Tag: Peninsula Cellars

Peninsula Cellars Merlot/Cabernet Franc, 2012 (The Hog’s Back)

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20171205_161540.jpg

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.

Peninsula Cellars Lemberger Rosé, 2017

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Maker: Peninsula Cellars, Traverse City, Michigan, USA

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

Grape: Lemberger/Blaufränkisch (at least 85%)

Vintage: 2017

ABV: 12%

Purchased for $20 (Michigan by the Bottle Tasting Room Sipper Club)

Appearance: Dusty pink.

Nose: Strawberry candy, raspberry, cedar, cilantro.

Palate: Watermelon, mineral water.

Finish: Dry and clean.

Parting words: Despite having a fresh new haircut, I have decided to pivot back to text reviews at least for the time being. Video reviews may pop up again from time to time, but text is much better for my erratic summer schedule.

Lemberger is a grape that’s growing in popularity in Michigan due to its affinity for our cool, easy-going climate. My favorites have been ones with enough acid to smooth out the grape’s rustic edges. That makes it a prime candidate for pink wines like this one.

This wine drinks like a typical Michigan rosé, but with some of the rustic character of Lemberger. The only weirdness is the pinch of citrantro at the back of the palate, but that might have just been because of something I ate.

For a high-quality rosé from Peninsula Cellars, $20 is good price. While Riesling will always be first in my heart, dry pink wine is poised to become a Michigan specialty. Get in on the ground floor for this syle and this grape with Peninsula Cellars 2017 Lembeger Rosé. It is recommended.

Peninsula Cellars Late Harvest Riesling, 2016

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Maker: Peninsula Cellars, Traverse City, Michigan, USA20190320_195250.jpg

Grape: Riesling (at least 85%)

Place of origin: Hawkeye, Kroupa vineyards, Old Mission Peninsula AVA, Traverse City, Michigan, USA.

Style: Sweet Late Harvest

Vintage: 2016

Notes: 22.3 degrees brix at harvest, 71 grams/liter residual sugar

ABV: 8.5%

Appearance: Pale gold with a few tiny bubbles.

Nose: Ripe peach, honey, lemon curd.

Palate: Full-bodied, sweet and tart. Ripe peach again, Orange Julius, gravel dust.

Finish: Sweet and citrusy.

Parting words: Peninsula Cellars is very good because they get their grapes from very good vineyards, Hawkeye and the family vineyard Kroupa in this case. This Late Harvest Riesling is sweet but not cloying. It has a nice balance of citrus, stone fruit and tropical flavors that can stand alongside most Mosel kabinett or spätlese Rieslings at twice the price. I have four bottles of this wine in my cellar currently and I’m looking forward to trying this wine again at 5, 10, 15 and maybe even 20 y/o if I live that long! Like almost everything Peninsula Cellars does, the 2016 Late Harvest Riesling is highly recommended.

 

Peninsula Cellars Merlot/Cabernet Franc, 2012 (The Hog’s Back)

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Maker: Peninsula Cellars, Traverse City, Michigan, USA20171205_161540.jpg

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 $25 at Michigan by the Bottle, Royal Oak (another bottle purchased at winery for $30)

Appearance: Dark red.

Nose: Crushed sweet cherry, oak smoke, allspice, raspberries.

Palate: Juicy and slightly tart. Cherry juice, nutmeg, red currant, sautéed mushroom.

Finish: Chewy, then sweet, then tart.

Parting words: The Hog’s Back is a ridge in the central part of Old Mission Peninsula, just north of the unincorporated village of Mapleton (home to the Peninsula Grill). The Hog’s Back vineyard is on the western slope of the ridge. It’s one of the few vineyards on Old Mission to specialize in red varietals. It’s planted with Merlot and Cabernet Franc. While Cabernet Franc is common in all parts of Michigan, Merlot is more rare, especially in the north of the state. It evidently thrives on The Hog’s Back or at least it did in 2012.

This wine is wonderful from start to finish. It was one of my favorites when it was on the menu at MBTBRO, even at a relatively young age. Its structure, fruit and acid made it irresistable. It has gotten even better since then, and is probably the best northern Michigan red I’ve had or the best Bordeaux-variety blend at the very least. It tastes just as good with food as it does after dinner. It’s great now but I’m sure it will still be great in another five years. I’ll report back when I open my other bottle. Hopefully there will be a 2016 vintage of this wine or something like it! 2012 Peninsula Cellars Merlot/Cabernet Franc (The Hog’s Back) is highly recommended.

