This is a rose made from Cabernet Franc and Merlot in Virginia. Light pink in color, clear and bright. The nose is nice with strawberries and some watermelon. Light to medium bodied. On the palate, this is crisp and clean. It drinks quite easily and there is nice watermelon fruit. Moderate finish. This drinks well on its own but should work with all but the heaviest of meat dishes. Drink over the next year.
Kelly's Island is part of a group of islands in the south western section of Lake Erie just off the Ohio coast. Back in the mid-1800's this was one of the leading wine areas of the country. Now it is kind of a summer resort escape area. It is always difficult to make reds in Ohio due to late and early frosts and lots of thunderstorms and hail and very hot temperatures. Yields were apparently way down in 2022, but luckily a friend lives right next to the winery and was able to snag a bottle for us. This wine seems to be somewhere between a very serious rosé and a lighter red wine. 11.5
This is one of the best values in wine. It is basically a blend of the better barrels that didn't make it into the varietal or vineyard designated wines. In fact, the Sineann Red Table Wine (also a great value) gets the wine that didn't make it into the Abondante.
This is a blend of Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon from the state of Maryland. Enrique and Felipe Pallares, originally from Ecuador, founded this winery in 2017. Good wines are being made all over these days. Garnet in color, mostly clear and bright. The nose is very earthy with a bit of barnyard, but also tobacco, dried cherries and black cherries. On the palate, there is some Brettanomyces. Not off putting but noticeable. There is also some black cherry fruit and underlying forest floor. There is some complexity here. It drinks well on its own and would work well wi
This is from a can although it appears they also sell this in bottles. It is a blend of Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cinsault and Grenache. It has a reasonably deep pink/ruby color. The nose has cherries and raspberries. On the palate, this is easy drinking and refreshing. Flavors of cherries and strawberries. No tannins. Ready to drink now. Worked well with salty fried food but should go with a wide variety of foods. The trend of wine cans is catching on. For wines that are made for now, this is a convenient, non-breakable alternative. I hope more wineries go this route.
A few months ago, we reviewed the Cabernet Sauvignon from the vintage and vineyard, so it was nice to go back and taste the Cab Franc. While not quite at that level, it is quite good. Purple in color. The nose has black cherries, cigar tobacco and cedar. On the palate, this has a lush but sinewy texture. Lots of black cherry fruit. Some depth. Good balance. Medium tannins. Nice length. This should continue to mature and may improve a bit. It works well on its own but better with food. Roasts or casseroles go well.
