Tag: White

Marland Sauvignon Blanc & Semillion, 2020

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Maker: Wyncroft/Marland, Fennville, Michigan, USA.

Grapes: Sauvignon Blanc (75%), Semillon (25%)

Place of origin: Lake Michigan Shore, Michigan, USA.

Vintage: 2020

Note: Aged in acacia barrels.

ABV: Not disclosed (table wine loophole)

Purchased for $19 (winery).

Appearance: Very pale straw

Nose: Golden delicious apples

Palate: Pear, touch of wood, honey.

Finish: Honey, gravel, clementines.

Parting words: Marland Sauv Blanc/Semillon is basically the less expensive, non-estate version of Wyncroft Shou (pronounced “show”) white. To my knowledge, Wyncroft’s James Lester is the only winemaker in Michigan who uses acacia barrels to ferment and age a white blend like this. He does it because that’s how many wineries in Bordeaux make their white blends. I don’t drink a lot of white Bordeaux, but the technique works very well in this wine, and its more expensive cousin. It adds a rich mouthfeel without any of the toasty tastes and aromas one gets from French oak barrels.

I’m not sure how much of this vintage is still kicking around, but 2020 was a great one for pretty much everything, so if you see this, pick it up! It’s a good all-season white that goes beyond the typical summertime porch-sipper. 2020 Marland Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon is recommended.

For more information on Wyncroft/Marland, see the write up of my visit there last year here.

Mackinaw Trail Late Harvest Riesling, 2013

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Maker: Mackinaw Trail, Petoskey, Michigan, USAwp-1580342023816.jpg

Grape: Riesling (at least 75%)

Place of origin: Michigan (at least 75%)

Style: Late harvest Riesling

Vintage: 2013

Note: 24 brix at harvest

ABV: 10%

Purchased for $14 (forgotten liquor store)

Appearance: Light gold.

Nose: Peach, pear.

Palate: Medium bodied. Mandarin oranges, ripe peach, gravel.

Finish: Peach then canned pear.

Parting words: This is the first bottle from Mackinaw Trail I have purchased in the last five years at least. Why? Well, several years ago, my friends and I visited the Mackinaw Trail tasting room in Petoskey and had a very pleasant time. Liz and I both liked the Merlot, so we bought a bottle and took it home.

When I opened it a few months later, it tasted terrible and was fizzy. I don’t mean Vinho Verde or Beaujolais Nouveau fizzy, I mean Vernor’s Ginger Ale fizzy. I dumped it out and vowed never to buy another bottle from them. I should have contacted someone, I know, but it was so disgusting that I didn’t want to have anything to do with them again.

A few months ago, I was killing time in a local liquor store and came across this bottle. I love late harvest Riesling (almost any Riesling, really) and this bottle was pretty mature so I thought I’d give Mackinaw Trail another chance. I’m glad I did.

This wine is not complex, and not as good as LHRs produced by some of the larger Michigan wineries like St. Julian, Black Star Farms and Chateau Grand Traverse, but it’s good enough for the price and it held up well for sitting on the shelf of a party store for five years. I’m glad I gave  Mackinaw Trail another try. Makinaw Trail’s 2013 Late Harvest Riesling is recommended.

Scriptorium Riesling, 2016

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Maker: Mari Vineyards, Traverse City, Michigan, USA.20191023_205658.jpg

Grape: Riesling (100%)

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

Vintage: 2016

Style: Semi-dry Riesling. Light lees contact.

ABV: 12%

Purchased for $26 (winery)

Appearance: Pale gold.

Nose: Lychee, canned pears, gravel, pineapple sage, pinch of epazote.

Palate: Full-bodied and lush. Underripe bartlett pear, mandarin orange, and lemon sherbet but without the sweetness of all those things. A little tarragon too.

Finish: Acid first, then gravel.

Parting words: Scriptorium is a semi-dry Riesling, but it drinks like a lucious late harvest one. There’s a lot of fruit and big acid up front with some minerality and herbs bringing up the rear.

Riesling might not seem to fit the profile of Mari Vineyards at first glance. Mari is known for elegant red blends, especially ones featuring grapes not commonly grown in Michigan like Nebbiolo and Sangiovese (they can grow these grapes because of their nella serra system). Riesling very much fits the profile of Mari winemaker Sean O’Keefe, though. His family founded, and still owns, Chateau Grand Traverse just five miles up the peninsula from Mari. So when he was hired as winemaker at Mari, he knew he had to make Riesling too. It’s in his blood.

I’m very glad it is too. Scriptorium is a wonderful wine that is a bargain at $26. Drink it now or drink it later, but just drink it! 2016 Scriptorium Riesling is highly recommended.

St. Julian Reserve Riesling

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Maker: St. Julian, Paw Paw, Michigan, USA20190717_201947.jpg

Place of origin: Magnificent Mile Vineyard, Lake Michigan Shore AVA, Michigan, USA

Grape: Riesling (at least 85%)

Style: Semi-dry.

Vintage: 2017

ABV: 12%

Purchased for $9 (Costco)

Appearance: Pale gold.

Nose: peach cobbler, roux.

Palate: Peach, citrus, lemon butter, grave.

Finish: Clean and dry. Lemon thyme.

Parting words: This wine was also a part of June 2019’s Twitter Riesling Roundtable. It was the most impressive Riesling from LMS in the tasting. I dodn’t usually go for buttery Riesling but this wine was so perfectly balanced that I didn’t mind the butter. In fact, it worked with the fruit notes to create baked good aromas and flavors. $9 is hard to beat for a wine this good. As I’ve said before, don’t sleep on St. Julian. Tbere’s a lot more to them than Blue Heron. St. Julian Reserve Riesling is highly recommended.

