1. TerraVox Sherry Vox (Wetumka grape; Aged: 6 mo. in oak; 24 cs; 18.5%; www.TerraVox.wine) KansasCity/MO 2015: Deep golden color; very strong rancio/oxidative/sherry very complex bit flor yeast some earthy/dusty quite complex nose; rather sweet/lush some oxidative/honeyed rat her rancio slight Sauternes-like very complex beautiful flavor; very long/lingering fairly sweet rather rancio/honeyed/bit oxidative quite complex finish; a beautiful oxidative wine that resembles much a Catalan rancio but not nearly as oxidized. $50.00/hlf
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2. TerraVox Wetumka (8.4%) P&B by VoxVnyds/KansasCity/MO 2021: Med.gold color; quite unpleasant toe jam/unclean/apple cidery some floral/hollyhocks very herbal/Kansas haymow/sauerkraut unattractive nose; very tart/tangy/bitter rather rich/lush herbal/Kansas haymow unclean/funky/toe jam slight floral/hollyhocks slightly off-dry flavor; very long finish that mimics flavor; a rather unattractive/strange white. $27.00
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3. TerraVox Herbemont MO Rose Wine (8.2%; 27 cs) 2021: Pale bronze slight browning sorta rose/garnet color; rather earthy/herbal slight orangey very slight floral/muscatty bit coarse/rustic/hybridy rathe unusual very interesting nose; slightly tart/tangy rather sour/metallix fairly earthy/coarse/hybridy slight floral/orangey/bit muscatty rather interesting/exotic low fruit flavor; med. rather coarse/earthy some floral/orangey/muscatty somewhat soft/rich/lush slightly off-dry bit sour/metallic finish; some very interesting/exotic things therei but dominated by a coarse/earthy character & not a lot of fruit; it has a richness that belies the 8.2% underripe alcohol level. $27.00
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4. TerraVox Hidalgo (9.1%; 43 cs) 2021: Light gold color; some grassy/SB-like/herbal quite floral/carnation/dandelions/spicy quite attractive/lovely nose; rather tart/tangy slight tangy/metallic slightly off-dry quite floral/dandelions/carnations/spicy slight herbal/grassy unusual quite attractive flavor; med.long slightly off-dry quite floral/dandelions/carnations somewhat rich quite attractive finish; a bit of a light-weight white but rather interesting/pretty; reminds a bit of a Sudtirol Kerner, a bit of a SB. $35.00
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5. TerraVox Munch Weiss (11.8%; red grapes sourced from an Augusta MO vnyd planted by Friedrich Munch's brother) 2021: Med.dark gold color; bitstony/earthy some floral/hollyhocks/carnations fairly fragrant quite attractive nose; rather soft/lush some earthy/loamy bit floral/hollyhocks/carnations/zinnias/pungent near-dry slightly coarse/earthy flavor; very long finish mimics flavor; not particularly high-toned nor fragrant; reminds some of whites from Corsica or Georgia; a rather interesting white. $27.00
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6. TerraVox AiNabLA/Albania WW (9%; 27 cs) 2020: Some golden/slight browning color; rather floral/carnations slight volatile some earthy/hybridy bit muscatty/coarse fairly fragrant nose; rather tart/tangy/metallic bit off-dry earthy/hybridy/floral/carnations/bit muscatty some coarse/hybridy flavor; very long off-dry rather hybridy/coarse some metallic finish; reminds a bit of some Isabellas I've had; lacks the high-toned/floral character of Vinifera; the rich/lush character belies the 9% alcohol; a rather interesting white.
$27.00
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More dibblespurt from TheBloodyPulpit
1. TerraVox is a wnry founded by Jerry Eisterhold NW of KansasCity & SE of 11Worth. In real life, Jerry's day job is developing exhibits for Museums across the Nation. A good friend, TomWark, does publicity work for TerraVox & suggested I make a visit whilst back in Kansas, so I made arrangement w/ Jerry & marketing head, Michael Regan. TerraVox is a wnry that specializes in preserving the many crosses that were developed by T.V.Munson back in the late 1800's/early 1900's. Munson's crosses are credited in saving the French wine industry from Oidium & Phyloxera, where he is/was regarded as a hero. This is the first wnry ever to focus on what kind of wine Munson's grapes actually make. Jerry has scoured the USofA tracking down cuttings of Munson's grapes. It is, to my mind, a very interesting project. These wines are from a case & a half I bought at the wnry to try. More of the TerraVox wines to follow. Their WebSite (www.TerraVox.wine) has a ton of information and makes for very interesting reading.
