Michigan Wine – Page 16

Forty-Five North Pinot Gris

June 24, 2015 Josh1 Comment

Maker: Forty-Five North, Lake Leelanau, Michigan, USA

Place of origin: Leelanau & Old Mission Peninsulas (50/50)

Vintage: 2012

ABV: 12.5%

Purchased for $19

Appearance: Bright light gold.

Nose: Bright and mildly fruity. Tart apple, canned pears, crushed mulberry.

Palate: Full bodied and tart. Fresh cut apple, mango, cantaloupe, pinch of lavender.

Finish: Mildly bitter. Limestone and lychee. Fades slowly.

Parting words: Forty-Five North is named after the 45th parallel which runs through Leland and Traverse City, Michigan (and Bordeaux, Piedmont, the Willamette Valley and Upstate New York as Michigan wine folks are fond of pointing out) and the vineyards of winery owners Steve & Lori Grossnickle on Leelanau Peninsula.

While Riesling has reached sublime heights in Northern Michigan, Gewürztraminer and Pinot Gris/Grigio continue to be underutilized. When they are produced in a good vintage like 2012, they can be very good. This is one of those.

It’s similar in style to other domestic Pinot Gris, falling between the extremes of Veneto crispness and Alsatian buttery fruit. It is food friendly and refreshing without being boring and it even showed up well against the barbecued pork chops I served alongside it last night. $19 is just about right for a Michigan wine of this quality. 2012 Forty-Five North Pinot Gris is recommended.

Bowers Harbor Red

June 17, 2015June 17, 2015 JoshLeave a comment

Maker: Bowers Harbor, Traverse City, Michigan

Grapes: Cabernet Franc, Merlot, various red French hybrids.

Place of origin: Michigan, USA

ABV: 12%

Purchased for $13

Appearance: Pale ruby.

Nose: Mixed berry jam, white pepper, touch of oak.

Palate: Medium bodied and medium dry. Strawberries, sweet cherries, blackberries, oak.

Finish: Drying with black cherry and blueberry jam. Fading into chewy tannins.

Parting words: I picked up this wine a few days ago while looking for an easy-drinking, casual table wine for a cookout I have annually. I bought the wrong thing, but in a good way.

The words “table wine” on the label threw me off. This is a table wine in the sense of a wine that goes well with fine food, not in the sense of a cheap wine to drink on a weeknight or serve at a party with people who don’t care about wine.

Bower’s Harbor Red is actually their (successful) stab at a Bordeaux/Meritage style blend. It has everything one expects in a blend like this, even though it is a little fruit heavy at this stage. That get me to the only negative thing in the review. Not enough time in the bottle. If I had done a little research in the store, I might have let this one sit in the cellar for a few years before cracking it.

Even at this age, Bower’s Harbor Red 2013 is recommended.

The Missing Spire

May 27, 2015May 27, 2015 Josh2 Comments

Maker: Left Foot Charley, Traverse City, Michigan, USA.

Grape: Riesling

Style: Semi-sweet

Place of origin: Michigan, USA (Antrim Co., Grand Traverse Co., Old Mission Peninsula)

Vintage: 2012

ABV: 10.4%

Purchased for $16

Appearance: Light gold.

Nose: Fresh sliced apple, apricot, gravel, orange peel.

Palate: Medium bodied and very well balanced. Medium tart apple, mandarin orange, woodruff, flint.

Finish: A bit of sweet citrus, then smoke and stone.

Parting words: Missing Spire is named after a spire missing off Building 50 in the former insane asyum in Traverse City where Left Foot Charley is located. There’s nothing missing here, though. This has everything one could want in a Riesling: bit of minerality, a bit of fruit, a bit of acid, a bit of sweetness, a good body and brilliant color. It’s the kind of wine that made me fall in love with this grape years ago. Left Foot Charley might be the best winery in Northern Michigan right now and this is one of their best wines. It’s also a favorite of friend-of-the-blog Oliver Windgätter, who knows more about German Riesling than anybody I’ve ever met. As Nicholas Cage might say, that’s high praise. The Missing Spire is highly recommened.

Chateau Grand Traverse Late Harvest Riesling

May 6, 2015May 6, 2015 Josh1 Comment

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

Place of origin: Michigan, USA

Vintage: 2011

ABV: 10%

Purchased for $14

Appearance: Iridescent gold.

