Tag: Bel Lago

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.

Bel Lago Cabernet Franc, 2016

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Maker: Bel Lago, Lake Leeland, Michigan, USA

Grapes: Cabernet France (at least 85%)

Place of origin: Leelanau Peninsula AVA, Michigan, USA. (at least 85%)

Vintage: 2016

ABV: 13.5%

Purchased for $44 (Michigan by the Bottle Royal Oak)

Appearance: Brick red.

Nose: Blackberry, blueberry, violets.

Palate: Dry but fruity. Blueberry, mulberry, tiny nip of tannin.

Finish: Tart and a little chewy.

Parting words: Bel Lago consistently makes some of the best wines from Burgundian (and Burgundy-adjacent) grape varieties in Northern Michigan. Their Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Auxerrois are all sought after by Michigan wine enthusiasts.

Judging by this wine, they have some work to do with their Bordeaux varietals. While perfectly drinkable, it lacks the depth and complexity of Bel Lago’s Pinots and Auxerrois. It’s virtually all fruit, without anything in the way of spice, minerals, or oak, despite spending 34 months in the latter. 2016 was a hot vintage, and Charlie, Bel Lago’s co-founder, likes his grapes ripe (and the microclimate of the estate is happy to oblige him) so perhaps they had a little too much hangtime.

As I said before, there’s nothing flawed or unpleasant here, it just doesn’t quite live up to my expectations of Bel Lago or of $45 wines. That said, I’m definitely trying the 2017 if I see it. 2016 Bel Lago Cabernet Franc, 2016 is only mildly recommended.

Rosé de Gris

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Maker: Bel Lago, Lake Leelanau, Michigan, USA

Grape: Pinot Gris/Grigio

Style: Rosé

Place of origin: Leelanau Peninsula AVA, Michigan, USA

Vintage: 2017

ABV: 13.6%

Price: $8 (Michigan by the Bottle Tasting Room, Royal Oak)

Appearance: Bright, translucent pink.

Nose: Hi-C Fruit Punch, cedar.

Palate: Mild, but full-bodied. Mulberrry, light oak.

Finish: Light and a little chewy.

Parting words: I like it when Michigan wineries make wines that aren’t the usual varietals or styles that every other winery makes. I can’t think of another winery off the top of my head that makes a rosé from Pinot Gris.

This may be obvious, but this wine tastes like a Pinot gris-ish rosé. It’s more subtle than most of the Pinot Noir rosés I’ve had, but a little subtlety can be good in these topsy-turvy times.

OK, sorry about that. I really like this wine. If I have a complaint, and I do, it’s that like the Bel Lago sparkling Auxerrois I reviewed recently, this elegant wine comes in a bottle with a janky label. Bel Lago generally has good-looking, well-designed labels. I’m not sure why these two don’t.

Anyway, 2017 Bel Lago Rosé de Gris is recommended.

Bel Lago Select Harvest Riesling

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Maker: Bel Lago, Cedar, Leelanau County, Michigan, USA20190220_211053.jpg

Grape: Riesling

Place of origin: Leelanau County, Michigan, USA

Style: Sweet/semi-sweet Riesling

ABV: 12%

Purchased for $19 (Holiday Market)

Appearance: Pale gold

Nose: Canned pear, gravel.

Palate: Full-bodied. Sweet but not cloying. Pineapple-mango-orange juice, mineral water.

Finish: Drying, peach.

Parting words: Bel Lago needs no introduction for long time readers of this blog. It’s one of my favorite Michigan wineries.

Like most of Michigan’s best, Bel Lago has a fine line of Riesling wines at varying levels of sweetness. Select Harvest is a style of late harvest wine roughly equivalent to German Auslese in terms of ripeness. As such, they are more age-worthy than dry Rieslings, which is why I waited so long to open this bottle. This wine is not especially complex (perhaps due to the brutal 2014 vintage) but it hits all the right notes for ripe Riesling: sweetness, citrus, and minerals. I have a few more bottles of this wine in my cellar and I look forward to seeing how this wine develops over the next 3 or 4 years. 2014 Bel Lago Select Harvest Riesling is recommended.

 

Tempesta, 2012

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Maker: Bel Lago, Cedar, Michigan, USA.20170926_160931

Grapes: Cabernet Franc, others.

Place of origin: Michigan, USA.

Style: Red blend.

Note: Spent 32 months in French and American oak.

ABV: 13.2%

Price: $44 (Michigan By the Bottle Sipper Club)

Appearance: Brick red.

Nose: Wild blackberries, toasted oak, sautéed mushrooms.

Palate: Medium bodied and well-balanced. Blackberry jam, raspberry juice, light oak, seared steak.

Finish: Fruity and tart, then chewy and oaky.

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Parting words: Bel Lago is located on the shores of Lake Leelanau, in the Leelanau peninsula. The view certainly lives up to the name! Owners Charlie Edson and Amy Iezzoni are known for their cherry wine (Amy practically invented the stuff), field blends and their committment to ripeness. That committment is clearest in the Bel Lago’s rich, rounded Pinot Noir and Auxerrois (Blanc) wines.

Tempesta is not estate grown and not a field blend, obviously, but it does have that trademark ripeness. Oak is present, but not used to cover up anything, just to enhance the savory quailities of Cabernet Franc. Fruit and earthy flavors are in the lead, yoked together by Tempesta’s mid-palate tartness.

