Author: Josh

I'm a married white male. I like reading, writing, gardening, listening to music, teaching, cooking, drinking and wasting time. MTS from Anderson University, MA in History (Medieval Europe) from Wayne State University. Currently taking care of my children and running a household.

Rockway Small Lot Riesling, 2018

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Maker: Rockway Vineyards, St. Catherines, Ontario, Canada.

Grape: Riesling

Place of origin: Niagara Peninsula VQA (“mostly estate fruit with a small portion coming from neighboring vineyards”), Ontario, Canada.

Vintage: 2018.

Style: Dry Riesling.

ABV: 10.5%

Purchased for $15 US (2020 vintage sells for $20 Canadian on their website.)

Appearance: Pale straw.

Nose: Pear, petrol, pineapple.

Palate: Medium bodied and dry. Golden apple, white mulberry, tangerine, limestone dust, lychee.

Finish: Quick but refreshing. Fruit and minerals.

Parting words: I picked up this wine when the family and I vacationed at Niagara Falls last summer. We had a great time. For more information on our visit to Rockway, take a look at this review of their Small Lot Syrah.

At any rate, I had to pick up some Riesling while I was there, being the Riesling nerd that I am. This Small Lot Riesling is a not quite estate wine that nevertheless does a great job of showcasing the terroir of the St. Catherines area.

I’m writing this review in March, but this wine would a perfectly refreshing summertime wine. It’s crisp (granted, it’s probably a little less crisp than it was a couple years ago,) but complex with a good balance of fruit, minerals, and a soft mouthfeel (maybe a little lees contact?).

$20 is a very good price for a wine this enjoyable. If you ever find yourself in St. Catherines, pick up a bottle or four of this wine. You won’t be disappointed. Rockway Small Lot Riesling is highly recommended.

Method and Madness Single Pot Still

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Maker: Midleton, Midleton, Co. Cork, Ireland (Irish Distillers/Pernod Ricard)

Style: Single pot still (mix of malted and unmalted barley), finished in chestnut wood.

Age: NAS

ABV: 46%

Michigan state minimum: $77/700 ml (comes out to about $82 for 750 ml)

Appearance: Light copper.

Nose: Malt, chestnut shells, cut lumber, cinnamon sticks, vanilla.

Palate: Full-bodied and sweet. Cinnamon gummies, old oak, walnut shells.

Finish: Nutty and drying.

Parting words: Method and Madness is a new-ish line of experimental Irish whiskeys from Irish Distillers, makers of Jameson. There are three expressions available in Michigan: single grain ($57), single pot still (this one), and single malt ($90). There are even pricier expressions, like the33 year old, very limited edition Mizunara oak finish edition single pot still.

As for this one, it’s more than I normally like to pay for a 46% ABV, NAS whiskeys, but the last Irish whiskey I purchased was cheap and dull, and I just got a vasectomy last week, so I decided to treat myself. Plus I’d never heard of a chestnut wood-finished spirit of any sort, so I was intrigued.

I’m glad I did. This is a luscious, rich whiskey with a unique (but not weird) nuttiness that comes through on all three levels of tasting. It’s a refreshing Sunday night or special occasion sipper, and as such is priced appropriately. If you’re looking for a change of pace for St. Patrick’s Day (or any day) this year, give Method and Madness a try. It is recommended!

Peninsula Cellars Merlot/Cabernet Franc, 2012 (The Hog’s Back)

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Maker: Peninsula Cellars, Traverse City, Michigan, USA

Grapes: Merlot (75%), Cabernet Franc (25%).

Place of Origin: The Hog’s Back vineyard, Old Mission Peninsula AVA, Traverse City, Michigan, USA

Vintage: 2012

ABV: 13%

Notes: 230 cases produced, 13 months in French oak.

Purchased for $30 at winery.

Appearance: Dark ruby.

Nose: Medium bodied and fruity. Cherry juice, fruit of the forest pie filling, mace, blueberry.

Palate: Cherry juice, ancho chili, toasted oak.

Finish: Juicy, then a nip of bitter oak.

Parting words: The Hog’s Back is the next entry in the 2012 project, the goal of which is the see how Michigan wines age. I last reviewed this wine in 2017, when it earned coveted “highly recommended” status. See that review for more information on The Hog’s Back vineyard, and Peninsula Cellars, one of my favorite Northern Michigan wineries.

