New Jersey Wine

Discovering the Outer Coastal Plain Wine Region of New Jersey

Pinot Noir grapes in a Tomasello vineyard

Not long ago before summer got into full swing, I ran across a tweet from the New York Times about how some great wines were being made in my home state of New Jersey from Bordeaux varietals.  The wines are supposedly so good that they were faring well in blind tasting competitions with classified growths from Bordeaux and Napa Valley stalwarts made from Bordeaux grape varietals.  On a few occasions wine professionals from various backgrounds participated in blind tastings of these wines with their more heralded brethren and ranked higher than many of them consistently.  After I read the article I had to see for myself what the buzz was all about.  That day finally came last month as we visited Tomasello Winery and Amalthea Cellars in the Outer Coastal Plain AVA in the southern part of New Jersey, which is about 30 miles east of Philadelphia.  The following are our experiences and tasting notes from the trip. 

So, how were the wines?  The best ones were better than anything I have had from Long Island and the Hudson Valley, sorry New York.  Tomasello's Palmaris wines were particularly excellent and were everyone's favorites of the day.  A few of the Amalthea Europa wines were very well made, but their Cabernet Franc Reserve was the group’s favorite wine from Amalthea.  The Amalthea Cabernet Franc Reserve was one of the best 100% varietal Cabernet Franc wines I have ever had from the US, not just the east coast, or New Jersey for that matter.  Overall, the Cabernet Franc wines from both wineries impressed us the most and lead us to think that the future of NJ red wines might lie in the Cabernet Franc grape.

Tomasello Winery

Atco, NJ

Our morning appointment at Tomasello started a little before 11am and only took about an hour and 30 minutes to drive to from our home in Hoboken.  We walked into the tasting room and you could smell wine and fermentation in the air, a smell I am quite find of.  Head to Napa Valley during crush and you can smell it just rolling down your window in your car driving through the valley.  On the wall, my eyes drew immediately to the old pictures from the early years of the Tomasello Winery showing the founding grandfather and father of the current proprietors Jack and Charlie Tomasello in the vineyard or in other acts of vineyard or winery maintenance.

Vintage photos of the Tomasello lineage

Jack Tomasello met us shortly after we arrived and gave us a background on the winery and the wines that they make.  Tomasello is known for its wide range of fruit and sweet desert styled wines, the production at their winery is literally almost all sweet wines.  The small portion of dry table wines they produce varies across most of the commonly found vinifera grapes of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Syrah, and Pinot Noir.  A few other grapes new to me are also grown by Tomasello; especially a charming new grape for me called Chambourcin that made a very promising wine reminiscent of a Cotes du Rhone meets a Carmenere.   

Great cab!  2010 Palmaris Outer Coastal Plain Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve

There was no wasting time in getting to the good stuff.  Jack poured us the 2010 Palmaris Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve in Riedel glasses.  Jack then proceeded to discuss the evolution of this wine and how the 2007 and 2010 vintages turned out such great fruit that they were able to make the Palmaris wines in those vintages.  New Jersey of course is not Napa and not Bordeaux, but when the weather is just right the Palmaris wines reach heights that New Jersey wines have rarely achieved.  The bottle was already open for an hour or so and as I raised the glass to my nose it was apparent immediately from the nose that this is a special wine indeed.  The nose did not lie as the palate impressed with its complexity, depth and most important of all balance. 

2010 Palmaris Outer Coastal Plain Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve

The color was a deep red with vibrant red edges.   The nose rose from the glass with a mix of red currants, cherry, roasted coffee and spice notes.  The palate was complex and fairly tight with good acidity with medium to full grain tannins that framed the long and full finish.  The flavors of cherry, currants, coffee bean and spice sailed on persistently through the finish.