Nose: White peach, apricot, lime zest, sherry.

Palate: Medium bodied. Sweet and citric. Hazelnuts, lychee, rancio.

Finish: Like an orange push pop but not as sweet.

Parting words: 2011 in northern Michigan was one of the rare vintages that was both prolific and high quality. Reds did particularly well but the whites were no slouch either, as this wine clearly shows. CGT’s 2011 LHR exhibits all the characteristics of an excellent, aged wine of this type. Loads of rich, oxidized flavor but elegantly balanced with citrus and a touch of bitterness. This wine is best on its own or with cheesy or hors d’oeuvres. My wife was craving a white wine with dinner so we ended up drinking it with grilled hot dogs and potato chips and it did just fine with those, bringing out big orange flavors.

This is another big winner from Chateau Grand Traverse and the 2011 vintage. Highly recommended.

Arcturos Merlot

April 15, 2015April 20, 2015 Josh1 Comment

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

Place of origin: Michigan, USA

Vintage: 2010

ABV: Unknown (2011 was 12%)

Price: Unknown (2012 is $28.50 on the website)

Appearance: Dark plum.

Nose: Toasted oak, grapes, black currant, blackberry, whiff of hardwood smoke.

Palate: Medium bodied, mild and slightly chewy. Wild blackberry, toasted oak, strawberry, green peppercorn.

Finish: Oak, mixed berry pie.

Parting words: Merlot is not a popular grape for varietal bottlings in Michigan. Its parent, Cabernet Franc, is more dependable in Michigan’s climate and is more widely planted as a result. Merlot makes up less than 4% of Michigan’s total wine grape acreage and most of that in the more continental climate of the south and southwest of the state.

It’s important to note that this is a Michigan Merlot, not an Old Mission (or any other specific AVA) Merlot. That means that the grapes that were used to make this wine probably came from a variety of vineyards from across the state. This is a good strategy even for a winery located in northern Michigan like Black Star Farms. Merlot doesn’t take to northern Michigan as well as Pinot Noir and white wine varieties do, so why chain one’s self to a single appellation? Some of the distinctiveness of the wine may be lost, but that’s better than being distinct in a bad way.

At any rate, this is a tasty example of what this grape can do in this state. It goes beautifully with pork, lamb and beef dishes (I drank it with all three) and works nicely after dinner too. The price (at lest for the latest vintage) is too high, but it’s not too far out of line with other quality Michigan red Bordeaux varietals. Try to find it in the $20-$25 range. The 2010 vintage is ready to drink now, but it could probably go another year or two and be just as good or even a little better. 2010 Arcturos Merlot is recommended.

Chateau Aeronautique Cabernet Franc

April 1, 2015April 14, 2015 Josh3 Comments

Maker: Chateau Aeronautique, Jackson, Michigan, USA.

Place of origin: Michigan (Pioneer wine trail)

Vintage: 2010

ABV: Unknown

Price: Unknown

Appearance: Light maroon with good sized, evenly spaced legs.

Nose: Oak, leather, black currant, blueberry, ground pink peppercorn, raspberry.

Palate: Medium bodied. Blackberries, leather, hint of roasted poblano pepper.

Finish: Light but long lasting. White pepper, oak, bell pepper.

Parting words: Chateau Aeronautique Winery is located in an air park near Jackson, close to Sandhill Crane Wineyards. Their stated aim is to produce Bordeaux-style wines but they also produce wines from a lot of the usual Michigan suspects like Reisling, Pino Gris, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Their Bordeaux style blends, Aviatrix Rouge and Crimson (a “right bank” style blend), are probably their best. They also do a good Syrah, quite a rare bird in Michigan. Cab Franc is much more common here and it features prominently in the Rouge. They use Michigan grapes exclusively.

This is one that has been sitting in my cellar for a little while and I think that time paid off. We had it with a meal of cheese ravioli and tomato sauce and it paired perfectly. Meat-filled ravioli might pair even better. As it sat, it tended to lean more to the peppery notes, but it never went off the deep end. This is a lighter style Cab Franc, though, so don’t go in expecting a bruiser. Michigan producers who can make a quality red like this get me excited at this state’s potential for Bordeaux varietals. Chateau Aeronautique’s 2010 Cabernet Franc is recommended.

