not to make it anymore, and one of the customers bought the entire inventory of seventy-seven bottles left in existence.  They graciously suggested another wine to take its place, so they poured me a glass of Bodegas Alvear Pedro Ximenez Montilla-Moriles Solera 1927.  Bodegas Alvear is one of the largest and best-known producers in Andalucia.  It was built in 1729 by Diego de Alvear y Escalera and their wines are competitive with the great Sherry producers of Jerez.  Though Montilla-Moriles was not as famous, but for all of you Edgar Allan Poe fans, the Cask of Amontillado, actually means “in the style of Montilla.”  The district was awarded a DO in 1945, which is interesting since the wine has been recorded since the 8th century.  Pedro Ximenenz is a white wine grape best for the Sherries of Jerez, Spain.  The grape is unsuitable for table wine production, because of its very low acidity, but when fortified it takes on a life of its own.  The solera system has been used for centuries, where the wine is aged in a barrel system, under a layer of “flor” which is dissipated yeast that has oxidized in the barrel and contributes to this unique aging process of pouring older wine barrels into a succession of younger wine barrels for a constant blending cycle.  Bodegas Alvear has the ability to age five-million liters of wine in oaks butts at once and is known for having two-hundred-year-old Amontillado.  The grapes are harvested late and spread out on mats, until they turn to raisins, then pressed, the resulting must is exceptionally sweet but then is muted with addition of spirit.   This solera began in 1927 and the deep dark, amber-colored wine offered notes of treacly dark maple syrup, pecans, raisins, dried apricots, coffee, walnuts, orange and toffee.  On the palate, this full-bodied, well-balanced wine actually displays all the olfactory notes with the addition of spices and an extra burst of acidity and ends with a very long-count finish replicating the initial taste.  The nose was so captivating that I actually tasted the wine, before I photographed it.

While I was in the wine shop, there were two doctors that had worked together years ago, one as a mentor that ended in up in different states, rooting for different football teams, and make it a point to meet halfway in Detroit sometimes just to watch games together on the television with a great meal, and of course great wine.  The elder told me that he prefers young wines, because of the big fruit factor and they were tasting some wines to figure out what they were going to drink that evening.  I was solicited into this special tasting as they wanted to hear from an avid amateur about a couple of wines.  I think the wine that was the winner was the flagship wine, the Celani Family Winery “Ardore” Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2021.   The “Ardore” also evokes Tom Celani’s passion for a great cigar, as the label reminds one immediately of a cigar wrapper.  The wine is made from a careful selection of ten barrels of Cabernet Sauvignon from the most exceptional vineyard sites in the Coombsville AVA.  The wine is aged for twenty-two months in French Oak of which eighty-five percent is new, and the wine is never fined, nor filtered.  This deep garnet wine offered great notes of blackberries, black currants, Crème de cassis, tea, and followed by tobacco, chocolate, and minerals.  On the palate, powerful tones of rich concentrated fruit and velvety tannins with an ending that had a very long count of lush fruit and terroir.

Now to explain my title of “Taking Coals to Newcastle,” the elder physician brought two bottles of wine from his cellar to drink at The Fine Wine Source that he had bought upon issue.  He was joking that Jim had told him to get two or three of this wine, that it was so big, and he was laughing because the count was referring to cases and not bottles, and how true his prediction was.  The good doctor was pouring this wine for the staff, he and his associate, for me and every customer that entered the shop.  He was treating everyone to glasses of Joseph Phelps Insignia Napa Valley 1994. Joseph Phelps estate was established in 1973, prior to that he was in the construction business, and had a project in Napa.  He first started sending grapes back to Denver and eventually bought a cattle ranch in the valley and started planting vines. He decided early on that Insignia was his flagship wine and he didn’t want to just bottle varietal wines, but a wine that the blend would change from year to year.  The 1994 vintage is a blend of eighty-eight percent Cabernet Sauvignon, ten percent Merlot and two percent Cabernet Franc.  The wine was aged for twenty-eight months in all new French Oak barrels. This deep purple wine offered notes of black currants, blackberry, licorice, coffee bean, vanilla and smoke.  On the palate this full-bodied, well-balanced wine at thirty-one years of age was still evolving and the jammy dark fruits were still bigger and more impressive than plenty of young wines, the velvety tannins were delightful and it was ending with a full long-count finish of opulence and complexity; yes, I went back and enjoyed a second glass without much prodding to appreciate the secondary and tertiary levels of flavors that my limited scholarly vocabulary could not do it justice, beyond smiling.    