Next we tried the 2010 Palmaris Cabernet Franc Reserve which was equally as impressive.  The Cabernet Sauvignon is a masculine wine, strong, complex, tightly wound but the Cabernet Franc was more feminine in that it was plush, velvety, fruit forward and silky, giving the taster more sensual textures and up front fruit.  Drinking really well now, the Cabernet Franc was open for an hour as well and accessible immediately.  Loads of fruit rose from the glass and fanned out on the palate.  The finish was expansive and filled with fruit and ripe tannin.    

The color gradation of the 2010 Palmaris Cabernet Sauvigon Reserve 

2010 Palmaris Outer Coastal Plain Cabernet Franc Reserve

A dark red core with ruby edges.   The nose was dominated by lush fruit and spice notes.  Cherry, currants, plum, and blackberry mingled with some cracked pepper and black tea notes.  The palate is lush, dominated by a clear purity of fruit.   There is a core of tannin, but the fruit at this time is definitely leaving a bigger impression.  Decent acids and medium grain tannin add a little structure and freshness to a long, fruit filled finish.

The Bordeaux varietals Tomasello vineyard

Jack then said we should go and see the vineyards.  We saddled up and headed about 2 miles west of the winery to a long, rolling vineyard site green with vibrant and healthy vines.  These were the main Bordeaux varietal vineyards.  We saw Petit Verdot up close, showing healthy bunches that will hopefully ripen perfectly given a good growing season.  Jack mentioned that the flowering and fruit set in spring is not usually a problem for his vines.  It’s the 2 months starting mid way through September and ending in mid November that matter the most.  If there is a hurricane or a lot of rain, the odds of a Palmaris vintage are very low.  This window of time must be consistent in temperatures and low in moisture as this will make the difference between a good, average or poor vintage.  As one would suspect, 2012 was a washout with Sandy and one other large tropical storm that all but ruined the vintage. 2013 so far has been pretty good, so if there are no large storms or major temperature drops 2013 might just be a good vintage. 

Jack Tomasello schooling us on viticulture.

Another threat to the vines is the local neighbors, deer, birds and other animals of course will pillage a vineyard if they are not warded off.  In all of the Tomasello vineyards they installed a sound system that emits the craziest assortment of noises to ward off mostly birds and deer.  The sounds sound like a coo-coo bird being strangled, ricocheting wild west gun shots, buzz saws, and, well you get the picture, or the sound in this case.

Barrel sampling, the device in Jack's left hand is a thief.

We got back in the cars and headed over to the barrel aging facility for the premium wine which was located at another vineyard site, more on these vines in a moment.  The barrel room was of course temperature controlled and therefore very cool.  We saw stacks of American and French oak barrels that were housing the 2011 and 2012 wines.  We tasted through a variety of unfinished wines from both vintages of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot.  The Petit Verdot was especially nice, reminding me of the few wineries in California that do a mono-varietal bottling of this grape that is usually a small blending component to add color and perfume.    I hope Jack might experiment with this concept and do a single varietal bottling of that exact barrel, I know I would buy it.  It was dark, brooding, meaty and smoky, with black fruits and mint, subtle earthy notes and a finesse for a grape that is a typically a tannic super power.

Awesome Petit Verdot wine is in this barrel!

Next we headed out to the last two vineyards, one which seems to be Jack’s laboratory as he has all different varietals growing for production and many for tests to see how they grapes adapt to a home in New Jersey.  There were a lot of white grapes and many rows of the Chambourcin grape and Villard Noir, supposedly a copy cat of Pinot Noir, though I did not try any wine made from Villard Noir.  We got a close up of the harvesting truck; it looked like a huge tank that could go up on stilts to adjust to the height of the vines.  It’s cheaper than using human pickers, but at a top speed of something like 12 miles an hour, it’s hard to say if it is actually faster.  I prefer to know the wines I purchase are hand harvested but if not, as in the case of the Tomasello wines, it seems like that is not too much of an issue here. 

Jack in front of his favorite harvest toy.

 

The last vineyard was mainly the Syrah, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc grapes.  We tasted some Pinot Noir grapes that were not there yet phenolically but looked healthy enough to maybe make a great wine given some luck from Mother Nature.  