Going by that review, this wine has changed in a few ways. First, it’s not nearly as acidic (in taste anyway) as it was back then. The cherries and berries are still there, but it’s like the tang has been almost completely removed. The baking spice is also still there, but there’s a bitter oak taste in the finish that was surprising.

This is still a very good wine at over ten years old, but it is probably starting its inevitable downward slide. If you still have a 2012 Hog’s Back, it’s time to drink up! Still, Peninsula Cellars 2012 Merlot/Cabernet Franc, 2012 is recommended.

New Riff Bottled-in-Bond

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Maker: New Riff, Newport, Kentucky, USA (Ken Lewis, founder of The Party Source)

Style: Bonded, high rye bourbon.

Distilled in the spring of 2018.

Age: 4 y/o

Proof: 100 (50% ABV)

Michigan state minimum: $40

Appearance: Medium brown.

Nose: Char, leather, caramelized condensed milk, dried chilies.

Palate: Caramel, white chocolate, ancho chili powder.

Finish: A bit of leather, a lot of chili powder.

Parting words: I last reviewed a New Riff bourbon in June of 2021, when I reviewed a Red Wagon selection of the single barrel, barrel proof expression. I liked it (eventually), but I thought it was strange. Very herbal, even for a high rye bourbon, and there was that cut lumber aroma I get out of a lot of young, “craft” whiskeys. The lumber isn’t completely gone, but the basil and tobacco are. The result is a much more conventional, but still tasty, bourbon.

Of all the macro-distilled bourbons on the market, it reminds me of Old Grand Dad the most. It lacks the yeastiness, but the spice and char is similar. I’ve had a few single barrel Four Roses expressions with a similar profile too.

$40 isn’t too bad for a quality BiB in 2023, either. Factoring in “craft” beverage inflation, it’s almost a bargain. While it’s not a Glen Buxton Riff, it’s still a solid Joe Perry one. New Riff Bottled-in-Bond is recommended.

Nathaniel Rose Right Bank, 2012

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Maker: Nathaniel Rose, Suttons Bay, Michigan, USA

Grapes: Merlot (50%), Cabernet Franc (50%).

Place of origin: Abagail’s Vineyard, Domaine Berrien Estate, Lake Michigan Shore AVA, Michigan, USA.

Vintage: 2012

ABV: `13.5%

Note: 20 months in oak. 140 cases produced.

Purchased for $90 (Red Wagon of Rochester Hills)

Appearance: Brick red

Nose: Black currant jelly, allspice, toasted oak, cherry juice, ancho chili.

Palate: Juicy. Mulberry, then wild blackberry, then a growing leathery grip.

Finish: Delicate. Juice, then tannin, then fades.

Parting words: The time has finally arrived! The 2012 project has begun! Our first entry is the Right Bank blend from friend-of-the-blog Nathaniel Rose. For the post on my visit to his winery back in 2018, click here. For a review of his one-off Find Wild Fruit Traminette, click here.

Right Bank is modeled on right bank red Bordeaux blends, which tend to have a larger proportion of Merlot compared to Left Bank blends, which have more Cabernet Sauvignon in the mix. Right Bank wines tend to have more Cabernet Franc as well. Nathaniel’s wines come from the best vineyards around the state, which includes those at Domaine Berrien, of course. Both the Right and Left Bank 2012 blends were made from grapes grown at Domaine Berrien.

At any rate, the hallmarks of typical Michigan Merlot/Cab Franc blends are all here: berries, oak, and spice. Time has done interesting things to it, though. It’s “darkened” the fruit, for one, moving from cherry and blueberry to black currant and blackberry. For another, it’s smoothed out the edges and created a wine that shifts more on the palate from one taste to another, rather than everything popping out at once. Right Bank takes my palate on a nice little journey from aroma to aroma and flavor to flavor. There’s nothing for my brain to disentangle. Everything reveals itself in time. A big reason for that seems to be that the acid has mellowed considerably, even compared to similar wines at seven years old.

What it lacks in tangy punch, it more than makes up in sophistication. 2012 Right Bank may not be as hard to find as one might assume, if one lives close to a Red Wagon store. Last time I went to both of them, there were 2012 Right and Left Bank blends on the shelf.

The purpose of the 2012 Project is to taste through these wines and see how they age, so price is less of a factor in my review. Nevertheless, this is a very good wine that I don’t regret paying $90 for. It’s not a weeknight pizza wine, but I didn’t buy it to be that. I think the key with many of these wines is to buy them when they’re young and less expensive, then let them hibernate for several years in a well-regulated cellar.

At any rate, Nathaniel Rose’s 2012 Right Bank is recommended.

