Tag: Michigan Wine

Arcturos Pinot Noir, 2011

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Maker: Black Star Farms, Traverse City/Sutton’s Bay, Michigan, USAArc Pinot 2011

Place of origin: Michigan (60% Leelanau Co., 40% Grand Traverse Co.), USA

ABV: 12% ABV

Price: $22.50 (website)

Appearance: Ruby red,

Nose: Lightly toasted oak, white pepper, strawberry jam.

Palate: Medium bodied and medium dry. Black raspberries, very ripe blueberries, pinch of pink peppercorns.

Finish: Light oak with a bit of fruit. Fades slowly.

Parting words: I was originally planning to let this one sit for longer but after tasting a 2010 Pinot Noir from a neighboring winery that had fallen apart last week I panicked and decided that now was the time to open my 2011 Michigan Pinots. I’m glad I did. This one was very tasty. It was fruity but the oak rounds it off nicely. There could have been more depth and integration of flavor but there’s nothing to complain about. Does fine with food or on its own. 2011 Arcturos Pinot Noir is recommended.

J. Trees Dry Riesling

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Maker: J. Trees, Petersburg, Michigan, USA (tasting room in Tecumseh opening March 2014)J Trees Dry Ries

Place of origin: Michigan (Pioneer Wine Trail), USA

Vintage: 2011

ABV: 12%

Price: $15 (website)

Appearance: Pale straw, scant legs.

Nose: Bartlett pear, dried flowers, orange blossom honey.

On the palate: Medium bodied and slightly tart. Tangerine, wildflower honey, lemon thyme, minerals.

Finish: Surprisingly dry. A touch of grapefruit and thyme. Fades slowly.

Parting words: I am a lover of all Michigan wine, but I don’t love every Michigan wine. The wines Michigan’s AVAs tend to be of consistently higher quality than those that just read “Michigan” on the label. The wineries of the Pioneer Wine Trail in Michigan are spread over many miles in Southeast and South Michigan and their vineyards occupy a wide variety of sites. What they have in common is they are more “continental” in climate with hotter summers and colder, drier winters than points west and north. All that said, any wine that simply calls itself “Michigan” can contain grapes grown anywhere in the state.

J. Trees is a fairly new winery, but they are producing like old pros. Their 2011 Dry Riesling wine is well executed and delicious from start to finish. It’s dry enough to pair well with food traditionally matched with white wines (we had ours with cheese tortellini in chicken stock) but complex enough for Saturday afternoon sipping with a good book.

The price is very fair for a wine of this quality and versatility. J. Trees Dry Riesling is recommended.

Gill’s Pier Riesling

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Maker: Gill’s Pier, Traverse City, Michigan, USA
Gill's Pier 2011 Riesling

Place of origin: Leelenau AVA, Michigan, USA

Style: Semi-dry

Vintage: 2011

ABV: 10%

Online from winery: $17

Appearance: Pale straw.

Nose: Ripe pear, Golden Delicious apples, gravel, a pinch of thyme.

On the palate: Full bodied and medium dry. Bosc pear, more Golden Delicious, white grape juice, flint.

Finish: Slightly tart and dry. Get more tart as it fades, but the faint mineral background remains.

Parting words: The first product I reviewed from Gill’s Pier was their tasty cherry wine. This is the first grape wine of theirs I’ve tried. When introducing myself to a Michigan winemaker, I always go for a Riesling first. I love Riesling and, like it or not, it’s Michigan’s unofficial signature grape and it has been for a while. Gill’s Pier passed the Riesling test with flying colors.

When I read “semi-dry” on a wine bottle, I usually expect something sweet. For once a semi-dry actually tastes semi-dry to me. It has a robust mouth feel and orchard fruit notes typical of sweeter Rieslings but without their sappiness and weight and with the minerality of better drys. It’s good with food, but is best on its own. If any aspect of this wine could stand improvement, it’s the nose. I would have preferred more intensity. That said, this is a good wine and worth the price I paid. 2011 Gill’s Pier Riesling is recommended.

Blushed

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Maker: Black Star Farms, Traverse City/Sutton’s Bay, Michigan, USA
BSF Blush

Grape: Pinot Noir

Region: Leelenau AVA, Michigan, USA

Style: Dry sparkling rosè.

ABV: 12%

Price: $13.50 from the winery online

Appearance: Ruby red with lots of bubbles.

Nose: Pomegranate, cranberry, red raspberry.

On the palate: Effervescent and dry. Not nearly as tart as the nose suggests. More pomegranate, but fades into a grapey flavor with a hint of foxiness.

Finish: Still dry but fairly tart. The cranberries pop up again only to fade into sparkling mineral water.

Parting words: I was skeptical when I saw the word “dry” on the label of Blushed, but it dry it is. It’s color is more like a bleed than a blush, but the dark color is attractive.