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The New London Chop House – Part Two

Posted on November 8, 2025 by thewineraconteur

When I was just learning to read, on the back page of The Detroit News were two columns, one by Al Blanchard and the other by “Doc” Greene.  I remember that it was in Blanchard’s column that I first heard of the London Chop House, because the legendary and hammy Bill Kennedy of local television fame said that it was the only place to get a hamburger.   “Doc” Greene was from the old school of journalism, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he wrote his column at the Anchor Bar, the Chop House or any sporting house or event.  Alas, the “Doc” Greene salad did not make the cut, when the new menu was being created.

My Bride skipped a salad and had the Lump Crab Cake with Orange and Honey Aioli, Radicchio and Arugula with a Tarragon Vinaigrette and Macadamia nuts.  I went with an Old-School choice of Crab Bisque with Lump Crab, Brandy and Cayenne Oil.  We started out with Grand Bateau Bordeaux Blanc 2022, which is a collaboration between Maison Barriere and Chateau Beychevelle and even features the galleon of Chateau Beychevelle on the label.  This collaboration goes back to the Eighties as they created a Bordeaux designated wine that is reminiscent of the grand wines of the region.  I couldn’t find any production notes, but I will presume that this Sauvignon Blanc wine was crafted in Stainless-Steel tanks and some French Oak aging.  This pale-yellow wine offered notes of green apples, gooseberries, lemon and grapefruit, white florals and vanilla.  On the palate this medium-bodied, well-balanced wine fruit-forward wine displayed tones of green apple, pear, and white peach blending harmoniously and ending with a medium-count finish of fruit, citrus, vanilla and minerality.

For our entrées, my Bride had Seared Ahi Tuna with Romesco Verde, Braised Collard Greens and Castelvetrano Olive Tapenade.  I had the Braised Beef Short Rib with Celery Root Puree, Baby Carrots, Crispy Leeks and a Red Wine Demi-glace.   While my Bride continued with the Grand Bateau Bordeaux Blanc 2022, I went with the Grand Bateau Bordeaux Rouge 2022.  The wine is a project between two important names in Bordeaux who got together in the Eighties; Maison Barriere who is a respected wine merchant and Chateau Beychevelle which is a Grand Cru Classe in Saint-Julien.  Two names that are sourcing capabilities for a wine that can offer both character and value.  The wine is a blend of seventy-five percent Merlot and twenty-five percent Cabernet Sauvignon.  The wine is a blend of traditional methods and modern techniques, as some of the wine is aged in vats and other is aged in oak barrels, before the blending.  The wine is a deep garnet offering notes of plums and cassis, toasted oak, vanilla and baking spices.  On the palate this medium-bodied, well-balanced wine displaying tones of rich red and dark fruits, blending with velvety tannins and ending with a medium-count finish of fruit and spices.

After dinner, my Bride and the others had coffee and dessert with my Bride having the Chocolate Ganache Torte with a Sea Salt and Walnut Crust drizzled with Strawberry Caramel and topped with Walnut Granola.  I snuck a couple of spoonfuls from my Bride, and I let her have some of my dessert of choice.  I have to admit that in the last twenty-some-odd years, I have developed a fondness for after dinner wines.   I had a glass of W&J Graham’s Fine Ruby Porto NV.  Graham’s is a prominent Port house in the Douro Valley of northern Portugal and began as a textile company in the early 1800 by William and John Graham of Glasgow and they received a barrel of Port as payment for a debt, and the business began.  Today Graham’s is owned by the Symington family that also owns other Port houses, including Dow’s and Warre’s.  Ruby Port is the most extensively produced port wine and is a blend of young wines from multiple vintages.  There is no official designation for Ruby, though the industry has agreed in principal that it is youthful, fruit-forward and a bulk-produced wine.  The most common varieties used are: Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Barroca, Tinta Roriz (Tempranillo) and Tinta Cao.  This Port wine is bulk-aged in cement or Stainless-Steel tanks to prevent oxidization to maintain the fruit-forward qualities; and they are not made for additional aging.  This ruby-red colored wine offers notes of red and black fruits.  On the palate this medium-bodied, well-balanced wine displayed tones of black cherry and ended with a medium-count finish of fruit.     

