Maker: Nathaniel Rose, Suttons Bay, Michigan, USA
Grape: Pinot Noir.
Places of origin: Katherine & Martha’s Vineyard (58%), Hill Road Vineyard (42%), Lake Michigan Shore AVA, Michigan, USA.
Vintage: 2013
ABV: 12.3%
Bottle provided for review by Nathaniel Rose, via Marshall Wehr. Big thanks to them!
Appearance: Dark red.
Nose: Blackberry jam, stewed mushrooms, blueberry juice, allspice.
Palate: Medium bodied. Fruit of the Forest pie, clove.
Finish: Tart, but with grip.
Parting words: When it comes to Michigan Pinot, or other cool climate Pinots, one usually gets a light to medium bodied, pale (that’s not a bad thing!), high-acid, easy drinking wine. This is especially the case with the ones from Northern Michigan. Chateau Chantal’s Pinot Noir is a good example of the style. Even in Southwest Michigan, though, 2013 was a cool vintage that turned out a lot of high-acid wines.
That high acidity ended up doing a lot of favors for wines of that vintage, though. While they were slow to develop, the best ones developed beautifully, like this one. The acid is still there, but it’s moved into a supporting role with wild fruit and spice taking the lead. The result is a wine that has the sort of boldness one might expect from a 1er Cru or a beefier red village Burgundy. It did a great job sharing the table with both pork ribs, and lamb chops.
While 2013, wasn’t regarded as favorably as the previous two vintages were at first, time has shown that the cellar can elevate a well-made cool-vintage Michigan wine to some pretty lofty heights. Nathaniel Rose 2013 Pinot Noir is recommended.