NJ terroir, gravelly soil with sand.

We headed back to the tasting room and finished off the tour with a tasting of an assortment of wines that were the regular Tomasello label.  There was a Cabernet Franc that was delicious and had nice raspberry notes and the telltale bell pepper and black tea notes.  Medium bodied, the Cabernet Franc would be a nice accompaniment to many different foods.  The Syrah was much different than any I have had before, pen ink, licorice, cracked pepper; this was a savory and earthy Syrah.  The Pinot Noir I had low expectations, but it fared well.  The color was a little odd, a translucent red bordering on rusty colored.  The palate was nice, easy drinking and delicate, the Tomasello guys did a good job in respecting the typicity of the Pinot Noir grape in this wine.  The last wine was a favorite of mine made from the Chambourcin grape because of my unfamiliarity and the uniqueness of the wine really stood out.  This was bistro wine defined, a mid-week or by the glass workhorse, this reminded me of so many great bottles of wine I have tried that were a steal at $15, but had that rare individuality that separated it from the pack of other $15 bottles of wine.

We had a great morning at Tomasello being surprised by the beauty and uniqueness of their wines.  To boot we got a lesson in grape farming and viticulture from Jack that I will soon not forget.  If you find yourself itching for a day trip, it’s worth your time to call ahead and let them know you would like to come by for a tour of the winery and taste their wines.  At a minimum you may learn something new or discover a new wine you never knew existed, especially in the state of New Jersey.  

A bientot!

-Tom

Le Cercle Rive Droite 2012 NYC

Le Cercle Rive Droite

2012 Vintage Bordeaux Barrel Tasting

New York, NY

"From Barrel to Bottle"

     Tasting newly vinified wine from barrel as it is maturing is better understood when tasting multiple samples of similar cepage from the same vintage.  Experience however, is the most valuable asset to understanding a young barrel sample of wine.  I know this may sound obvious, but the second part, as well as good note taking and a good memory, are crucial to understanding how a young wine will be as it matures into wine in bottle.  Experience or not, if you have ever tasted wine from barrel, you may understand that for the majority of us it is a very difficult task to ascertain the quality of the wine at that point.  For a barrel sample if the wine is very fruity, easy to drink and overall evolved at 6-8 months it is easy to say you like it, but that is not necessarily a great sign for a young wine.  At the other spectrum, if a wine is too tannic, too tight, too acidic it is a lot harder to evaluate the other parts of the wine that hint at what greatness may lie ahead in that wines future. 

     Recently I was lucky enough to experience my second Bordeaux vintage from barrel recently at a tasting event in Manhattan hosted by Le Cercle Rive Droite.  Approximately 30 Chateau from the Right Bank of Bordeaux offered up the most recent vintage of their wines as well as their 2009 or 2010 vintage wines from bottle.  Not surprisingly the wines were great in most cases from the heralded 2009 and 2010 vintages, while the barrel samples varied in aromas, textures and flavors quite drastically.  From my novice standing, I sensed the barrel tastings were on point from what I had already read from the professionals that attended en Primeur in Bordeaux two weeks prior, quality is varied across the board.  Granted this tasting had no Medoc or Pessac-Leognan/Graves wines, these right bank wines seemed to fall in line with their typical hierarchy with noticeable variations in quality within each village/region.  Overall there were some standouts from all of the different regions: Fleur Cardinale from Saint-Emilion, Dalem and la Dauphine from Fronsac, Clocher and Vray Croix de Gay from Pomerol, Magrez Fombrauge, Fombrauge, and Le Prieure from Saint-Emilion, Siaurac from Lalande de Pomerol, and La Rose Perriere from Lussac Saint-Emilion.