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The New London Chop House – Part One

Posted on November 5, 2025 by thewineraconteur

In the fabled memories of Detroit was the famed London Chop House and it was akin to the Twenty-One Club of Manhattan and The Pump Room of Chicago.  All legendary and could truly be said “where the elite meet to eat” borrowing a line from Duffy’s Tavern.  All three of the restaurants hung photos and caricatures of the great stars of stage and screen that dined there, The Chop House had the work of Hy Vogel and a couple of the originals were on display in a glass case.   The original was established after the Repeal (of the Nanny State’s first mistake) in the 1930s by Lester and Sam Gruber.  The restaurant became so popular that in 1952, they opened The Caucus Club across the street, and old-timers (not me for a change) still recall the days when Barbra Streisand performed there, before she starred in Funny Girl on Broadway.  The restaurant still looked very similar to what I could recall, and they even had match boxes for the LCH Cigar Lounge, which was new.

We were meeting another couple to celebrate their birthdays, and this was the restaurant that they chose. l mentioned the match box, as we have a huge collection of matches, but alas we don’t have an original where they used to imprint your name on the matchbook and they left a dime for the host, to cover the expense of the phone call to book the reservation.  The restaurant states, “proper attire required” and my Bride and I were all dressed for the evening, even with all of the running around in Detroit earlier that day; I guess they just don’t want shorts and sneakers.  Since we were there early, almost an hour early, after leaving Kamper’s, as they were gently edging us out, as a wedding party was taking place there, unbeknownst to us, but it was fine.  We were not seated at the famed “Table #1” but at least we weren’t in “Siberia” which was the area in the back of the restaurant on the other side of stage where the band performed.  They had a trio that performed dance and dinner music, so we took advantage of that, until the tiny dance floor became too small from the tables abutting the area and before our guests arrived.  They still maintained the old phone booth in the back, which I understand is great for the Instagram crowd taking “selfies” and the phone actually operated free of charge, I guess for calling a taxi of other modes of transportation.  Though the Men’s Room and Women’s Room no longer have an attendant.

We also took advantage of our “free” time and ordered a plate of Hudson Valley Foie Gras with the classic sides.  Unfortunately, the bar was temporarily out of Sauternes, and we improvised and settled for glasses of Cascina Pian d’Or “Bricco Riella” Moscato d’Asti DOCG  2024.  Cascina Pian d’Or is located in the heart of Langhe and three generations of the Barbero family cultivated Moscato grapes and then sold the fruit to the major sparkling wine producers of Piedmont.  In 1989, Valter Barbero decided that the family should produce their own wines.  The wine is made from the Moscato Bianco grape and is planted on the hillsides with sandstone-based limestone and tuff (volcanic rock) soil. The fruit is hand-harvested, soft-pressed and the must is placed in cold storage to prevent early fermentation and to maintain the aromas of the grapes.  The must is then moved to a pressurized Stainless-Steel tank and fermentation is controlled to attain a certain proof and then the process is stopped to maintain a balance of acidity, sugar and alcohol; and then it is bottled.  The straw-colored wine offered notes of plums, gooseberry, white florals, sage and lavender.  On the palate this light and fresh wine displayed a soft mousse of fruit with fresh acidity and ended with a medium-count finish of fruit, citrus, almonds and minerals.  Not my first choice, but it was an interesting wine pairing.  

 

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A Day in Downtown Detroit

Posted on November 2, 2025 by thewineraconteur

It was one of those days that was going to be fun.  We were going to have dinner later while we were in Downtown Detroit, and the restaurant had a dress code of proper business attire, which is fine with us as that is our normal attire.  We had to take care of some boring paperwork with our county administration, so we decided to park near the restaurant and then do all of our errands and some site-seeing as well.  Even though I had spent three years attending high school in Detroit, the city has changed dramatically since I had graduated, and I hope the prosperity continues after the new city elections.  Everywhere we wandered, not to brag, but people, even in cars, would tell us how great we looked and while our attire had not changed, most of the people that we encountered had changed.  I thought of Rhett’s lament of the world of gentility was gone.

