July 2011 Michigan Wineries visited in Traverse City area.
Chateau Fontaine
General notes: Wine glasses used for tasting were not good. Resembled little cordial glasses and you could not swirl properly or get much of a good nose off the wines. This affected my tasting notes.
2009 Chardonnay
Bad vintage and not ripe wine. Very light and vegetal.
2009 Pinot Gris.
Almost clear. Not much nose (see note). Green apple on midpalate and nice clean finish. Quite light and palate cleansing but not much else.
2010 Woodland White (mostly Auxerrois)
Clear color. Shy nose of peaches. White peachy midpalate with a short to medium finish. Decent wine but not my style.
2010 Dry riesling
Very pale yellow. Peachy nose. Ripe midpalate with melons and peaches with a fruity medium to long finish. Nice wine. I bought a bottle.
2009 semidry riesling
Clear color. Not much nose Sweetish, crisp midpalate with a short to medium finish. Not bad but a bit green for my tastes.
2009 Pinot noir
Pale ruby. Light cherry nose. Tart cherry midpalate with screaming acidity. Short finish. Not ripe. Not balanced.
Big paw red (mix) NV
Clear light red. Not much nose. Light tart midpalate with a short finish. Not balance. Not good.
Cherry wine NV
Orangish red. Tart cherry nose. Cherries on the midpalate and in the shortish finish. Not bad for a fruit wine. Great with dark chocolate which brings out the acidity in the wine.
Bel Lago
2008 Pinot noir
Clear light ruby. Nice nose of cherries and earth. Tart cherries on the midpalate with a cedar-cherry medium finish. Decent wine, but I did not care for it.
2010 semidry riesling
Light straw. Gorgeous nose of melons and lemons. Sweetish midpalate with great balance between fruit, acidity and even some light tannins. Long, delicious finish. Dangerous wine! It goes down way to easy and tastes way too good. This wine had been in the bottle 1 week! I bought two bottles that they had to tape labels to before they could sell it.
Brut rose
Light salmon. Nutty, yeasty nose. Midpalate has some fruit and slight acidic nip to it. Finish is acidic with nutty tones. Nice sparkler that was a decent price $18. I would have purchased this wine had I not just purchased 3 great sparklers from Argyle.
Left foot Charley
2010 pinot gris
Very pale yellow. Rich nose of green peaches and musk melons. Luscious midpalate of dry white peach and sparkling acidity. Nice medium finish of acidic fruit.
2010 Dry rose
Salmon pink. Strawberry and rose nose. Caramel and strawberries on the midpalate with nice balancing acidity which could also be described as melted cotton candy. Nice medium finish of cotton candy. Bought 1 bottle of this unusual but tasty ripe rose.
2010 Longcore riesling Yard d’vine
Very pale yellow. Intense nose of sweet peaches and melons. Delicious midpalate with peaches, refreshing acidity and a touch of tannins. Tastes like a belini. Medium to long finish that is great peach fruit fade. Nicely balanced. Bought 1 bottle. 12.15% abv
2010 Seventh hill riesling
Pale, pale yellow. Shy nose of oranges. Sweet green melon fruit that fans out over the midpalate. Medium to long finish of juicy acidity.
2010 riesling Leelanau peninsula semidry
Light straw. Sweet lemonade and peach nose. Quite sweet on the midpalate showing green gage and yellow plums. Good balance and medium finish.
2009 Stumble riesling
Light yellow. White peach nose. Sweetness and green acidity fight each other on the midpalate. Short –medium finish. Good effort for a bad vintage (2009). Not bad, but a one note wine.