 

 

Peninsula Cellars Lemberger, 2013

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Maker: Peninsula Cellars, Traverse City, Michigan, USA20171019_172611.jpg

Grape: Lemberger, aka Blaufränkisch

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

Vintage: 2013

ABV: 12%

Purchased for $22.50 (Michigan by the Bottle Tasting Room, Royal Oak)

Appearance: Dark ruby.

Nose: Blueberry pie, tomato, black pepper. “grapes when you eat them” -nosing note from my 7 y/o daughter.

Palate: Blackberry juice, wild mushroom, pink peppercorn, a little tartness.

Finish: Tannin, then acid.

Parting words: What do Pinot Blanc and Lemberger have in common? They’re both popular grapes that I just haven’t been able to get excited about. Both grow well in Up North, West Michigan and southern Michigan wine countries and both have been floated as “signature grapes” for the state. I’m not a fan of the concept of regions promoting one “signature grape” in general, but if I had to pick, neither Lemberger or Pinot Blanc would be in my top five.

As I do with a lot of things, I’ve been questioning myself over my disinterest in Lemberger and Pinot Blanc and wondering if it meant that my palate was flawed or I’m some kind of moron. So I’ve been trying to drink more of both kinds of wine. This bottle is a part of that effort.

Austria is considered Lemberger’s home turf, although it probably originated farther south and east. It’s known as Blaufränkisch in Austria where it is the second most planted red wine grape. The first is Lemberger’s offspring, Zweigelt.

While I may have had a breakthrough regarding Pinot Blanc, Lemberger’s appeal remains elusive. This is a well made wine, better than the last Lemberger I tried, but I still find myself wondering why it’s such a favorite of some Michigan wine drinkers. For me it’s too rough around the edges. In the past year or two I’ve been moving into sweeter, fruitier wines (Gamay, Riesling, Pinot Noir, cool climate Cab Franc and Merlot) and this wine’s tannic finish and unbalanced earthiness were an unpleasant surprise to my palate. Chilling it did eliminate much of that roughness but I would rather not have to chill a red wine at this price.

I think much of Lemberger’s popularity in Michigan is being driven by how well it grows here (which is a good thing!) but as for me, I still prefer it in blends rather than bottled as a varietal. Austrian Blaufränkisch often improves with extended cellar time, so maybe this one needs more time. Luckily I have another bottle of this in my cellar so I can test that theory in a couple years. Anyway, as it is now 2013 Peninsula Cellars Lemberger is mildly recommended.

Kroupa Orchards Apple Wine

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Maker: Peninsula Cellars, Traverse City, Michigan, USA.20171008_113908.jpg

Varieites: Macintosh, Spy, Empire, Rhode Island Greening.

Harvest: 2016(?)

Style: Sweet apple wine.

ABV: 10%

Price: $16/750 ml (Michigan by the Bottle Tasting Room, Royal Oak)

Appearance: Light gold.

Nose: Cut table apple, swimming pool.

Palate: Full-bodied and sweet. Apple juice, Gala apple.

Finish: A faint glimmer of tannin but still sweet. Long.

Parting words: Kroupa Orchards Apple Wine falls into the weird category of products that are good but disappointing. Peninsula cellars is one of the best wineries in Michigan’s best wine region. I love almost every wine they produce, so maybe my expectations were too high for this product. It’s not bad by any stretch. It has a lucious sweetness that is pleasant, but I expected something more thoughtful from this winery.

I think much of my disappointment stems from the choice of fruit all of which are baking apples. It’s the equivalent of making wine from Concord or Niagara grapes. Concord wine can be enjoyable, but it will never be as good as a well-made Pinot Noir or Riesling. It’s the same with apple wine or cider made from baking or table apples. Kroupa Orchard Apple wine is easy drinking with lots of apple flavor, but it lacks the complexity of a finely crafted hard cider that tannic or acidic apples would bring to the mix. Even accounting for the larger bottle and higher ABV, $16 is pricy for a product like this. Kroupa Orchard Apple Wine is mildly recommended.