     Red Bordeaux wine is almost always a blend of the allowed 6 red grapes, with Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot being the anchor varietal of virtually all red wines made in Bordeaux.  In the end, the consensus is 2012 is an average vintage with a few above average villages where Merlot was the main component of the red wines.  The reason that Merlot was the most successful red grape varietal harvested is that Merlot ripens earlier that its cousin Cabernet Sauvignon.    This allowed Merlot to be picked at better ripeness before a very large tropical storm hit in early to mid October.   Many Cabernet Sauvignon were still on vine in the storm and thus had to stay on vine to dry out and finish ripening.  In many vineyards neither of those two things happened to the extent desired if at all.  It was harder to notice this about the Cabernet Sauvignon at this tasting as the Chateau that are members of Le Cercle Rive Droite are all from the right bank where Merlot is the dominant grape varietal and for the most part were picked before the storm.

Standout wines from 2012, 2009, and 2010:

Fleur Cardinale, Saint-Emilion

70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon

2012: The nose is rather pure in that it is balanced with fruit, minerality and a touch of oak.  Ripe red fruits, but not over the top, pure medium to full body palate, with silky tannins, decent acids and a long fruit filled finish.  I would expect this to be very much on par with the last few vintages, if barely a step behind if this evolves as it should in bottle

2009:  Awesome, outstanding, balanced through and through.  The nose wafts cherry and currants with a touch of tar and flowers.  The attack starts with ripe black cherries, currants, and builds depth and complexity as it fans out over the palate into a long, silky finish.  Not nearly ready to go, but quite enjoyable now.

Dominique Decoster of Grand Cru Classe Chateau Fleur Cardinale 

Magrez Fombrauge,  Saint-Emilion

80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc

Magrez Fombrauge is made exclusively from an old parcel of vines at Chateau Fombrauge that average 70 years old and is only 1.5 hectares (3.7 acres).  Alix Combes, the Vineyard Manager at Chateau Fombrauge and I spoke a lot and we talked about the vineyards terroir and how this little patch of vines has the right combination of soil and age to produce a special and limited bottling.  The character was similar in the regular Fombrauge bottling but it lacked the same intensity, nerve and complexity of the Magrez bottling.  I learned a lot about this vineyard and of the 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 vintages from Alix.  Beyond the obvious with those vintages, 2011 is being compared to 2012 a lot and is too much of a generalization.   In 2011 Alix think the wines are more like 2004 2012 is more like 2006, which to me puts 2012 in front of 2011 for this property..

2012:  I liked this one, it was easy to taste as it was quite an evolved barrel sample, which is very much different than 2010 from talking to Alix.  Is that a good thing, I am not sure (see above in paragraph 1 about experience).  The palate is full bodied, ripe, with black cherry, creme d'cassis, licorice and well integrated oak.

2010: The limestone terroir really comes through in this wine as the structure really shows in this wine as it is very muscular in ripe tannins and full bodied in texture.  This is a nicely balanced wine, big, but fresh with black cherry and licorice abound.  A long, structured finish closes things out.

Alix Combes, vineyard manager at Fombrauge

The deliciously and structured 2010 Magrez Fombrauge 

Dalem, Fronsac
90% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc

Owner and winemaker Bigitte Rullier poured the wines herself at this event and it was a pleasure to speak with her about these wines and the terroir they come from.  The vines average 45 years of age and lie in a soil mix of limestone and clay, with a larger more prominent limestone plateau beneath this mixture.  The wines are initially vinified in cement tank for 3-4 weeks to allow good extraction of tannins and color.  Then the wine is aged 18 months in 40% new oak where malolactic fermentation takes place right after it is moved to barrel.  An autonomous water treatment plant was installed on site recently to help reduce waste and recycle water used on the property.

2012:  Wonderful nose compared to other samples, clean and pure, balance, I'd even say developed for the age as it was one of the earlier samples of the evening that I was able to draw distinct flavors from: cherry, sweet tobacco, currants,  14% abv.

2010: Elegant but deep, good grip and texture as the tannins are medium to full, but ripe.  In what seems a coiled personality of ripe and sappy red fruits, the tight but supple tannins frame an elegant but persistent finish.

