I love the arrival of a new wine into the room and relish the opportunity to share it with customers, especially club members. So Fred Peterson arrives with a few new wines he’s just bottled and wants to share to see if we want them for the room. The first Mendo Blendo is almost a given with a donkey in Manolo Blahnik mules of bright red gracing his feet, for the label. But it is the second wine that catches my eye as he sets it onto the counter. It is a dark green “Bordeaux” shaped bottle with a very wise looking raccoon gracing the label. Fred says”never thought I would make a varietal wine out of Petite Verdot, but here it is”, and he gives almost an embarrassed shrug.
So I ask the obvious question, “why not?”
“Well, Fred says, this friend of mine talked me into planting it and gave me a few cuttings, said he’d had some good luck with this particular clone. so I brought it home and planted it and it was a bit difficult and just never seemed to have much to offer , except as a blender. But when Jamie (Fred’s son) pulled this one out of the barrel he got real excited and said we should look at it as a varietal. So I took a look and had to agree the 2010 has something special”.
So we pop the cork and pour a couple of glasses. The first thing I notice is the deep almost black colour of the wine then the aroma hits, rich earthy black berry, hints of tobacco and grilled meat, I look at Fred and he smiles, “it’s a beauty right?” I nod in agreement. It swirls in the glass and I just keep breathing in the heady aroma, in love before my first sip. Now I taste, the mouth feel is full, the tannins supple and fine, the wine fills my mouth with rich dark fruit, with the pungent flavor of grilled meat on the finish. I look at Fred, “it’s chewy, a wine I can sink my teeth into.” Fred nods in agreement, we take another sip, both silent as we let the wine engulf our senses.
I think to myself this is how the love affair begins with wine, when you encounter the mystery in the glass so deep, and the earth of its birth speaks to you from the bottle, and each sip is a new discovery, this is how a new wine connisuer is born, and I can’t wait to share with each new customer or club member my discovery.
Thank you Fred and Jamie!