Verterra Reserve Chardonnay

March 25, 2015 JoshLeave a comment

Maker: Verterra, Leland, Michigan, USA

Place of origin: Leelanau Peninsula AVA, Michigan, USA

Vintage: 2012

Price: $20 (website)

ABV: Unknown (not listed on label or received from producer by press time)

Appearance: Medium gold with some necklacing.

Nose: Butter, toasted oak, plum, white peach, mineral water.

Palate: Golden delicious apple, lychee, oak, white pepper.

Finish: Chewy oak, canned pear, brown butter.

Parting words: Verterra is one of the best producers on Leelanau and it shows in this wine. They make two Chards, an unoaked (a popular style in these parts) and this one that spent several months in french oak before being bottled, also undergoing malolactic fermentation. It tastes pretty Californian to me, which isn’t a bad thing if you like that style like I do (usually).

As the wine sat and warmed in the glass, some of the fruit seemed to disappear, which was disappointing. It was still tasty, just not quite so well balanced as it was when the cork first came off. Unfortunately, due to poor meal planning, I was unable to taste it with food, but based on experience with similar wines I think it would pair well with chicken, swordfish, shark and the like. The price is very nice for a quality Michigan wine. The 2012 Verterra Reserve Chardonnay is recommended.

2 Lads Riesling

February 18, 2015 Josh1 Comment

Maker: 2 Lads, Traverse City, Michigan, USA

Place of origin: Pratt Farm & Twin Bay vineyards, Old Mission Peninsula AVA, Michigan, USA

Style: Semi-dry

Vintage: 2012

Notes: Harvested 10/18 & 10/22/2012, Sugar: 22° Brix, pH: 3.29, 1220 cases produced.

ABV: 11.5%

Price: $16 (website)

Appearance: Bright gold with thin, streaky legs.

Nose: Under ripe pear, mineral water, mild pineapple, star fruit, woodruff.

Palate: Gently tart on entry, white peach, dried thyme and then minerals.

Finish: Dry and clean. Flint, hint of wildflower honey.

Parting words: It’s hard to know what one is getting into when one sees “medium dry” on a Riesling label. One person’s medium dry is another one’s sweet. This one is dryer than I thought it would be but that’s not a bad thing. It has all the stony, bracing qualities one expects in a dry Riesling, but still has enough sweetness to round itself out and keep it from becoming one dimensional. Does very well with food of all kinds and the price is reasonable for a Michigan Riesling of this quality. Drink now or in the near future. 2012 2 Lads (medium dry) Riesling is recommended.

Arcturos Gewurztraminer

January 28, 2015 JoshLeave a comment

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

Place of origin: Old Mission Peninsula AVA, Michigan, USA

Vintage: 2012

ABV: 13%

Price: $22.50 (website)

Appearance: Pale gold.

Nose: Lychee, melon, mango.

Palate: Medium bodied. Cantaloupe, white pepper, white peach, touch of pineapple mint.

Finish: Slightly bitter tempered with tropical fruit.

Parting words: For me, the sweet spot for American Gewurz is 2-3 years, right where this one is. To me, this bottle drinks like a crisper, lighter version of an Alsatian Gewurz. That’s not better or worse, it’s just a matter of style. What they share is a commitment to bringing the spicy aspects of the grape to the fore. This wine is not afraid to embrace its Gewurz-ness. I like that approach and I love this wine. This is another big winner from Black Star Farms and another testament to the character and overall excellence of the 2012 vintage. Pairs well with the usual suspects. Arcturos 2012 Gewurztraminer is highly recommended.

Good Harbor Cherry Wine

January 21, 2015 Josh1 Comment

Maker: Good Harbor, Leland, Michigan, USA

Place of origin: Leelanau Peninsula, Michigan, USA

Cherries: Montmorency, Balaton.

ABV: 10%

Purchased for $12

Notes: Estate grown.

Appearance: Brick red.

Nose: Spiced cherry pie,

Palate: Medium bodied. Tart cherries, nectarine, white pepper.

Finish: Black cherries slowly morphing into a lingering tartness.

Parting words: I don’t recall ever drinking, let alone seeing, an estate grown Michigan cherry wine before this one. Lots of credit to Good Harbor for taking cherry wine seriously and most of all, making a very good one. This is an elegant dessert wine that’s worth every penny. Good Harbor Cherry Wine is highly recommended.