Burning Chair

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Maker: Savage and Cooke, Vallejo, California, USA.

Distillery: Ross & Sqibb, Lawrenceburg, Indiana, USA.

Style: Bourbon whiskey finished in Zinfandel and Grenache (70/30%) barrels.

Age: NAS

Proof: 119 (59.7 ABV)

Barrel: 213

Purchased for $70 (Vine and Table)

Tasted with a little water.

Appearance: Medium copper.

Nose: Big spice, char, cayenne, oak, and sweet red wine.

Palate: Full-bodied with a velvety, sweet opening. Wild cherry Lifesavers, then oak, spice, and burn that slowly grows until it burns the roof of my mouth like a hot slice of pizza.

Finish: Burn and cherry wine. Not quite cough syrup but right on the edge.

Parting words: Savage & Cooke is a restaurant/distillery in Vallejo, California. It was founded and is owned by Dave Phinney, known as “the The Prisoner Guy” in wine circles. It’s another case of a rich guy getting into the micro-distilling business, and also another case of a distillery that seems to be more of a distillery-themed restaurant than what normally passes for a distillery.

As cheesy as all that sounds, this is one of the better finished bourbons I’ve tasted. One of the keys is starting with good, already aged whiskey. Too many producers, large and small, try to use finishes to cover up flaws in the spirit. That almost never works, so I’m glad Savage & Cooke didn’t try. This has a solid whiskey base. The finish is noticeable, but not overwhelming, and well-integrated. It’s everything a wine-finished bourbon should be.

The price, on the other hand, is higher than it should be. I knew $70 was too much when I paid for it, but it is barrel strength, unavailable in the Mitten State, an exclusive retail bottling, and Dave Helt was pouring samples of it at the time. So I paid it, and I haven’t really been disappointed. As a result, Burning Chair (barrel 213) is recommended.

Tempesta, 2016

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Maker: Bel Lago, Cedar, Michigan, USA.

Grapes: Cabernet Franc, Regent, Merlot, Marquette, “and more (?).” Label calls it a “vineyard blend”.

Place of origin: Bel Lago estate, Leelanau Peninsula AVA, Leelanau County, Michigan.

Vintage: 2016

ABV: 13.5% ABV

Notes: Spent 34 months in oak barrels.

Purchased for $44 from Michigan by the Bottle Tasting Room, Royal Oak.

Thanks to Cortney Case for the information on the grapes that went into this wine!

Appearance: Brick red.

Nose: Cherry jam, lightly toasted oak, anise, mace.

Palate: Blackberry jam, mulberry, leather.

Finish: Chewy with a little tang.

Parting words: I bought this wine about a year ago. At the time, I’m sure I took note of what the composition of the wine was, but over the months, that knowledge drifted out of my mind. So in preparation for this review, I emailed friend-of-the-blog Cortney Casey (co-owner of Michigan by the Bottle) and asked if she had any information on the grapes in this wine. She wrote back promptly with the above information but noted that Bel Lago co-founder “Charlie [Edson] is notoriously difficult to get full blend lists out of since a lot of his wines are field blends.” Since that is the case, I’m going to assume the term “vineyard blend” on the label means field blend.

I didn’t have that information at my fingertips when I tasted this wine, though, so I went in assuming this would be a Bordeaux/Meritage style blend like many of the “flagship” red blends in Michigan. I was therefore surprised at the “fruit of the forest” flavors of Tempesta at first taste, but with Regent and Marquette in the mix, it makes a lot more sense. That is not intended as a knock in any way, though. Tempesta is an excellent food wine, pairing well with just about anything except shellfish, which it would overwhelm.

$44 is pretty expensive. Not Bel Lago’s most expensive (that would be the Riesling ice wine), but it is in the top four. I’ve had the second most expensive one, sibling wine Tempesta Cabernet Franc, but I think I actually prefer this over that!

I vacillated between a full and a mild recommendation because of the price, but I’ve settled on full. Even though Regent and Marquette are pretty easy to grow in Northern Michigan, Merlot is not (even in a hot vintage like 2016), and Cab Franc can be a pain from time to time. If it is indeed a field blend, that’s worth a bit more as well. All in all, I feel comfortable recommending 2016 Bel Lago Tempesta.

Great King Street Glasgow Blend

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Maker: Compass Box, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK.

Distillers: Undisclosed.

Style: Blended Scotch whisky.

Age: NAS

ABV: 43%

Michigan state minimum: $40.