$44 is a lot for a non-AVA Michigan red. One could find similar wines from California at a lower price. I still think Tempesta is worth the price in a good vintage like 2012 when cellared for at least four years. 2012s may be nearly impossible to find now, but 2016 was a stellar vintage and 2017 is looking like it may be as well. Bel Lago’s 2012 Tempesta is recommended.

Bel Lago Moreno Reserve Pinot Noir, 2012

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Maker: Bel Lago, Cedar, Michigan, USA20170710_192817

Grape: Pinot Noir (Dijon clones)

Place of origin: Moreno Vineyard, Bel Lago Eastate, Leelanau Peninsula AVA, Michigan, USA.

Notes: 30 months in oak.

ABV: 14.6%

Purchased for $45 (Michigan by the Bottle wine club)

Appearance: Translucent ruby.

Nose: Cherry wine, clove, pepper melange, oak, pinch of wet earth.

Palate: Juicy on entry. Medium bodied. Cherry, red currant, blueberry, pink peppercorn, strawberry.

Finish: Juicy with growing oak.

Parting words: Bel Lago winery lives up to its name, Italian for “beautiful lake”, with one of the most beautiful views on the Leelanau Peninsula. It overlooks Lake Leelanau, which is named after the peninsula & county which was itself named by Indian agent and ethnographer Henry Schoolcraft in honor of his wife Jane Johnston Schoolcraft who wrote under the name Leelinau, a neologism created by her or Henry. Henry used the name for Native American women in some of the stories he wrote. Henry created several other pseudo-indigenous place names in Michigan, including Lenawee, Alpena, Kalkaska and Oscoda, combining native words with Latin or Arabic elements.

Pinot Noir was one of the varieties hardest hit during the disasterous 2014 and 2015 Polar Vortex vintages. I recently spoke to a Northern Michigan winemaker who told me that he was burnt out on the grape. This winemaker said that Pinot Noir is not worth growing in Michigan because it’s a pain in the ass to grow and it’s rarely any good (my paraphrase).

Bel Lago’s Moreno Vineyard Pinot Noir is a brilliant counterpoint to that view. Oak and spice provide the right amount of contrast to highlight the fruit that drives this wine. This wine is an excellent example of how good Pinot can be in Northern Michigan, at least in a long, hot year like 2012. $45 puts it at the top end of Michigan reds, but I think it’s worth the money. It’s as good as Pinto gets in Michigan. Bel Lago Moreno Reserve Pinot Noir 2012 is highly recommended.

 

Bel Lago Auxerrois, 2013

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Maker: Bel Lago, Cedar, Leelanau County, Michigan, USAwp-1468093271317.jpg

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

Vintage: 2013

ABV: 13.9%

Price: $19 (website price for 2012 vintage)

Nose: Cut golden apple, peach, pear, leather.

Palate: Full bodied, dry. Subtle pear, cantaloupe, a drop of brown butter.

Finish: A little tangy and a little sweet, then a touch of smoke as it fades.

Parting words: Auxerrois is not a grape that finds its way onto labels very much. It’s a member of the Pinot family grapes. According to geneticists, Auxerrois shares the same parentage as Chardonnay, making it something of a fraternal twin. It’s primarily grown in Alsace in eastern France, where it is one of the most commonly grown varieties (in 2008, it was grown on twice the acreage of Pinot Blanc). Alsace is between Burgundy and Germany geographically and wino-graphically. It is best known for its white wines which include Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer and Riesling. Where does that leave Auxerrois? There’s a strange quirk in French wine laws that allows Alsatian wines labeled Pinot Blanc to contain any white wine from the Pinot family. Auxerrois is one of the most popular choices for Pinot Blanc, whether blended with Blanc and Gris or even all by itself(!). It brings Chard-like mouthfeel and fruit to the blend as a counterpoint Pinot Blanc’s crispness.

Bel Lago became the first winery to plant Auxerrois in Michigan in 1987. They’ve treated it with care and made a great wine out of it, year after year. Pinot Blanc has been raised as a possible signature grape for Michigan but maybe its old pal Auxerrois is a better choice. Bel Lago Auxerrois is highly recommended.

Bel Lago Pinot Noir

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Maker: Bel Lago, Cedar, Michigan, USAwp-1466635963046.jpg

Place of Origin: Leelanau Peninsula AVA, Michigan, USA

Vintage: Non-vintage (2016 release of 2011 & 2013 vintages)

ABV: 13.2%

Purchased for $25 (Michigan by the Bottle, Royal Oak)

Appearance: Translucent ruby.

Nose: Lightly fruity. Red currant, blueberry, white pepper, grape jelly, oak.

Palate: Light. Blackberry, strawberry, oak, clove.

Finish: Fruity tang then sliding into oak.

Parting words: Non-vintage (NV) wine has suddenly become much more popular in Michigan because of the two apocalyptic vintages in a row, 2014 & 2015. For reds this was especially the case, but even for Chardonnay and Riesling the polar vortex vintages were disastrous. So wine makers blended reserves of previous better vintages together so that they would have decent wine to bottle in 2016.

Bel Lago is one of the best wineries in Northern Michigan. They’re known for cherry wine, rosé

and whites (like their excellent Auxerrois) but ain’t shabby with reds either. I didn’t expect this non-vintage Pinot Noir to be good, but my expectations were exceeded. It’s not as well integrated and balanced as vintage editions, but it goes well with food and there are no obvious flaws. Chilling brings out an inky taste and aroma, so drink at room temperature if possible. $25 is about $5 too much, but I feel sorry for our wineries having to struggle through those two winters so I don’t mind paying it. Bel Lago NV Pinot Noir is recommended.