Phusion Projects
Château Pindefleurs
St. Émilion Grand Cru Red Bordeaux Blend 2015
Owner TomeVinos wine shops, WSET Level 3, Blogger www.spanishwinesandmore.com, blog.tomevinos.com
I did a side by side tasting of all of the Moueix projects in Pomerol and St. Emilion (except Petrus) and this was our favorite and is wonderful for the price. It is smooth and elegant. — 3 years ago
Standing Stone Vineyards
Finger Lakes Saperavi 2017
Finger. Lakes. Saperavi.
If this ain’t American winemaking in the 21st century we don’t know what is! 🇺🇸🍷🇬🇪🍇
At least, that’s what we were thinking before reading up on Standing Stone and founders Marti & Tom Macinski. They actually first planted this fascinating Georgian grape here in ***1994*** (just 3 years after Georgia left the USSR, for those keeping score at home) intended for blending.
Increasingly impressed by the quality of the grapes, they offered their first varietal Saperavi in 2010 - as “The Dark Red”, since the grape name was as yet unrecognized by the federal government. Once it was, they became the first American winery to release a wine labeled Saperavi.
Fine tuned to the cold, high mountains of Kakheti in eastern Georgia, it makes sense why it would thrive in the Finger Lakes! The name Saperavi literally means “ink”, a sensible name for a grape with pitch-dark skin AND flesh! 🖤
Marti and Tom sold the winery and retired in 2017. But their enduring legacy may just be budding. We’ve heard of Saperavi planting projects underway in New York, Virginia, and Oregon.
Saperavi’s runaway affinity for the Finger Lakes may have been a bit of a happy accident, but the Macinskis deserve every bit of credit for thinking outside the box, putting it in motion, and bringing it to fruition! 🙌🙌🙌 — 5 years ago
Hermann J. Wiemer
Noble Select Magdalena Vineyard Riesling 2016
A lovely way to round out the tasting - dessert wine that concentrates and projects all of the underlying flavors and aroma to the fore and magnifies them. Honey, hay, prairie grass, and pineapple aromas. Very sweet, tastes like cobbler and sweet syrup. — 4 years ago
Abremundos Wines
Octava Superior Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2014
A beautiful blend of Cab Franc and Malbec with dash of Syrah. On the nose it was a interplay between red and black fruits, violet, and hint of barnyard. Entry was smooth, fresh, and elegant, building up an intense mid palate with spice, pepper, chocolate and a long meaty finish. I really like what Marcelo Pelleriti, of 100-point Chateau La Violette and 99-point Chateau Le Guy fame, is doing with all these projects with various artist in Argentina. — 5 years ago
Domaine Berlancourt
Cuvée Les Equinces Bourgogne White Blend 2015
Pop and pour yesterday. Wow, so much better than a BB has any right to be. Starting to show the first signs of maturity: more honeyed nose, lemon oil, melon; this projects amazing depth. On the palate: fantastic acidity, silky texture, melon, grapefruit, wet stone, lemon oil. Everything lingers on the finish, which picks up with some soft pepper/spice. Fantastic, and I can't wait to see what my final btl looks like, with hopefully a few more years age. — 2 years ago
Dana Estates
Helms Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2018
Oremus
Mandolás Tokaji Dry Furmint Blend 2016
Huet and Vega Sicilia are two storied producers with quality side projects in Tokaij. Vega Sicilia makes one that is supremely rich with laser acid and oak sturdy, expertly integrated. Sour notes of ripe lemons, the kind about to go black and turn to rock. And spiced ginger and popcorn kernels and vanilla spice. WOW. — 5 years ago
Ericsson
Jean Claude’s wine making expertise comes from decades at Petrus and he’s only been involved in a couple of projects outside this world renowned site; making this particular wine very special. It is complex, layered, structured, smooth with velvety tannins. Hitting all the right notes of a great first growth Bordeaux from high altitude vines in Valle de Uco, Mendoza. Cheers. — a month ago