Chateau Dalem proprietor Bigitte Rullier

The 2010 Chateau Dalem is a great value wine  rare these days from Bordeaux

Fombrauge,  Saint-Emilion

90% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, 2% Cabernet Sauvignon

2012:  Also felt well developed like its sibling the Magrez Fombrauge.  Purple and black fruits; fine and silky tannins, limestone and clay sub soils combine as the makeup of one of the largest vineyards in all of Saint-Emilion at 60 hectares or 148 acres!

Le Prieure,  Saint-Emilion

80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc

2012: A nicely balanced 2012 that seemed slightly advanced as the sample was showing classic aroma and flavor notes with good  complexity and structure.  Mineral, plum, and kirsch mix with good spice and fresh tannins.

2010: A solid 2010 with excellent terroir showcasing minerality and classic structure.  Cassis, plum, mocha, and licorice.  Good tannic cut and excellent length in the finish.

Rol Valentin, Saint-Emilion

90% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc

2012: Bright red fruits, coffee bean notes, and sweet oak, medium finish.  This one seemed a little less generous, but showed fruit and tannin in ample amounts.

2009: Huge presence, licorice, blackberry, tar, and leather are tightly wound .  A long and persistent finish, classic as it has elegance with balanced and purity.

du Pressac, Saint-Emilion

72% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest 1% Malbec and 2% Carmenere

A new wine for me as I have never tasted this Chateau.  A very distinct style not like many of the other wines tasted this evening.  I was curious what that was and then looked at the grapes used in the tasting guide and knew right away then it was the Malbec and the Carmenere adding lift and floral notes.

2012: Violets, herbs, pepper, black and blueberries with a medium finish and good structure that finishes with medium grain tannins.

2010: More classic in style with a medium body, great acidity, earth and minerality that combine with brighter red fruits in a nice, clean finish. 

Clocher, Pomerol

70% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc

2012: The best Pomerol sample from 2012 at this event.  The ripest, most evident of tannins yet still silky and a touch elegant because of the pure and bright red fruits. 

2010: Lovely, elegant, sensual, round and well made.  The Cabernet Franc really shows in this vintage as it obviously stands out from the Merlot adding extra structure and complexity down to the core of this wine.

Solid Pomerol - the classic 2010 Clos du Clocher from Pomerol

Montviel, Pomerol
80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc

Another favorite of the night for me, the 2009 Montviel was poured by the charming Emilie Dombey.  A great representative of a strong and successful Pomerol based wine company.  Headed by the venerable Catherine Pere-Verge who recently passed away, the estates holdings including Montviel, Le Gay and La Violette are still in family hands to continue her legendary legacy.  The Pere-Verge family also has a successful line of wines from Argentina under the Monteviejo label.

2009:  Sensual red raspberry, cherry, tobacco leaf, spice and cedar with wonderful ripe tannins, a long and persistently silk like finish.  This was one of my favorite wines of the night.  It showed the best of 2009 and what this property does in a great vintage.

Emelie Dombey, the charming representative from Vignobles Pere Verge and Bodega Monteviejo 

The great Montviel 2009, showing the wonderful aspects of the 2009 vintage.

Dauphine, Fronsac

90% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc

2012: Raspberry notes, with mocha, creme d'cassis, black cherry and licorice; medium to full tannins; another sample that seems to be  developing already.

2010: Medium to full bodied, blueberry, jazzy blackberry, a touch of toasty oak and smokiness, lively, but elegant tannins, a baby Margaux wine meets a baby Troplong Mondot.

Fontenil, Fronsac

90% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc

Michel Rolland's home winery.

2012:  A ripe nose, friendly and opulent with a fleshy palate; the aromas are smoky with oak and berry notes.

2009: Green pepper, black currants, tea notes with dill herbs; a long full bodied presence, medium finish.  I expected a larger, riper wine with less green notes, especially from Rolland and in 2009.