Peninsula Cellars Manigold Vineyard Gewürztraminer, 2013

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Maker: Peninsula Cellars, Traverse City, Michigan, USA20170627_155041

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

Syle: Dry (Semi-dry)

ABV: 12%

Price: $20 (winery)

Appearance: Medium gold with tiny still bubbles.

Nose: Lychee, limestone, pineapple sage, apple juice.

Palate: Meduim bodied and juicey. Peach, mango, pink peppercorn, raw ginger, thyme, mineral water.

Finish: Fruity but with a lot of spice on the back end.

Parting words: Manigold is one of my favorite vineyards on Old Mission. It’s known best for Gewürztraminer and also has Chardonnay vines. The vineyard is only two acres in size but its wines are big. Gewürz’s spicy character is in full effect here but there is also loads of tropical fruit making for a complex, aromatic, flavorful wine. I could gush over this for a few more paragraphs, but I’ll spare you. Hard to find a better Gewürz at this price from Michigan or anywhere. Peninsula Cellars 2013 Manigold Vineyard Gewürztraminer is highly recommended.

 

 

Peninsula Cellars Late Harvest Riesling, 2014

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Maker: Peninsula Cellars, Traverse City, Michigan, USA2015-12-09-16.13.49.jpg.jpeg

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

Style: Unintentionally sparkling late harvest Riesling

ABV: 8.5%

Price: $14 (website)

Appearance: Light gold with a huge fizzy head and big ongoing effervescence.

Nose: Cut ripe pear, mineral water, apple juice.

Palate: Very fizzy with stone fruit notes and some oregano on the back end.

Finish: Sweet and apple-y with a pebble of minerality.

Parting words: Everybody makes mistakes, even winemakers as skilled as those at Peninsula Cellars. A few months ago Peninsula Cellars released only a few cases of their 2014 late harvest Riesling to the public. A couple pallets of that wine were released to Michigan by the Bottle Tasting Rooms and offered to wine club members like yours truly. I love Peninsula Cellars and I love Riesling, so I jumped at the chance and bought two bottles. Shortly after picking them up, I received an email that the wine had effectively been recalled. The wine in one of the pallets had undergone an expected and undesired secondary fermentation in the bottle, turning it into a sparkling wine. This created a lot of pressure in the standard Riesling bottles the wine was in and some of the corks had started popping out, rather forcefully in some cases. Anyone who bought it was asked to return the wine to the store for a store credit or drink immediately. I returned one of my bottles but took my life into my hands by keeping the other one in my cellar. It leaked a bit, but never exploded. The leaking began to get worse last week so I brought it up into the fridge at that time.

This wine is delicious but disappointing to me in a couple ways. First, I’m disappointed that I didn’t get to taste the 2014 Peninsula Cellars LHR as the winemakers intended. Second, I’m disappointed that Peninsula isn’t regularly making a sparkling Late Harvest Riesling because this is so good. Sadly, these sparkling bottles are probably all gone by now but if you happen to find one, I highly recommend you purchase it.

Peninsula Dry Riesling

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Maker: Peninsula Cellars, Traverse City, Michigan, USAwpid-2015-01-07-21.45.18.jpg.jpeg

Place of origin: Hawkeye, Kroupa vineyards, Old Mission Peninsula AVA, Michigan, USA

Vintage: 2012

ABV: 12%

Price: $18 (website)

Appearance: Bright gold.

Nose: Fresh cut green apple, Anjou pear, sweet melon, fizzy mineral water.

Palate: Drying. Underripe apple, white mulberry, gravel.

Finish: Racy, slightly tart. Lingers faintly for a moderate length of time.

Parting words: Peninsula Cellars is located in the central part of the Old Mission Peninsula north of Traverse City, Michigan. They’re best known for their table blends, Old School White, Old School Red and Detention. The school theme comes from the old school house that serves as their tasting room (at a different location than their winery).

Peninsula’s blends may be their most popular and best known wines, but they also produce some seriously good varietals, including a single-vineyard Gewürztraminer and this dry Reisling from grapes grown at two nearby vineyards, Hawkeye and Kroupa. It’s a first rate example of how this style of Reisling is done in Michigan. The winemakers have done a wonderful job of balancing fruit with dry minerality. Like most dry Reisling, it does well with poultry, fish and Asian dishes, but this is one that you’ll want to spend a summer or even winter afternoon contemplating. Peninsula Cellars’ 2012 Dry Reisling is highly recommended.