Category: Wine

Sirius Red

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Maker: Black Star Farms, Traverse City, Michigan, USA

Grapes: Regent (hybrid)

Region: Old Mission AVA (?), Michigan, USA

Vintage: NV

Style: Dessert Wine (in the style of ruby Port)

ABV: 20% (edition with different ABV shown)

Appearance: Opaque, deep, dark purple.

Nose: Sweet prunes, allspice, star anise, ginger, alcohol.

On the palate: Full-bodied and velvety. Sweetness, alcohol, black cherry juice, black currant jelly, concord grape jelly.

Finish: Slightly tart, then thick, rich, raisiny and sweet.

Parting words: Sirius is a tasty, well-done version of what used to be called “domestic Port”. The term Port is now protected, and can only be applied to true, Portuguese Ports. It is very sweet, but that’s kind of the point. That sweetness is balanced out by the hints of spice, high ABV, and an underlying earthiness. All that keeps it from being  one-dimensional wino fare like many commercial wines in this class. Also pairs very well with dark chocolate. Sirius Red is recommended.

Artisan Red

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Maker: Black Star Farms, Sutton’s Bay, Michigan, USA

Grapes: ???

Region: Michigan, USA

Style: Semi-Sweet Table Wine

ABV: 11%

Appearance: Dark Burgundy.

Nose: Fruity. Prune juice, grape juice, sweet cherries, strawberries.

On the palate: Sweet and fruity. Red raspberries, raisins, black cherries, tiny kiss of oak.

Finish: Mild, slightly tannic, a bit sweet but fading quickly.

Parting words: Artisan Red is a pleasant, fruity, food-friendly table wine. It’s a tastier alternative to some of the toothache-inducing super-sweet, mediocre supermarket table wines many small wineries put out. It is sweet, but it is more complex than the competition and is a decent price. Short and sweet, just like my wife and this review. Artisan Red is recommended.

Karl Heinz Piesporter Michelsberg Riesling Auslese

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Maker: Karl Heinz, Guntersblum, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany

Grape: Riesling

Region: Piesporter Michelsberg, Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, Germany

Ripeness: Auslese

Vintage: 2003

ABV: 8.5%

Appearance: Old gold

Nose: Barlett pear, Meyer lemon

On the palate: Soft mouthfeel. Delicate and citric. Honeysuckle, lemon thyme, coriander seed, lemongrass, limestone, a hint of green cardamom.

Finish: Like the final seconds of a lemonhead. Sweet with a tingly tartness slowly fading away.

Parting words: This was another corner store find. While walking with the kid in the stroller, we stopped into the local party store to grab some beer. I saw this bottle on the shelf. I was reluctant to get it. Sure it says Auslese, so by the book it should age well, but who knows how well it had been treated over the nine years of its life? And is Karl Heinz really that good? And it’s Piesporter Michelsberg, not Goldtröpfchen. But it is Riesling and only $10. In the end I got it, obviously.

I don’t regret my purchase at the least. This is a delicate, sophisticated wine that has aged gracefully. It’s sweet and complex, but not thick and syrupy. It’s the perfect choice for an afternoon or afterwork sip on the porch. Heinz Piesporter Michelsberg Riesling Auslese 2003 is highly recommended.

Noilly Pratt Original French Dry Vermouth

Josh5 Comments

Maker: Noilly Pratt, Marseillan, Hérault, France (Bacardi)

Style: Dry Vermouth

ABV: 18%

Note: Current U.S. forumlation.

Appearance: Pale gold.

Nose: Sweet, sherry-like. Apple juice, Barlett pear.

On the palate: Sweet on initial entry, fading to bitter, herbal but nothing specific.

Finish: Sweet, juicy, long and bitter.

Mixed: Makes a fine, very herbal, martini or Rob Roy.

Parting Words: This is the first vermouth I’ve reviewed. I’ve reviewed mixers in the past but not very much. I drink more cocktails in the summer so I figured this week was as good a time as ever review another.

This vermouth was not as bad as some folks on the internet (besides me) seem to think. Not being familiar with the pre-2009 formula, maybe I’m not in a good place to judge, but it wasn’t bad. I like the herbal edge it adds to martinis. And it’s very cheap. Noilly Pratt Original French Dry gets a recommendation.

Domaine de Font-Sane Vielles Vignes

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Maker: C. Peysson & Son, Gigondas, France

Grapes: 70% Grenache, 30% Syrah/Shiraz

Region: Ventoux AOC, Vaucluse, Rhone Valley, France.

Vintage: 2008

ABV: 13.5%

Appearance: Deep plum.

Nose: A bit of oak, lightly sweet and grapey. Pluot plums, black raspberries.

On the palate: Semi-dry. Easy going, sweet and mild upon entrance, but turns chewy. Strawberries, Black raspberries, blueberries, plums, then oak and leather.

Finish: Fruity and woody. Faintly lingers for a long while, but who wants to let it? Pour yourself another glass quick!

Parting Words: Domaine de Font-Sane Vielles Vignes is an easy drinking, but fairly complex red Rhone. Fruity but tannic and assertive. It is very food friendly. I would almost say it tastes even better with food. And it’s cheap to boot. This was a supermarket wine guy recommendation, and I must say I will be asking for another recommendation from that guy very soon.. Domaine de Font-Sane Vielles Vignes Ventoux earns a recommendation.