Siaurac, Lalande de Pomerol

74% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, 6% Malbec

2012:  Violet, purple notes, black berry, earth and savory.  I really liked this one a lot because of the different aroma and palate presence.  The violet was really easy to pick out and the Malbec component is a dead giveaway for where it comes from. 

2010:  Juicy blackberry and cherry, medium grain tannins though a touch of heat.

La Rose Perriere, Lussac Saint-Emilion

90% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc

The lone Lussac Saint-Emilion that I had like enough to write about. 14 hectares, 20k bottles (about 1,700 cases).

2012: Fresh, with good acidity, a well made wine, floral, mineral, with cherry, fine oak, a persistent, but elegant finish.

2009: Elegant for 2009 but by no means light, licorice, blackberry, and cherry; medium to full bodied tannins.



A bientot!

-Tom

Napa Valley & Sonoma 2012

Napa Valley

&
Sebastopol (Sonoma)

May 23-28, 2012

     During our recent trip to Napa Valley (and one day in Sonoma), we met with some of the best producers of fine wine in Sonoma and the Napa Valley. We met with some old favorites and discovered some new favorites that we can’t wait to tell you all about. Whether new or old, these are relationships we plan to maintain and cultivate. These are fantastic producers, winemakers and proprietors that exhibit the passion and zeal I seek out to create a truly phenomenal wine. We had to cut a few appointments and were late to a few more because our appointment times ran longer than expected. 2 hours of wine and conversation is a good sign of a great gathering of like minded wine folk!

     The vintages we tasted ranged from 2007 to 2009 for the Cabernet and Bordeaux varietals and mostly 2010 for the Burgundy and Rhone varietals. The most common vintage for the Cabernet wines was 2009. I was surprised at how nicely the 2009 Cabernet based wines were showing. I really do like Cabernet wines from 2009 more than 2008. The wines taste fresher with more acidity, and the tannin structures are riper and friendlier. The finishes in the best wines were long, clean and persistent. There were a few busts, but not many as we chose our tasting appointments wisely. Lastly I will mention we tasted a lot of 2011 Sauvignon Blanc and Semillion white wines. The style of this wine has really changed over the last 10 years as the oak has been drastically reduced, or entirely removed from the raising process, to allow the fruit to shine through and the acidity to freshen and energize the finish.

     The bad news is that prices are up as was reported a few weeks ago in a few of the trade reports, but overall the quality is there in many, if not all, of the places we visited with.

 

     I have to confess I had been falling out of love with the wines of California, mainly collecting Bordeaux, Burgundy, Rhone and Barolo wines the last few years. My collection was 75% California only 3 years ago but today only represents 33%. This trip was exactly what I needed to do to open my eyes wider and beyond some of the stale and passé wines from California that I was hanging on to or abandoned for the Francophile that I had become. It was also nice to refresh myself with a few of my old favorites that have kept up with the change in palates that is going on out there. A few of our new favorites have been at this style for decades and are now finally getting their due. Spottswoode and Philip Togni craft more traditionally styled Cabernet Sauvignon wine that has not changed much over the years. Paul Hobbs, Crocker & Star, Morlet, Melka Wines, Cimarossa, Littorai, L’Angevin and the new upstart “The Vineyardist” have kept up with the times and made fresh wines in 2009 (Cabernets) and 2010 (Pinot Noir) with great depth and structure, with a freshness not seen for most of the past decade. 

     Keep your eyes peeled, I will try to write as many of these spotlight stories as fast as I can, but unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) this is not my day job!

Follow this link to ALL of the pictures from our trip:  http://pix.kg/p/2956293901103%3A197694262/scl


A bientot!
-Tom

 FYI - If you would like a copy of our itinerary to use for your own purposes if you are planning a trip to Napa just let me know as I will email you the excel spreadsheet that is loaded with hyper-links that direct you to the website of the winery or restaurant.