(December 22, 2018) … It’s a night of a couple of Pinots in Michigan over the holidays, plus we added a few other treats into the mix … Starting with a Seaside 2016 Pinot Noir (New Zealand) – It’s a simple, easy drinking Pinot with juicy notes of red currant, which was very much in contrast with the William Wright 2016 Pinot Noir (California) which was a very approachable black currant, earthy, spiced plum, but mainly a fruit forward core … I found this to be a well structured California Pinot with lots of great flavour, it was a funny little wine I picked up at Aldi’s in Michigan.
We then opened a bottle of Lazy Bones 2015 Cabernet Franc (California) … There is a sweet note to the fruit, but that’s California, plenty of blackberry, black tea, black currant, white pepper, and black raspberry. Not what I’m used to in my Franc, but certainly a style that will be loved by others.
Finally this one I pulled from my cellar and brought along: Stalking Horse 2008 Shiraz (Australia) a bruising 15% alcohol, but a well-aged Aussie Shiraz that wasn’t just full-on fruit: licorice, black cherry, kirsch, spiced x-mas cake and rich plum, plus hints of red cocoa and bittersweet chocolate, all with an herbal and vanilla finish.