“The wonder of wine is
that two people can taste a wine, disagree and both be correct.” ….. James McMillan
If
you’re fortunate in your wine life, there comes a time when the stars align and
bless you with an “ah ha” moment. It
happens when you actually taste and experience what you have read about. You taste, for example, a Dolcetto d’Alba and
a Dolcetto d’Asti from the same producer and from the same vintage. Just tasting Dolcetto from different producers
and different vintages … sure that’s fun. But it won’t produce the “ah ha” understanding
that comes with tasting terroir.
 |
| Lake Michigan Shore AVA (lower left) with Fennville top of same area |
Recently,
I tasted two Rieslings from Fenn Valley’s (Vineyard and Winery) 2012
vintage. The winery is located within the
Lake Michigan Shore AVA (American
Viticultural Area – think DOCG, AOC and such). The Lake Michigan Shore AVA is
in southeast Michigan and the oldest commercial grape region in the state. Vineyards in the region date back to
1867. Fenn Valley is within the smaller,
sub-AVA of “Fennville” and a great location to grow Riesling grapes.
This
became evident tasting the two Rieslings.
Being an old sort, I matured on Rieslings from the Mosel region in
Germany. Over time, this style became my
benchmark against which all Rieslings were judged. Germany is so serious about Riesling that it
regulates its labeling based on, among other things, the grapes’ ripeness. Once you understand the system, you know if
the wine you’re looking at is dry (Kabinett) or lusciously Sauterne-sweet
(Trockenbeerenauslese). There are several levels in between.
Tasting
Fenn Valley’s Riesling (blue label), I was struck by its character. 100%
Riesling with the characteristics of a classic Mosel and approaching the sweetness
of a Spatlese. Identified by the winery
as “semi-dry,” the wine offers a strong and pleasing aroma of citrus. In the
mouth, it offers flavor notes of sweet peach balanced against tart apple. The
wine is well rounded and finishes crisply while leaving you still appreciating
the sweet-tart interplay of sweet peach against tart apple and wanting another
sip.
The
“Proprietor’s Reserve” (black label) is less sweet; mid-point between dry and
semi-dry per the bottle’s back label (see “Tech Specs” below). The nose offers
less citrus but is more floral. The flavor was (to me) more complex with hints
of lemon grass and vanilla bean. In the
mouth, the wine was weightier and, like the standard Riesling, was well rounded
and finished clean. I had another sip.
In
the glass “Proprietor’s Reserve” is a shade deeper gold. From the color, you would expect the wine to
be sweeter than the standard Riesling, though it’s not. And what accounted for the “Reserve’s”
complexity? Here we get into labeling
again. The term “Reserve” has no legal definition in the United States. It does not mean the wine has been aged
longer, or that the grapes were hand selected and only the best used. From my
experience, while it has no legally defined meaning, it can be taken to mean
“special.” Without exception, every
winemaker I’ve met carries on a love affair with wine, is proud of their craft and
honest about the results. So what makes
it special?
I
kept pestering the winery. Were different yeasts used? Were the grapes from
different vineyards? Fermentation
different … yadda, yadda? The answer was
in the vineyard. Grapes for the “Reserve” came from a particular farm in
Fennville (they have several). I like
Fenn Valley’s use of the word “farm”.
Grapes are a crop after all.
Drive through the Midwest and there are many farms on which people raise
families that are close to the earth and understand soil and weather.
Brian
Lesperance, Marketing Manager, explained that grapes from this one location
were kissed by botrytis (full name botrytis cinerea, a beneficial mold that
shrivels the grapes, concentrates their sugar and flavors while maintaining
their acid). While you may think that
this guarantees a syrupy wine better suited for pancakes, look again at the
tech specs for this wine. Botrytis is
risky in that the vineyard takes a risk that botrytis (a natural process) will actually
develop. Conditions must be perfect. If
it does not, if conditions are not just right, the grapes will be unusable.
Even when it is a “feast” year in this feast or famine game, the amount of
useable fruit is greatly reduced.
Conditions at this particular farm were perfect in 2012 and produced a
wine of balance, lovely mouthfeel and complexity. Fenn Valley Vineyards produces a reserve only when those conditions present
themselves and indeed those conditions must have been all wrapped and tied in a
bow as presented. Unlike other
botrytized wines I’ve tasted, the Fenn Valley’s Reserve Riesling reflects
grapes picked at the perfect time (for me): complexity without taste-clouding sweetness.
If
you’re waiting for me to tell you which wine I preferred, you’ll be
disappointed. I was not disappointed in either of these wines, and – really –
that’s the point. Seldom does an opportunity come along in which one can taste side by
side two wines of the same grape and vintage from the same winery and enjoy the
“ah ha” moment that comes with tasting terroir.
And speaking of opportunity, each of these wines was available at only $12, a
price far below how they taste.
Cheers!
…………………. Jim
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FENN VALLEY VINEYARD AND WINERY
6130 122nd Ave
Fennville, MI. 49408
(269) 561-2396
TECH
SPECS Riesling
Varietal: 100% Lake Michigan Shore Riesling
Alc: 10.5%
Residual Sugar: 1.94%
Titratable Acidity: .731
pH: 3.03
Riesling Reserve
Varietal: 100% Riesling
Alc: 11% (11.28%)
RS: 1.06
TA: 0.64
pH: 3.13
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