We had walked by “Greektown” that is undergoing another change and we discussed the days of when it was really “Greek” and not a tourist trap.  We also walked past the “new” Hudson building, which is only a faint reminder of one of the greatest department stores in the country, it was the tallest, and the second largest and covered an entire city block, and as a kid, I still marveled that they maintained a Doorman at the back entrance left over from the carriage trade.   We decided to spend some time at Kamper’s until it was time to have dinner. The Book Tower was built by the Book brothers, who at the time were the wealthiest two men in Detroit and they had a desire to make Washington Boulevard competition to Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue.  They built the Book Cadillac Hotel, and the Book Tower and both became instant Detroit Landmarks with their Roman-influenced designs and embellishments.  Both buildings along with others were designed by the architect Louis Kamper and they were built during the heyday of Detroit, before the Great Depression.  They also have a great view of Downtown Detroit from above.

The Book Tower has a Japanese restaurant, a French Bistro, while Kamper’s has the charm of the Iberian Peninsula.  We had to go through the security desk in the building; to get permission to get to Kamper’s and then security preceded us into the elevator car to punch in a code, as the elevator does not go to that floor by appearance.  We didn’t have any tapas from the menu, but my Bride had a glass of Llopart Reserva Brut Rose Corpinnat Metode Tradicional Penedes, Spain 2021.  The Llopart family has had vineyards at their estate since 1385, and by 1887 the estate only had vineyards.  Located in the municipality of Subirats, this mountainous estate had five-hundred hectares of vineyards at a medium altitude with shallow soil and a large root extension.  Corpinnat is the registered brand name of a group of Penedes wineries that broke away from the Cava DO, besides the traditional Cava grapes and organic farming, the new designation also allows Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.  This wine is a blend of sixty percent Monastrell, twenty percent Grenache and twenty percent Pinot Noir.  The grapes are hand-harvested and whole-pressed, and fermented at low temperature, the base wines are then bottled at the beginning of the year and allowed to rest for eighteen months prior to riddling and the Brut dosage, the wine is aged totally for a minimum of twenty-four months.  The pale salmon colored wine with small bubbles offered notes of cherries, pomegranates, cranberries and custard.  On the palate this medium-bodied wine with good acidity displayed tones of red fruits and ended with a medium-count finish of fruit with a creamy texture.

As for me I went and relaxed with Bodegas Agro de Bazan Granbazan Etiqueta Verde Albarino Salnés Valley Rias Baixas 2023.  Bodegas Granbazan is considered a crown jewel of the region with its pronounced French chateau influence.  Albarino has been praised in the area since the days of the Galician kingdom.  The wine is pure Albarino from vines that are over thirty-five years of age, grown on high granite soils on the banks of an estuary with strong Atlantic influence.  The fruit is de-stemmed and undergoes cold maceration for six to eight hours, with controlled fermentation in Stainless Steel tanks.  The wine rests on fine lees without batonage and then bottled four to five months after fermentation is complete.  A bright yellow wine offering notes of stone fruit, tropical fruits and white floral flowers.  On the palate there were tones displayed of white stone fruit, mandarin, touches of marzipan with refreshing acidity and a good medium count finish of salty air (salinity).

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Two Sauternes and a Barsac

Posted on October 30, 2025 by thewineraconteur

While we were officially done with the scheduled tastings at The Fine Wine Source, my Bride asked about some Sauternes wines, as the holidays will soon be upon us, and she has some ideas.  And naturally this region is famous for the development of Botrytis Cinerea, or “Noble Rot” which is central to Sauternes and Barsac.

The staff had no problem in getting us some fresh glasses and selected three bottles from one of the three wine refrigerators in the shop.  The first wine that they poured was Chateau Bastor-Lamontagne Sauternes 2011.  Chateau Bastor-Lamontagne is in the commune of Preignac in the Sauternes region of Bordeaux.  The estate is fifty-three hectares of vineyards.  The estate goes back to the Middle Ages, when the Domaine de Bastor, was owned by the French crown.  In 1711, it was sod to the LaMontaigne family and eventually it became Lamontagne.  Over the years the estate has changed hands and is now part of the Grands Chais de France (a wine group) based in Alsace.  The estate converted to organic viticulture in 2016. The soil is sandy-gravelly of clay and limestone.  The wine is predominately Semillon with Sauvignon Blanc and Sauvignon Gris. The fruit is hand-harvested, sorted by plot, with Initial Fermentation done in Stainless-Steel vats, and then is aged in French Oak (about thirty percent new) for about eighteen months.  A deep yellow colored wine that offered notes of peaches, mango, lychee, honey, cardamom, with a whiff of mushrooms and almonds.  On the palate this medium-bodied, well-balanced wine displayed tones of tropical fruits, honey, marzipan with an ending of a medium-count finish of fruit, honey, spices and minerality.