Blushed would make a nice change of pace for a sober first round on New Year’s Eve or casual summertime sipping. It is very good in a champagne cocktail (sugar, bitters and sparkling wine). Adequate in a mimosa. The price is right and so is the wine. Blushed is recommended.

Forty-Five North Riesling

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

Region: Michigan, USA

Vintage: 2010

Style: Dry

ABV: 11.5%

Purchased for: $19

Appearance: Light gold with very little in the way of legs or necklacing.

Nose: Grapey and dry. Pear, peach, Golden Delicious apple, whiff of orange blossom.

On the palate: Medium bodied and semi-dry. White peach, white cherry, underripe plum.

Finish: Dry. Peach, thyme and maybe a little smoke.

Parting words: Forty-Five North Winery is located in the central Leelenau Peninsula, east of Lake Leelanau. It is named for the 45th parallel, the midpoint between the Arctic Circle and the Equator, which runs right through the vineyard belonging to the winery. The family has owned the land around the tasting room for many years but purchased the vineyard and began producing wine commercially only in the past few years. The facilities are in the Leelenau Peninsula but note that the wine is only labeled “Michigan”. This means that grapes from more than just the Leelanau AVA probably went into this wine.

For relative newbies, they have done a good job. This Riesling is crisp and food-friendly but has the complexity to raise it well above the category of a table or casual wine. It is an excellent example of a dry Michigan Riesling and is well worth the price. 2010 Forty-Five North Riesling is recommended.

Sassy Rosé

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Maker: Sandhill Crane, Jackson, Michigan, USA (Moffatt family)Sassy Rose

Grape: Cabernet Franc

Region: Michigan, USA

Vintage: 2011

ABV: 12%

Online price: $17

Appearance: Pale pink with thick legs.

Nose: Subtle. A whiff of smoke, plum, black cherry, hint of cedar.

On the palate: Light bodied and delicately sweet. White mulberry, white pepper, slightly underripe blueberry.

Finish: Plum, ripe fig, then a delicate oaky flavor as it fades.

Parting words: Sassy Rosé is dedicated to the memory of the Moffats’ beloved Airedale Rosie (2003-2011), who I actually met on a couple occasions while stopping by the tasting room in Jackson. She was a friendly dog, but being an Airedale she could be, well, sassy.

I’m a big fan of dry rosés, especially those from the South of France, so I came into this wine with high hopes. I have had it before at the winery and it tasted good, but wines tend to taste better when sampled at the winery with friends. I was eager to get it home and write up a review.

When I first opened it, I was disappointed. It was much sweeter than I remembered and lacking in sass. After spending eighteen or so hours in the refrigerator, it has improved quite a bit. The profile is much closer to dry French rosés and much more enjoyable now. It gets a bit overwhelmed by spicy food, but does well with a light lunch of cheese and crackers or with holiday turkey. The price is on the high side but it’s fair for what it is and may be a little cheaper at the tasting room if I recall correctly. Sassy Rosé is recommended.

Left Foot Charley Pinot Gris

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Maker: Left Foot Charley, Traverse City, Michigan, USALFC Pinot Gris

Place of origin: Tale Feathers Vineyard, Old Mission Peninsula AVA, Traverse City, Michigan, USA

Vintage: 2011

ABV: 13.5%

Purchased for $18

Miscellaneous label info: Tale Feathers is “1.8 acres of sandy loam soils facing due west in the heart of Old Mission Peninsula.” Harvested 10/17/11, 7.8 tons, 23.3 Brix sugar at harvest, TA: 7g/1, Residual Sugar: 3g/1. So there.

Appearance: Pale gold with long broad legs.

Nose: Grapey and semi-sweet. Hardwood smoke, hard apple cider, pear.

On the palate: Full bodied and, again, semi-sweet. Golden Delicious apples, Bartlett pear, plum.

Finish: Medium dry. A touch of cedar and a little peach linger in the mouth.

Parting words: I’ve reviewed wines from Left Foot Charley before, so I’ll spare you a rehash of where this winery is and what they do. Like the other LFC wines I’ve had, this is a very good wine with great varietal and terroir-driven character. It has all the characteristics of fine Pinot Gris from Alsace or elsewhere, but it also has a light, bright (but not tart) character its French cousins often lack. It also lacks the voluptuous mouthfeel of Alsatian whites, but it’s plenty sexy as it is.

This wine does well with the usual white wine fare like poultry and seafood, but has enough depth and complexity to hold one’s attention on its own. It could probably have been fine with another six months to a year in the bottle too, but it’s best not to push things too much with a Gris. The price is reasonable for a vintage varietal that more than delivers on its promises. Left Foot Charley’s 2011 Pinot Gris is recommended.

