Tag: 2012 Project

Gill’s Pier Semi Dry Riesling, 2013

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Maker: Gill’s Pier, Traverse City, Michigan, USA

Grape: Riesling (at least 85%)

Place of origin: Gill’s Pier estate, Leelanau Peninsula AVA.

Style: Semi-dry (verging on semi-sweet) Riesling.

ABV: 10%

Purchased for $18 (Michigan by the Bottle, 2015)

Appearance: Bright gold.

Nose: Apricot, lemon thyme, honey

Palate: Tart and medium bodied. Orange blossom honey, lemonheads.

Finish: Tart and clingy, with some lees influence.

Parting words: It’s the end of an era. This is officially the last bottle of wine from Gill’s Pier that I have in my cellar. Appropriately enough, 2013 was also the final GP vintage. I grew to love this little winery after discovering it through friends-of-the-blog Michigan by the Bottle. Gill’s Pier was one of the featured wineries at the Royal Oak location and I was a frequent buyer. It’s hard to say what I liked about them so much. I think it may have been that they were reasonably priced and well made with good terroir characteristics. The estate been an alpaca farm for over a decade now. I hope the alpacas have been enjoying it.

Anyway, this bottle once again proves that Michigan wines can stand the test of time. This was an $18 (around $24 in today’s money) Riesling from a small producer that is still tart and tasty ten years later. And in a screw-top, no less!

This is also our final entry in the wayyy too long 2012 Project series of reviews of ten year old and older Michigan wine. Almost all of them held up very well. Buying from a quality producer helps a lot, of course, but I think the acid in cool-climate wine like the ones produced in Michigan helps with age-worthiness. While I wouldn’t recommend cellaring White Heron for ten years, fine Michigan wines like the ones reviewed here on Sipology Blog will usually be suitable for the cellar, even if you didn’t pay top dollar for them!

Anyhow, 2013 Gill’s Pier Semi-dry Riesling is recommended!

Nathaniel Rose Left Bank, 2012

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Maker: Nathaniel Rose, Suttons Bay, Michigan, USA.

Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon (85%), Merlot (12%), Cabernet Franc (3%).

Place of Origin: Abigail’s Vineyard, Domaine Berrien Estate, Lake Michigan Shore AVA, Berrien Springs, Michigan, USA.

Vintage: 2012

ABV: 13.6%

Purchased for $120 with trade discount from winery. Original price $150.

Notes: 20 months in French oak. 82 cases produced.

Reviewed as a part of The 2012 project.

Appearance: Brick red.

Nose: Fruit of the forest pie, clove, oak.

Palate: Dry, chewy, and a little tart. Blueberry, wild blackberry, leather.

Finish: Tart, but with a tannic backbone.

Parting words: This was the wine that this whole 2012 Project was all about. OK, that’s a slight exaggeration, but it’s not too far from the truth. It’s the bottle I’ve looked forward to opening the most, and it did not disappoint.

Abigail’s vineyard is named for Abigail Fricke, mother to Katie Mauer, co-founder (with husband Wally) of Domain Berrien. As long-time readers will know, Domaine Berrien is known one of the premier producers of red wine in the state of Michigan. A big part of their success is their vineyards. Those vineyards attracted the attention of young, ambitious winemaker Nathaniel Rose, who was able to get access to them to make his Right Bank and Left Bank blends. My review of the Right Bank (also a part of the 2012 project) is here.

Allow me to briefly quote myself , from this post from 2018:

“Rose is rightfully very proud of [Left and Right Bank], especially the Left Bank. He loves to tell the story of the tasting he attended with several sommeliers (including  Master somm Brett Davis), winemakers, writers and other experts in which his 2012 Left Bank Blend went up against a group of Second Growth Bordeaux and cult California Cabs, including Cardinale (~$270), Ridge Monte Bello (~$250), and Jos. Phelps Insignia (~$190), all of the 2012 vintage. Left Bank won. None of the experts could pick Left Bank out of the lineup blind and tasters could not tell the difference between it and the 2012 Cardinale Cab at all. In fact, they believed they had mistakenly been poured the same wine twice.”

The last time I talked to him, Nathaniel said that he considers this vintage of Left Bank to be the best wine he ever made. I’ll say that it’s the best Michigan Bordeaux-style red blend I’ve ever had (and I’ve had a lot of very good ones) and in the short list of best red wines I’ve ever tasted. It’s elegant, sophisticated, excellent with food, and never overly boozy or over oaked. It’s proof that with the right vintage, vineyard, and winemaker, Michigan wines can stand alongside any comparable wines on the planet.

It’s also proof that a well-made Michigan wine can grow with age. I’ve had wines (yes, even some from The Great Lakes State) that fell apart after five or more years in the bottle. The 2012 Left Bank still has everything in the right place, and I think it could taste as good for at least five more years in the right cellar.

$120 is close to twice my upper limit for wine under normal circumstances, but I didn’t regret what I spent for one second that this wine touched my lips. Everyone else I served it to loved it just as much as I did too. Nathaniel Rose Left Bank 2012 is highly recommended.

Gill’s Pier Riesling, 2012

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Maker: Gill’s Pier, Traverse City, Michigan USA (defunct)

Grapes: Riesling (at least 85%)

Place of origin: Leelanau Peninsula AVA, Leelanau County, Michigan, USA

Style: Semi-dry.

Vinatage: 2012

Closure: Screw top.

ABV: 10%

Purchased for $10 in 2016 (Michigan by the Bottle, Royal Oak)

Appearance: Pale straw.

Nose: Pear, stone fruit, limestone dust.

Palate: Full-bodied. Green apple, pear, ripe peach, lemon thyme.

Finish: Drying. coats the back of the throat.

Parting words: Gill’s Pier was one of my favorite wineries for many years before they closed down and sold the land to an alpaca operation back in 2013. That was the last vintage of wines produced there, making 2012 the second to last. If I recall correctly, Left Foot Charley’s winemaker made all of Gill’s Pier’s wines, but all (except one) were released under the Gill’s Pier label.

This will probably come as no surprise, but I have reviewed this wine before. That was the 2011 vintage, also a very good one in Michigan. Michigan’s variable weather makes vintage even more important here than in regions like California with a more consistent climate.

When the property was sold, I bought up as many GP wines as I could, reserving some for this project. I’m very glad I did. They’ve held up amazingly well, better than some reds under cork of the same vintage. I’m not sure why that is, but to me it proves that well-made wines with screw caps can hold up just as well as ones with cork. It also shows that well-made Michigan Rieslings can age just as well as their German cousins.

This wine is long gone from shelves but was a steal at $10 even back in 2016. The 2012 (semi-dry) Gill’s Pier Riesling 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.