We then had Chateau Coutet Barsac 2020 which is a First Grand Cru Classé of 1855 of Sauternes and Barsac.  Chateau Coutet is one of the oldest producers in Sauternes and they are known for having the longest cellar in the region.  The word “coutet” is a Gascon term for “knife” and suggests the wine’s crisp acidity.  The chateau is an English fortress that was built in the 13th Century.  In 1787, Thomas Jefferson proclaimed that it was the best Sauternes from Barsac.  During the French Revolution, the estate was seized by the state, and the owner was beheaded.  It has changed hands many times over the years and is now owned by the Baly family since 1977.  The wine is a blend of ninety-five percent Semillon, four percent Sauvignon Blanc and one percent Muscadelle; planted on clay and limestone soils.  The fruit is hand-harvested over a forty-day period to ensure the grapes are at their maximum desirability.  The wine is aged for eighteen months in French Oak of which at least seventy percent is new.  A deep golden colored wine that offered notes of tropical fruits, white florals, spices and honey.  On the palate this full-bodied, bell balanced wine displayed tones of peach, mango and apricots and spices, that ended with a long-count finish of fruit, vanilla and honey.

The last dessert wine that we tried was Chateau Rieussec “Les Carmes de Rieussec” Sauternes 2020; Chateau Rieussec is a first growth in the 1855 Classification of Sauternes and Barsac, but Les Carmes de Rieussec is their second label. In the 18th Century, the estate was tended to by Carmelite monks, before being confiscated during the French Revolution; since then it has changed ownership many times and is now owned by Barons de Rothschild, in partnership with Albert Frere of LVMH.  The estate is ninety-three hectares of gravel, sand, clay and limestone soil, and is adjacent to Chateau d’Yquem and Chateau de Fargues, with vines that average twenty-five years of age.  This wine is a blend of eighty-two percent Semillon, sixteen percent Sauvignon Blanc and two percent Muscadelle.  The fruit is hand-harvested and lasts for almost eight weeks to get the grapes at the peak of desirability.  After Initial Fermentation in French Oak, the best juice is selected for the grand vin, and the balance goes to Les Carmes de Rieussec, and that wine is aged for eighteen months in a mix of new and used French Oak, the used coming from Chateau Lafite Rothschild.  The pale gold-yellow colored wine offered notes of peach, rhubarb, apricots and white florals.  On the palate this medium-bodied, well-balanced wine displayed tones of fresh, rich tropical fruit, with some light tones of lemon and ending with a long-count finish of fruit, with buttery accents and smoothness.    

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Three Enjoyable Sauvignon Blanc Wines

Posted on October 27, 2025 by thewineraconteur

After having a delightful wine tasting of French red wines at The Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan we walked into the original part of the shop and we had a chance to try three special Sauvignon Blanc wines.

The first wine we tried was Domaine de Chevalier L’Esprit de Chevalier Blanc Pessac-Leognan 2022 from Famille Bernard.  Domaine de Chevalier is a highly-regarded estate and it was classified as a Grand Cru Classé de Graves in 1959 for both its red and white wines. The estate has about sixty hectares on gravel and clay  rich soils, and about a third of the estate is devoted to seventy percent Sauvignon Blanc and thirty percent Semillon. In 1983, the Domaine was purchased by the Famille Bernard and has been maintained by the family ever since. Their second label “L’Esprit de Chevalier” was created in 1989 using fruit from younger planted vines and from lots that did not get approval for the first label.  The fruit is hand-harvested, and this is the second year after the conversion to organic farming.  While the first label is aged for eighteen months, the second label is aged for nine months in French Oak, with fermentation and racking done directly in the barrels.  This pale whitish-green wine offered notes of lemon tart, key lime, freshly cut straw and white florals, with a touch of honeycomb and coriander seed.  On the palate this dry, medium-bodied, well-balanced wine displayed tones of tropical fruits, lychee, lime and ended with a medium-count finish of minerals (terroir), pineapple and caramel.  An excellent second label wine.

