I’ve been consuming “treat yourself” bottles a little more frequently during the pandemic, but I’ve also been seeking out curiosities and off-the-wall bottles as a form of entertainment. I’ve had good Hungarian dry Furmint, Friuili from the late 90s, and still Pinot Meunier from Germany, but the weirdest bottle I’ve had so far has been the 2018 Oyster River Wine Co. Blueberry Ewing Fruit Project which was… just weird. Blueberry notes were present on the nose (duh), but so was a heaping handful of VA and natty funk.
I had a weirdly flawed bottle of 2018 Ridge Rosé. Maybe Brett, but not really sure. Very strange, off-putting aftertaste. Previous bottles were excellent.
I was looking around for something different and figured I’d give Château Diana Protest a shot. It’s a red blend from Sonoma that’s aged in rye barrels. Swing and a miss.
Cool topic, I tried some weird stuff as well over the last few months. In May, not a wine but mead. And this was a great surprise (CT note in French):
NV Ferme Apicole Desrochers Or d’âge - 11 ans
Keep in mind, I am no mead expert (who is? Except maybe Gaulish warriors fighting roman troops?). This was labeled “vin de miel liquoreux” or sweet honey wine (yeah… you wanna drink this, right?). But it was pretty amazing: the nose was showing oxidative notes, warm honey, chamomile and toasted oats. The oxidation disappeared on the palate and toasted chestnut notes were revealed. This was complex, fanning out nicely and showing good length. It wasn’t overly sweet and had a certain freshness that just kept you coming back for more. I opened this up with some hard cheese with personality thinking that if it was near undrinkable, the cheese would tame it but I ended up leaving the cheese aside and emptying the whole bottle.
From the website: fermentation in oak, élevage of 6 to 12 months in stainless than left to age 11 years in oak without “ouillage”. 14% alc. and 89g/L RS. This is done as a reserve method (I dare not say Solera after the informative topic I read on this board) by assembling from 4 barrels aged between 9 and 14 years.
I finally popped that Chocolate flavored wine I was gifted and taking up valuable fridge space reserved for beer.