Southern Belle Shiraz

Josh18 Comments

Maker: R Wines (now bankrupt), location ???, Australia

Region: McLaren Vale, South Australia, Australia

Grape: Shiraz/Syah

Vintage: 2008

ABV: ??%

Appearance: Very dark purple, nearly black.

Nose: Black currant, concord grape jelly, plum, pecan, nutmeg.

On the palate: Not what I was expecting from a wine with such a typical Shiraz nose. Fairly light. The pecans have come to the fore. Little tannin, but softly sweet like the previous occupant of its barrel. Strawberries, vanilla, black currant, caramel, toffee.

Finish: Sweet and mild. Lingers on the lips like a faint hint of a stolen kiss. Faint barrel notes on the back end.

Parting Words: What makes this wine remarkable is its finish. It is not only finished in a bourbon barrel, but in a barrel out of which had come Pappy Van Winkle 20 y/o bourbon, one of the most expensive and most sought-after bourbons on the market. I had this when it was first released and it was really all over the place. Not a fun drinking experience. Like any true Southern Belle, this wine has aged gracefully. The flavors are much more integrated and she has grown into a refined, sophisticated lady.

Southern Belle is gone from the  store shelves, but bottles can still be found in private cellars if one asks around. A delight from top to luscious bottom, Southern Belle Shiraz is highly recommended.

Thanks to Oscar for cracking his open and getting me a sample.

M. Lawrence Green

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Maker: M. Lawrence/L. Mawby, Sutton’s Bay, Michigan, USA

Grapes: Cayuga, Vidal

Region:

Style: Extra Sec

Vintage: NV (Batch 1, current label shown)

ABV: 10%

Appearance: Very pale gold with bubbles that won’t quit.

Nose: Very light and dry. Golden Delicious apples, white grapefruit.

On the palate: Dry and clean. Crisp apple and grapefruit, as above. A bit of limestone and chalk.

Finish: More mineral notes and a slighl tang. Apple, underripe pear, white peach.

Parting words: Do one thing and do it well is an official motto of Leenlenau’s L. Mawby winery. They do nothing but sparkling wines. The L. Mawby label is used for their estate, methode champenoise wines and M. Lawrence is used for non-estate wines made with the cuve close method. The Mawby wines all have fairly staid names. The M. Lawrence line has attention-grabbing names like Fizz, Wet, Sex, Detroit, and of course, Green.

Nothing green about Green. It’s a crisp, clean, off-dry sparkler with a French accent. If I had not visited the website I would never have guessed that Cayuga and Vidal grapes were used in the production of Green. There is not a fox in sight.

Green works best on its own or as an aperitif. It might even work with mild fish, chicken or mildly seasoned pork. Green is recommended.

Buehler Zinfandel

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Maker: Buehler Vineyards, St. Helena, California, USA

Grape: Zinfandel

Style: Red

Region: Napa Valley AVA, Napa County, California, USA

Vintage: 2009

ABV: 14.5%

Appearance: Dark, deep plum.

Nose: Black currant, oak, blueberry jam, whiff of smoke.

On the palate: Fruity, strawberry. Lightly sweet, a bit fleshy.

Finish: slightly tart, leather, a hint of oak smoke.

Parting Words: At its best, California Zinfindel is something like this. It has the finesse and complexity of a red Burgundy and the drinkability of a Côtes du Rhône. This is a fairly complex, but easy-going wine, a bit surprising for something with its ABV percentage. It goes well with food but its more subtle notes might get lost in the shuffle. Not much else to say, but Buehler Zin comes recommended.

Trader Joe’s Reserve Barbera

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Maker: ???

Grape: Barbera

Region: Mendocino Co, California, USA

Vintage: 2009

ABV: 13.9%

Appearance: light burgundy

Nose: Pretzels (and no, I hadn’t been eating them at the time), blueberry, milk chocolate

On the palate: Very light, slightly tangy. Table grapes, California strawberries shipped to Michigan, New Jersey blueberries shipped to Michigan.

Finish: Very light, a hint of tannin then vanishes.

Parting words: When I said in a previous review that these Trader Joe’s  bottles can be dull, this is the sort of wine I was thinking about. Barbera has been a grape that California winemakers have been experiementing with for a long time. In this case, the experiement has to be judged a failure. Not that this is bad, it’s just dull. If Barbera is what you’re after, there are affordable Italian choices that offer good value for money. This is not expensive, but it’s still not worth buying. Trader Joe’s Reserve Barbera is not recommended.

Chateau Grand Traverse Late Harvest Riesling

Josh8 Comments

Maker: Chateau Grand Traverse, Traverse City, Michigan, USA

Grape: Riesling

Style: Late Harvest

Region: Old Mission AVA, Traverse City, Michigan, USA

Vintage: 2009 (different vintage pictured)

ABV: 9.5%

Appearance: Pale gold

Nose: Apple, peach, rhubarb, orange blossom, lemon thyme.

On the palate: full-bodied and sweet. Fruity, Golden Delicious Apple, Barlett pear, lavender.

Finish: Sweet and honeyed (wildflower to be specific) with a note of bitterness followed by a tart Macintosh apple note.

Parting words: This wine is not particularly complex but rich and enjoyable, especially after it opens up. This is a perfect cheese course wine. It would be a bit much with a full meal, though. Overall CGT Late Harvest Riesling is a very enjoyable wine, and a great example of Northern Michigan Late Harvest Riesling. Recommended.