Chateau Chantal Pinot Noir

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Maker: Chateau Chantal, Traverse City, Michigan, USAChCh Pinot 2011

Place of origin: Old Mission AVA, Traverse City, Michigan, USA

Vintage: 2011

ABV: 12%

Purchased for $15

Note: Notes taken after having been open 24 hrs.

Appearance: Light burgundy.

Nose: Light and vaguely fruity. Blackberry jam, cedar, grape juice.

On the palate: Light and easy drinking. Fresh strawberries, a taste of wood, not much else.

Finish: More cedar and a bit of black pepper, but still lightly fruity.

Parting words: Pinot Noir is an up and coming grape for Northern Michigan. It has been grown there for some time, but there have been raised expectations as of late. There’s no reason why good Pinot couldn’t be produced in Michigan. Pinot Noir is widely grown in the same regions in Europe where Riesling, Pinot Gris and Gewurztraminer are grown and all those do well in the Great Lakes State.

This is a wine without any obvious flaws (aside being a little lively upon first pour) but I was disappointed with how timid it was. It reminds me of inexpensive négociant-produced red Burgundy I’ve had. In the wine’s defense, the back label makes it pretty clear what to expect: an easy-going, food friendly wine. I would stay away from beef, lamb or ham, but pork, turkey or salmon would pair very nicely with this wine as would a cheese course or dark chocolate.

There is no shortage of decent red Michigan blends available for purchase just about anywhere in this state. Some of the best of those are from Chateau Chantal. When I buy a vintage varietal for a vintage varietal price, I expect more character than I got in this bottle. For that reason, Chateau Chantal Pinot Noir 2011 is only mildly recommended.

Chateau Grand Traverse Late Harvest Riesling, 2011

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Maker: Chateau Grand Traverse, Traverse City, Michigan, USACGT Late Harvest Riesling 2011

Origin: Michigan, USA

ABV: 10%

Appearance: Medium gold.

Nose: Lychee, pineapple, tangerine, pear.

On the palate: Full-bodied and mouth-puckeringly tart when fresh from the bottle. Lemon, sour candy. As it has time to open up at room temperature it calms down quite a bit. The citrus is still there and still strong, but a pleasant herbal note asserts itself. Underneath all this is a beautiful firmness that presages good things to come.

Finish: Fairly sweet but still very tart. Fades fairly quickly and leaves a slightly sticky residue on the lips.

Parting words: I think this is another lesson wine for me. It was close to undrinkable on first pour, but I don’t think that’s due to any inherent flaw in the wine. I may be all wet here, but I think it needs much more time in the bottle to settle down. As it is, it’s unbalanced.

There is plenty of good stuff going on. The fruit in the nose is wonderful and the mouth feel is great, but this wine is not ready for primetime. This is the first time I have encountered a Michigan wine like this from a major quality producer (one of my favorites actually). Far from being disappointed I was encouraged that Michigan producers are making wines for which multi-year bottle aging isn’t just possible but recommended. That’s an encouraging sign.

Anyhow, rather than give a mild recommendation to this, I will give it an I for incomplete. Good thing I have another bottle cellared.

Spirit of the Vineyard Michigan White Grappa

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Maker: Black Star Farms, Traverse City, Michigan, USAIMG_20130731_114726

ABV: 40%

Note: Made using white wine leftovers (skins, pulp, seeds, stems).

Appearance: Clear with big thick legs.

Nose: Fruity and pungent, but not unpleasant. Like a fruity perfume. Ripe pear, table grapes, a hint of fresh cut cedar and lemon grass.

On the palate: Mild but full bodied. Sweet and mildly grapey.

Finish: delicately fruity and woody with more of that cut cedar aroma rolling around the mouth.

Parting words: For those who may not know, grappa is a brandy distilled from a fermentation of the left over byproducts of the wine making process collectively called pomace or marc. Grappa is the Italian word for such a beverage. Other versions of the same thing include marc (French), orujo (Spanish) and tescovină  (Romanian). The name grappa is restricted by the European Union to beverages of this type made in Italy, but has no such protection here in the U.S., hence this American grappa.

I haven’t had much grappa (or marc or the like) so the mental sample to which I am comparing this spirit is small. That said, this is very, very good. It’s not nearly as rough and raw tasting as the other grappas I have tasted and has a very pleasant nose that really shines in a Glencairn or Riedel Single Malt glass (I don’t own a grappa glass). It’s delicious chilled or at room temperature before or after a meal or on a hot afternoon.

Black Star Farms makes a wide variety of eaux-de-vie and brandies including a “red grappa” which is not actually red but made from red wine leftovers. It is also quite good, but the white has a very appealing perfumed nose, no doubt a reflection of the Riesling, Pinot Gris and other aromatic white wine grape varieties that lent their unused bits to the this spirit.

Spirit of the Vineyard Michigan White Grappa is highly recommended.

For further reading: https://sipologyblog.com/2011/07/08/a-visit-to-black-star-farms/