The second wine that we had was Stewart Cellars Sauvignon Blanc Oakville, Napa Valley 2022.  Stewart Cellars is now a second-generation family-owned winery since 1999.   Michael Stewart, was a successful Texas businessman who originally thought of this as a post-retirement venture, but when his son and daughter joined he and his wife, the venture took off.  The fruit for this wine came from the Money Lane Vineyard, in a plot surrounded by Cabernet Sauvignon vines in Oakville using sustainable farming techniques and minimal intervention winemaking.  The fruit is pressed whole cluster, fermented and aged in Stainless-Steel tanks at cool temperatures to retain aromatic and bright flavors, with no Malolactic Fermentation.  A pale golden-colored wine that offered notes of tropical fruits, lemon and lime, and green apples.  On the palate this medium-bodied, well-balanced wine displayed notes of honeydew melon, guava, pineapple and lemon and lime zest with a satiny, silky mouthfeel that had a nice medium to long count finish of fruit and citrus.  A very sexy wine and it got most of our attention for our cellar. 

Then we finished the tasting with Chateau d’Yquem “Y” Ygrec Bordeaux 2021, from one of the most legendary wineries in the world (if I may say) and it was stunning; I will offer some background notes, because if you are like me, it is not a wine that one encounters that often.  It was originally made at the end of the harvest with the last bunches of grapes since 1959 and in 1966 the selection of the grapes changed, and the wine is sixty percent Sauvignon Blanc picked at the beginning of the harvest and forty percent of Semillon with Botrytis and in 2004 the brand was to be produced every vintage.  They now have a state-of-the-art vat room just to make this wine and the aging on the lees take place in the barrels, one-third of which are new, and the lees are regularly stirred for ten months. This is a white wine that is considered by many to cellar for twenty years, and while I do like to get multiple bottles of wine, in our retirement we passed on this lovely wine.  A pale-yellow wine offering notes of pears, lime blossoms, vanilla, fennel and almonds.  On the palate this wine displayed tones of white fruits, with traces of pear and lime, chalk and white pepper with refreshing acidity, and a very long finish of saline, pears, almonds, and that chalky terroir. I thought this wine was awesome, this may be the freshest and liveliest white wine that I have ever tasted, and I knew that my Bride would have freaked, if I had added it to the list, but I did think long and hard.  Oh, by the way, if you are curious the “Y” is pronounced “ee-grek” in French.   

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Another French Wine Tasting

Posted on October 24, 2025 by thewineraconteur

I truly enjoy attending wine tastings, especially at The Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan.  If you are a member of their wine club, you get invitations to attend wine tastings, though you must be flexible, because of the crowds.  I will discuss two different Bordeaux red wines and then a vertical of four wines from Lussac-Saint Emilion. 

The first wine was Chateau Tour de Luchey Bordeaux 2022. This estate is located in the district of Moulon on the banks of the Dordogne River.  On the grounds of the estate is a medieval tower, and years ago, “Luchey” meant the King’s usher who would check the ship’s loading leaving for France’s King, via Bordeaux.  The estate has been in the same family for five generations.  It is a little more that sixteen hectares of forty-year-old vines on silty soil and predominately Merlot.  This vintage is eighty percent Merlot, ten percent Cabernet Franc and ten percent Cabernet Sauvignon.  The fruit is both mechanically and hand harvested.  Each varietal is picked and vinified separately in Stainless-Steel and concrete vats and thermal-regulated for about fifteen days; and then the wine is aged in Stainless-Steel vats.  This deep claret colored wine offered notes of red cherry, raspberry and strawberry.  On the palate this medium-bodied and well-balanced wine displayed tones of fresh red fruits and blackberry blending with ripe tannins with tones of chocolate and coffee and ending with a medium-count finish of fruit.

The next wine was Chateau Rocher-Calon Montagne-Saint-Emilion 2022.  Pierre Lagardere after returning home after The Great War, bought a hectare of land in Pomerol, and over the next four generations the family has acquired twenty-two hectares of vineyards in the Libournais; as well as investing in a temperature-controlled cellar, pneumatic wine press and micro-oxygenation equipment.  The estate is basically Merlot with some Cabernet Franc, and the average age of the vines is about thirty-five years on Calcareous-clay soil.  The fruit is both mechanically and hand-harvested, and this vintage is ninety percent Merlot and ten percent Cabernet Franc.  The fruit undergoes a four-day period of cold-maceration prior to fermentation to extract deeper color and flavor from the skin. The wine is then aged for eighteen months in a mix of Stainless-Steel and concrete vats. A deep ruby-garnet red colored wine that offered notes of cherry and blackberry, leather and sous-bois. On the palate this medium-bodied, well-balanced wine displayed tones of dark and red fruits, and chocolate blending with supple tannins and ending with a medium-count finish of fruit and terroir. 