Block II Riesling, 2017

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Maker: Bowers Harbor, Traverse City, Michigan, USA.20190626_203810.jpg

Place of origin: Block II, Bowers Harbor estate, Old Mission Peninsula AVA, Traverse City, Michigan, USA.

Grape: Riesling (at least 85%)

Vintage: 2017

ABV: 12%

Purchased for $16 (Holiday Market)

Thanks to Holiday Market Wine for ordering this for me.

Appearance: Pale gold.

Nose: Golden apple, orange zest, lemon thyme, peach,

Palate: Full-bodied. Meyer lemon, Valencia orange, mineral water.

Finish: Drying with a little tartness.

Parting words: When I heard that 2017 Block II was going to be a part of a Riesling Roundtable hosted by the Michigan Wine Collective on Twitter on June 24, 2019, I was very excited. Block II is one of my all-time favorite Michigan wines and is the gold standard for dry Riesling in Michigan, in my opinion. I reviewed the 2013 vintage a couple years ago and I’ve been madly in love ever since. I also reviewed the 2010 vintage back in 2015.

The 2017 vintage is already showing itself to be another strong one, if this wine is any indication. I love the freshness and acid here and I can’t wait to see how the other bottle I bought will develop in my cellar. Drink now or cellar for another year or two. 2017 Block II Riesling is highly recommended!

 

 

 

Shady Lane Riesling Reserve, 2015

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Maker: Shady Lane, Suttons Bay, Michigan, USA20190506_170116.jpg

Grape: Riesling (at least 85%)

Place of origin: Shady Lane estate, Leelanau Peninsula AVA, Michigan, USA

Vintage: 2015

Style: Dry Riesling

ABV: 11.4%

Purchased for $26 (Michigan By The Bottle Sipper Club)

Appearance: Light gold.

Nose: Golden Delicious apples, lemon thyme, mineral water.

Palate: Mandarin orange, lime, chalk dust.

Finish: Drying and rocky. A little tartness.

Parting words: As I’ve written about before, 2014 and 2015 were essentially lost vintages in Michigan due to the infamous Polar Vortex. There were a few vineyards in Northern Michigan that didn’t get hit as hard as others, though. According to a tasting room employee last year, Shady Lane’s vineyards were among them.

The grapes and vines on Shady Lane survived, but it was still a cold vintage, and the wine reflects that. It has developed nice and slowly and hasn’t lost any of its fruit in its 3+ years in the bottle. It also has retained plenty of acid without being an acid bomb. Shady Lane Reserve Riesling is great with food but also has the depth and complexity for solo sipping. It’s everything a dry Michigan Riesling should be. Shady Lane Reserve Riesling is recommended.

 

Left Foot Charley Gewürztraminer, 2016

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Maker: Left Foot Charley, Traverse City, Michigan, USA20190415_162818.jpg

Grape: Gewürztraminer (at least 85%)

Place of origin: Grand Traverse County, Michigan, USA

Vintage: 2016

ABV: 13%

Purchased for $20 (Holiday Market)

Appearance: Quite pale gold.

Nose: Big lychee, woodruff, roasted ginger.

Palate: Peach pit, bitter orange, orange thyme.

Finish: More lychee, orange pith.

Parting words: Gewürztraminer is one of my favorite grapes. Its wine is spicy and tastes like no other grape (except Traminette). Next to Riesling, it’s my favorite white wine grape. Like Riesling it’s made in a range of sweetness levels, although it doesn’t reach the sublime heights of high-quality German Spälese or Auslese. LFC Dragon-label Gewürz is firmly on the dry end of the spectrum. The LFC website recommends cellaring this wine until 2022-2024 (!). I prefer Gewürz with a little bit of fruit to balance the spice so I opened mine in 2019, but if I find another bottle I may let it sit for a couple more years.

I’ve had a lot of Michigan Gewürz over the years and this is the best one that I can remember having. It’s good on its own but it is spectacular with spicy food. The first bottle I purchased was taken to a Chinese New Year celebration and was gone in a flash. It paired perfectly with the spicy hot pot at the center of the meal. $20 is more than fair for a high quality wine like this. Left Foot Charley Gewürztraminer (dragon label) is highly 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.

 

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.

 

Domaine Barrien Vignoles, 2015

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Maker: Domaine Berrien, Berrien Springs, Michigan, USA

Grape: Vignoles (at least 85%)

Vintage: 2015

Place of origin: Lake Michigan Shore (Berrien Springs)

Style: Semi-dry

Purchased for $16 from Michigan by the Bottle, Royal Oak (Sipper Club)

Appearance: Bright gold.

Nose: Honey, camomile, lychee.

Palate: Semi-dry and medium bodied. Peach nectar (without the sweetness), mineral water, woodruff.

Finish: Strong lychee, drying.

Parting words: Vignoles is one of what I have dubbed on Twitter the “noble hybrids”, hybrid wine grape varieties that are capable of being good even when bottled as a varietal. The others on my list are Traminette, Chardonel, Vidal Blanc, Chambourcin and Baco Noir.

Vignoles is often made in a sweet style but also does well in dry and off-dry styles, as in this wine. It’s not complex, but is very pleasant with food or for Saturday afternoon sipping any time of year. 2015 Domaine Berrien Vignoles is recommended.