It is very difficult to taste wines like these TerraVox. We tend to like wines what we are familiar with. When you taste wines from these varieties w/ which we have no experience with, you definitely have to think outside the box and look for things in them that you find attractive.
Many of the wines had fairly anemic alcohol levels. Yet none of them seemed thin & vapid. Mostly they had a rich/lush character that belied those alcohol levels.
All in all, a rather interesting collection of white wines.
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2.
Ryan wrote:TerraVox, SherryVox, Missouri 2015
A Watumka-based blend (or maybe 100%?); 18.6% alcohol, 6 months in oak. Lovely color, medium orange-gold, like a mid-age Sauternes. DAY 1 NOTES: Wonderful nose, fresh yeast, macerated pear, apricot, honeycomb / beeswax, herbal notes, and smoky limestone. On the palate, loads of honeyed pear, apricot, and something like guava, with herbs, spice, and stone, and a long, long finish with a driving citrus acidity and steely mineral. Full bodied, wonderfully savory and mineral driven; semi-dry. Wonderful. 10 years ahead, maybe longer. 4 Stars. [4/18/23] DAY 3 NOTES: Outstanding, nose, loads of yeast, a nice touch of oxidation and nice oak on top of fresh apricot jam, raspberry, peach, pear, honey, spice, stone, and a whiff of flowers; aromatic like a top notch sherry or mature Sauternes. On the palate, honey-drenched pear, apricot / peach / plum, violets / lavender, sweet green notes, and lovely nectar-infused tropicals (guava, pineapple), and then toward the finish, spice, a hint of bitter citrus peel, and stone / mineral. Full bodied and potent; sweet, savory and acid driven; steely and yeasty; very long and fresh. Very impressive. 5 - 10 years ahead, maybe 15. 4 Stars [4/21/23]
TerraVox, Wetumka, Missouri 2021
Very nice color, medium-light orange-gold with a hint of green. DAY 1 NOTES: Smells like a pork roast cooked in sauerkraut, with pear, apricot, and oak; oh dear, what happened? On the palate, under-ripe granny smith, underripe peach, sauerkraut, green notes, honey, and stone. Medium-full bodied, savory, semi-dry. What went wrong here? Not horrible, but just went off in such a wrong direction. But there is an intriguing texture and richness. Terribly misjudged, but I can see some potential. 1 Star, but the texture is more like 3 stars. Academic interest only. [5/18/23] DAY 3 NOTES: On the nose, a significant note of sauerkraut / yeasty funk, but not so far beyond the pleasant sauerkraut-like notes of Gruner Veltliner, with loads of rich apricot, honey, lime / orange, a green / herbal / Granny Smith note, a hint of spice, and stone. On the palate, lime / blood orange upfront, fleshy apricot / peach, pear and sweet-sour apple, loads of pineapple, and then honey / nectar before a finish of green notes, a touch of stone, lingering spice, and tropical tones (guava, passionfruit, pineapple). Medium-full bodied with rich sweet-sour fruit and a savory mineral-infused texture. A bit underripe (even though it’s dry only 8.4% alcohol) but in a way that mostly works; in many ways very Chenin-like. Some issues with vineyard management and winemaking perhaps, but it has some very satisfying qualities, and the potential for some impressive Loire-style wines is there. Very young, has the structure for 5 years more. 2 Stars, but in some ways a stone’s throw from 3.5 Stars [5/21/23]
I tasted the two Wetumka wines w/ long-time wine friend, Ryan Maderak, head of astronomy dept at Benedictine College in Atchison, KS. He followed the Wetumks wines over several days and was able to get a much better grasp on the wines, whereas it was just a P&P for me.
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3. The Albania grape is not a recognized grape variety by the TTB. So they labeled it as a proprietary name of Albania spelled backwards.
Tom