Maker: Laurentide, Lake Leelanau, Michigan, USA.
Place of origin: Leelanau AVA, Leelanau County, Michigan, USA (at least 85%)
Grapes: Cabernet Franc & Merlot.
Vintage: 2016
ABV: Undisclosed.(labed as table wine).
Purchased for $45 (MBTBTR wine club).
Appearance: Dark ruby.
Nose: Cherry jam, clove, white pepper, toasted oak.
Palate: Semi-sweet and medium bodied. Mixed berry jam, allspice, oak.
Finish: Well balanced. Sweet, tangy, and tannic.
Parting words: Laurentide is one of my favorite Leelanau wineries. They’re good people making good wine. The name is a celebration of the Laurentide glacier that shaped so much of the present landscape of Northwestern Michigan.
I’d been celaring this wine for a couple years, since I got it in my Little Sipper package from Michigan by the Bottle Tasting Room, Auburn Hills. When I saw the Laurentide Instagram account post a picture of an open bottle of this vintage, I figured the time had come to open it!
This wine is sweeter than I expected in a “Meritage” blend. That’s not a knock by any means, you, dear readers, know that I am no sweetness snob. It’s just more of a heads up. There is nothing unharmonious about, though. It fits in that fun little pocket of wines that are beautiful and well made but also very quaffable.
At $45 a bottle, one needs to pace one’s self, though. I would like it better at a lower price but that applies to any wine, really. There’s nothing not to like, so 2016 Laurentide Reserve Meritage is reccomended.
Sipology 