Black Ankle Vineyards Tasting
Creative Commons licensed image from Flickr user thegourmetro
This past Wednesday, Bin 604 hosted a tasting of six wines in the portfolio of Blank Ankle Vineyards, a new Maryland winery intent on creating Maryland wines with quality comparable to those of more traditional wine regions. In short, they’re trying to run with the big dogs. I was excited to see them on Bin 604′s tasting schedule and give their wines a go, as I have been somewhat snarky about their pricing in recent blog posts. I just wasn’t on board with Maryland wines being sold in the $20-$30 price range. When your offering touches $40, you really better be able to party.
Owners Ed Boyce and Sarah O’Herron bought the property that is now Black Ankle in May of 2002. They did quite a bit of diligence in selecting their vineyard site. They didn’t buy an established vineyard and go from there. Instead, Boyce and O’Herron purchased a farm that had the components they were looking for: soil type, climate, picturesque setting (grape vines like a nice view, as they say). Once the purchase went through, the vines were planted. Several years later, their first wines were released.
Sarah O’Herron hosted the tasting and did a nice job handling the number of guests, speaking to each personally and going into detail about the grapes, the vines, the oak, or whatever else particular people were interested in. In between wines, there was a nice selection of bread and local cheeses to nibble on and pair up with the wines.
My notes from the night:
2007 Chardonnay $21.99
Strong yellow color. Citrus (grapefruit), apple, tart, pungent nose, almost earthy and steely. I can’t tell if it is over oaked or not oaked at all. Zingy, tangy taste. Lots of flavor, sort of going in a bunch of different directions at once. Good finish.
2007 Viognier $21.99
Pale yellow color. Nice and aromatic, like something out of Alsace or even Torrontes. Not much taste there. If anything, it tastes like Juicy Fruit. Not a sweet wine by any means, though. Good long pleasant finish. A nice Viognier, but a little bland.
2007 Bedlam $29.99
Bunch of stuff included with this one, including Gruner Veltliner, a grape commonly found in Austrian wines. O’Herron said that they had a lot of white grapes left over from production, so they worked out the kinks and made Bedlam. Interesting that what amounts to second grapes have gone into a wine that is more expensive than the Chardonnay and the Viognier.
Anyway, this wine is filling in the gaps that the Viognier left out. Almost identical nose, but so much more on the palette. Lots of flavors coming together. Everything is sort of scattered and out of balance, but that makes it fun. Good wine.
2006 Passeggiata $22.99
A very light wine made from 100% Syrah. The wine has a Pinot Noir look and feel so much so that I had a hard time believing it was Syrah. Light ruby color. Coffee, pepper, and smokey oak aromas. Alcoholic finish with a bigger back end than I was expecting. Otherwise it is a nice, easy-drinking red.
2006 Syrah $25.99
Made with 90% Syrah and 10% Pinot Noir. Medium to deep ruby color. A nice example of U.S. Syrah, this would be home in Paso Robles or Santa Barbara. Some spice, pepper, big fruit. A little hot. A nice wine.
2006 Cosecha $25.99
Big mix of grapes and the wine came out that way. Big jammy fruit, but alcoholic and a little unbalanced.
2006 Crumbling Rock $39.99
Barrel selected grapes to go into the flagship wine of the house. Inky red, by far the darkest of the whole lineup. The nose was dominated by toasted oak. The Cabernet Franc comes through on the palette, giving this wine a bit flavor unique to Maryland. Huge fruit. Medium tannins. Finish was mixed. Sometimes good, more often smokey and unpleasant.
The big question: Is it worth $40? To me, no. To others, it may become their favorite wine ever. I’m not a fan of lots of oak in front of an avalanche of fruit. It isn’t my thing. For many, though, it is their thing. I wouldn’t spend $40 on this bottle, but I understand why some people have. I’d also like to take another shot at the wine in a few years after it settles down a bit. This is the first release of wine made from grapes planted in 2003 and 2004, so once the vines mature some more, the wine will be better.
During the tasting I asked O’Herron why they chose $40 for the price of the Crumbling Rock. She said that they felt that it was a $40 wine, not just in Maryland but in the universe of wines. Forty dollars implies some quality behind the wine, and it sounds like Black Ankle Vineyards is going to try and fit in with that group.
Everyone says that they want to make good wine. To many, that means we’re making the best wine given the fruit and the climate and our site. Boyce and O’Herron sound intent on making quality wine, period. They’re off to a strong start. I still don’t like the pricing, but the wine is coming along well.
Special thanks to O’Herron and Bin 604 for hosting a top quality tasting.