Appearance: Medium amber (natural color)

Nose: Peat, malt, sherry, rubber.

Palate: Full-bodied and moderately sweet. Toffee, dark chocolate, burn

Finish: Sooty but sweet.

Parting words: Compass Box, known for its blended malts, got into the blended whisky business back in 2011 with their Great King Street Artist’s Blend, named for the Edinburgh street on which their headquarters is located.

What’s the difference between a blended malt and a plain old blended Scotch, you may ask? Well, a blended malt (formerly known as a vatted or pure malt) is a blend of various single malt whiskies. A blended Scotch is single malt blended with grain whisky. Grain whisky is whisky that is made with grains that are not malted barley. It’s usually distilled in a column still (single malts are made in pot still) to a higher ABV than single malts, for less flavor. It’s made to be blended, although it can occasionally be found bottled on its own by independent bottlers. Compass Box actually bottles a grain whisky under the name Hedonism. My review of it is here.

Anyway, Great King Street Glasgow Blend was released in 2014, as a smokier counterpart to Artist’s Blend. It succeeds in that effort. In fact, it was even smokier and peatier than I thought it would be. The result is a blend that is a good, lower cost alternative to smoky Islay Single Malts, for people who enjoy that style. Great King Street Glasgow Blend is recommended.

Bowers Harbor Vineyards Riesling- Medium Dry, 2019

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Maker: Bowers Harbor Vineyards, Lake Leelanau, Michigan, USA

Grape: Riesling (at least 85%)

Place of origin: Old Mission Peninsula AVA, Traverse City, Michigan, USA (at least 85%)

Style: Semi-dry/semi-sweet.

Vintage: 2019.

ABV: 11%

Purchased for $15 at Holiday Market, Royal Oak, Michigan.

Appearance: Very pale gold, almost platinum.

Nose: Pear, wet limestone, papaya.

Palate: Pineapple, tart apple, mandarin, gravel.

Finish: Stone and stone fruit with a bit of acid. Lingers for a while.

Parting words: Bowers Harbor is one of the reigning monarchs of Northern Michigan Riesling and this wine is an excellent example of why. It’s fruit and acid in perfect harmony: at once complex and easy to drink.

It’s hard to believe but the last vintage of this wine I reviewed was 2011. That review is here. I got a lot of orchard fruit in that bottle. Those are definately present in this 2019 bottle, but I tasted more tropical fruit in this. I don’t know if the wine changed or my palate did, but either way, it’s still a very good wine. At $15, it’s a steal if you’re a Riesling lover like me. Bowers Harbor Medium Dry Riesling is recommended.

The 2012 Project

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In my last wine review, I stated that there was a blogging project coming up that involved aging and Michigan wines. Well, here it is: the 2012 project.

A few of the wines that will be a part of the 2012 Project.

In the early 2010s, around the time this blog was born, there was a run of excellent vintages in Michigan. 2010, 2011, and 2012 were all hailed as superb at the time. By the time the 2012 wines were released, I finally got the memo I and started collecting them with an eye on seeing how they would develop in my cellar. 2013 was more challenging, with a cooler autumn, but was recognized as a good year for whites at the time. In retrospect, some excellent reds were produced that year as well; they’ve just taken longer to develop than their older siblings.

Two cellars, one alpaca farm, and countless wine shops later (OK, mostly MBTB, Red Wagon, and Holiday Market), the time has come. Starting in January 2023, I will be embarking on a series of reviews of Michigan wines from the 2012 and 2013 vintages with the goal of understanding how they’ve changed in the bottle and what difference factors like terroir, winemaker, and closure make, among other things. The wines are mostly red, but there will be a few whites in the mix. They are all from Michigan AVAs that existed at the time: Lake Michigan Shore, Leelanau Peninsula, and Old Mission Peninsula. Unfortunately, I didn’t manage to grab any from Fennville.

Why include 2013s in the 2012 Project? As I mentioned above, 2012 and 2013 were pretty different vintages. A lot can be learned just tasting through the 2012 vintage, but including 2013 opens up the possibilities to explore how the variations in weather from year to year factors into the aging of wine.

Winemakers: It’s not too late to get your wines in on the action! If you have library wines you want me to include in this project, send me an email at sipologyblog@gmail.com . The project is currently weighted toward red Bordeaux variety wines, so any samples of whites or other red varieties you may have are especially welcomed!

I’m looking forward to exploring these bottles with you all in the new year!

Happy Holidays from your internet drinking buddy Josh.