We then had a special treat of having the chance to experience a vertical tasting of Chateau du Courlat Lussac-Saint-Emilion and is part of the family run business estates of Jean-Baptiste Audy.  The company was founded in 1906 and today it is run by his great-grandson, Jean-Baptiste Bourotte and the fifth generation. Chateau du Courlat has seventeen hectares of vines, of which four hectares are dedicated to the company’s first wine Cuvée Jean-Baptiste.  The estate is planted ninety percent Merlot and ten percent Cabernet Franc and the vines average about twenty-five years in age and planted on a clay-loam soil.  The fruit is mechanically harvested and then is manually sorted on vibrating tables.  Vinification is done plot by plot, with maceration for about twenty-five days, in Stainless-Steel and cement vats then pneumatically pressed.  Aging is done in French Oak barrels and cement vats for about eighteen months.  The 2016 vintage showed a deep ruby wine that offered notes of dark fruit, tobacco and spices.  On the palate this medium-bodied, well-balanced wine displayed tones of red cherry, blackberry, chocolate blending with silky tannins and ending with a medium-count finish of fruit and pepper, almost demanding a second taste.  The 2019 vintage was a deep ruby wine that offered notes of black fruits, violets, camphor and spices.  On the palate this medium-bodied, well-balanced wine displayed tones of blackberry, strawberries blending with rich tannins and ending with a medium-count finish of fruit and spices.  The 2020 vintage was a deep purplish-ruby color that offered notes of dark fruit, leather, licorice, cigars and spices.  On the palate this medium-bodied, well-balanced wine displayed tones of fruit forward blackberry and plums, raisins, tobacco blending with grainy tannins and finishing with a medium-count finish of fruit, smoke and spices.  The 2022 vintage was pure merlot and a dark violet wine that offered notes of plums, blackberries, violets, and spices.  On the palate this medium-bodied, well-balanced wine displayed tones of rich dark fruits, licorice, espresso blending with mellow tannins, a nice “chewy” wine that ended with a medium-count finish of fruit, spices and terroir.

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Fine Wine Source Club – October 2025

Posted on October 21, 2025 by thewineraconteur

I feel that I was overdue to pick up my wine club selections from The Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan.  It has been an interesting time the last month or so, and I have plenty of wines, and tastings to write about, and it was a pleasure to just stop by the shop and admire the goods, and I was a good boy, as I had to rush back to the house, as we have been in the midst of updating the outside of our house, as we have been here for thirty years or so.  The wine shop was a pleasant respite.

The first wine represents the Old World, and it is bottle of Vin Schoenheitz Riesling Vin d’Alsace 2020.  During the 1970s, Henri Schoenheitz Sr., who had a passion for the history of his birthplace, undertook the rebirth of an all but forgotten vineyard at Wihr-au-Val in the Munster Valley.  Preparing the soil and replanting the steep hillsides, and this passion and dedication has been maintained by Henri Schoenheitz Jr., and his wife; both are graduates in oenology and viticulture.  The family made a name for themselves as the only independent wine makers in the village.  The wine is pure Riesling, and the vineyard is in the heart of Munster Valley with the first hillsides facing south-southwest.  The vines are ten to thirty years of age planted on granite soils that are very decomposed, rich in micas and silica.  This white wine has been described as having notes of citrus, stone fruits and white florals.  On the palate this off-dry wine is said to display tones of green apples, pears, and hints of fig and kiwi, and ending with a long-count finish of fruit and lemon zest.

The wine representing the New World is Two Mountain Hidden Horse Red Blend 22, Yakima Valley, Washington State NV.  Two Mountain Winery is a family concern, owned and operated by Matthew and Patrick Rawn, their family began farming in 1951, when Schmidt Orchards had forty acres.  The brothers bought the farm from their late uncle in 2006 and began Two Mountain Winery and Estate Vineyard.  Hidden Horse was originally only available in their distribution and retail partners.  It is their work horse and budget friendly.  The wine is a blend of 48% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 7% Syrah, 3% Cabernet Franc, 2% Malbec.  The wine was aged for twenty months in ninety-four percent French and six percent American Oak.  A deep blackish-purple colored wine that offers notes of dark fruits, dark chocolate, tobacco leaf and vanilla.   On the palate this medium-bodied wine displayed tones of blackberries, plums, raspberries with crisp acidity blending with supple tannins, and a medium-count finish of fruit and spices.  

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