Maker: Peninsula Cellars, Traverse City, Michigan, USA
Place of origin: Manigold, Old Growth vineyards, Old Mission Peninsula AVA, Traverse City, Michigan, USA
Vintage: 2013
ABV: 11%
Purchased for $17 (Michigan by the Bottle Tasting Room)
Appearance: Very pale gold with tiny stationary bubbles.
Nose: Peach, limestone dust, touch of oak.
Palate: No apparent effervescence. Medium bodied. Juicy on entry, then dries out. Bartlett pear, mineral water.
Finish: Drying continues. Oak then limestone dust.
Parting words: You’ll notice that the word “oak” appears a lot in this review. This struck me as odd, because when I when back to the MBTBTRRO tasting menu I have describing this wine, it said it was stainless steel fermented. This would tend to rule out oak, unless something unusual went on like adding oak chunks to the stainless steel fermentation vessel. Normally in such circumstances I would tgo back and retaste to figure out what’s going on, but this bottle is long gone. Due to illness and baby care, I have a backlog of tasting notes, and this is one of them.
All that to say that I don’t know what exactly I was tasting, but it was a little chewy and bitter. Whatever it was added a nice counterpoint to the fruit and minerality of this wine. Peninsula Cellars is one of OMP’s best wineries, a perfect match for the grapes of Manigold, one of OMP’s best vineyards. Delivers for the price, too. Not a lot of this vintage still around but other vintages are bound to be just as good. 2013 Peninsula Cellars Chardonnay is recommended.
Sipology 