Texas Tasting
This past week spending several days in Texas included me getting to blind taste around 90 wines from the state. The experience was interesting as it gave a sense of regional expression without expectations based on producer. As with any region there was a significant range of quality and style but among the wines were a few world class stand outs it was exciting to see.
During dinners and lunches though we were able to enjoy a few Texan bottles in full view as well. There were three wines that jumped out at me.
McPherson is one of the longest standing well-respected producers of the state. I’ve been hearing good things about his white wines in particular for a while so I was pleased to get to taste his 2015 Roussanne. The wine offers the textural pleasure of the variety in a leaner frame with delicate flavors of dried floral spice sprinkled through fresh orchard fruits. Lovely. It worked really well with our meal.
Duchman 2015 Vermentino from the Bingham Family Vineyard was a new producer for me. It offered bright, textural acidity with lifted flavors of gilded-yellow fruits and a mix of fresh herbal aromas. Definitely made for the table to go alongside food as its freshness and length wash the palate over and over.
The William Chris 2015 Petillant Naturel rosé was all fun fresh bursting red berries and impressively clean through the palate. It’s what I call a hot tub wine – you have a glass and it’s so damned easy the next thing you know you’re in a hot tub with friends you didn’t know you had till now. The flavor and character of it is much like Bugey-Cerdon without the sweetness as the William Chris finishes totally dry. We enjoyed it on the last day of the Texsom IWA Sommelier Retreat alongside pepper cured duck breast. Perfect pairing.
My hope is to get back to Texas just to focus on wine country so I can dig in more to what is going on there in wine.
By the way I totally lifted that William Chris photo from the Instagram of Nicole Hakli, @nicole.hakli, wine director of ACME Restaurant in NYC. Thanks, Nicole!
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