William Heritage Winery March, 2019

William Heritage Winery is located in Mullica Hill and opened in 2002. I have written about their generous membership program and their great wine and music festivals, but it’s been awhile since I wrote about the amazing deep bench of terrific wines William Heritage Winery offers. Today I want to focus on the wines of William Heritage Winery. The above photo only presents a very small portion of the goodies produced at William Heritage. They don’t even represent all of my bottles from William Heritage. From left to right they are: Pumpkin Hill Chardonnay, Cuvee Blanc, Gravel Road Chardonnay, Five Gen Red Blend, Coeur d’Est, Syrah, Chambourcin and BDX. Winemaker, Sean Comninos has been very, very busy.

I did a tasting on the day of my member pick-up. I got to taste all three wines I was taking home with me (Gravel Road Chardonnay, Five Gen Red Blend and Coeur d’Est). The Gravel Road Chardonnay and Five Gen Red Blend are both limited production wines very recently bottled and only available to members (another great reason to join).

The 2017 Gravel Block Chardonnay is a delicious and versatile Chardonnay that is bone dry, but well-balanced, delicately oaked with neutral French oak and with enough acidity to pair with innumerable possibilities. This one reminded me of a French Chardonnay I recently enjoyed. Imagine that. Grown across the street from the tasting room on Route 322 on the road to Mullica Hill that I have driven countless times over the years-long before any grapevines were planted!

The Cuvee Blanc is an excellent unoaked Chardonnay-based blend. This is the sixth edition of this popular blend. It’s delicious enough to enjoy on its own and inexpensive enough to serve with your most modest meal. (Retails at $17; stock up when you pick up your member allocation and get 20% off). More than one friend who I have served it to, has asked me, “What was the name of that white blend?”

The Five Gen is a wonderful red blend that they refer to as the Mini BDX. It is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (42%); Cabernet Franc (33%); Merlot (18%); Syrah (5%); Petit Verdot (1%); and Malbec (1%). Despite all those heavy-duty reds, this wine is lighter, both in color and body than the BDX. It retails at $19, but was only $15.20 in my allocation for the quarter. A real bargain red!

The Coeur d’Est (“Heart of the East”) is another recently released red blend. This one is a blend of Merlot (25%); Chambourcin (25%); Syrah (25%); Cabernet Franc (13%); and Petit Verdot (12%). It was aged in French Oak.

The Pumpkin Hill Chardonnay is one of my favorite New Jersey Chardonnays. It is a beautifully balanced fruity wine with enough acidity to make it equally delicious when paired with food as when served on its own. The truth is, if you like Chardonnay you really can’t go wrong at William Heritage Winery. Unfortunately, they are presently sold out of their Estate Reserve Chardonnay, but the three mentioned here are in addition to their now yearly cooperative venture in producing Open Source Chardonnay (along with the other four members of the Winemakers Co-Op: Unionville Vineyards, Beneduce Vineyards, Working Dog Winery and Hawk Haven Vineyards & Winery).

Also pictured above, is their 2015 Syrah (their 2016 Syrah recently sold out, so I was lucky to have a bottle of this vintage, which is rich in fruit, with cherry notes and soft, rounded tannins, but enough structure to keep in your cellar for at least a few more years (if you have the patience).

Their 2015 Chambourcin is one of the best in the New Jersey. For a state that has “majored” in Chambourcin for the past decade or so, that is saying something. I love the dark color and this was a special vintage. Obviously others concur, as this one is sold out.

The 2015 Estate Reserve BDX, needs no introduction. This Bordeaux-style red blend has won numerous awards and rave reviews from diverse sources. It is a full-bodied world-class wine that is both pricey and worth the expense if you can afford it ($50).

At the tasting I alluded to earlier, I got to try a few other super wines that I will share and describe each, albeit briefly.

• Chardonnay Musqué-Another new, limited release. Yes, another Chardonnay, though I believe this may not technically be a Chard. I could not find anything about it on their website, but Chardonnay Musques are actually “aromatic mutations of the Chardonnay grape”; a slightly off-dry medium bodied wine with perfume-like aromatic qualities. I will research this one a bit more for a future post.
• Pennlyn Place Rose-A very nice, dry Rose with a beautiful hue.
• Rose in a can (I didn’t expect to like this one, but have to admit it was pretty good). These are sold in 375 ml cans (1/2 bottle size) for $8. As I am typing this, I am reading on their website that it is sold out. Also dry, but I was told not the same dry Rose described above.
• 2015 Brut Rose-Available to club members only. I thoroughly enjoyed this and can understand what all the hoopla is about. Dry and extremely refreshing. Wine Advocate: 90 Points.
• The newest release of the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon-Probably the best vintage at William Heritage Winery that I have tasted and one of the best in the state, for sure. Notes of ripe black cherry, full-bodied and very well-balanced with smooth tannins (especially for a vintage so recently bottled). You can also try it from their tap (or take home some in their new metallic growlers-shaped like wine bottles). VERY Good!
• Late Harvest Chambourcin-Not fortified by spirits (13.8% ABV), but sweet and full-bodied like a Port-style wine. It was served at their recent Wine and Chocolate Event. I can see why! A match made in heaven.

A special thanks to my servers: Bob and Kim. They are both very knowledgeable and personable. I only wish I could have written down their helpful comments more quickly (and taste at the same time)!

Cheers!

You can still use the coupons for $5 off your paperback copy of New Jersey Uncorked here: store.bookbaby.com/book/New-Jersey-Uncorked  Use the code MarchMadness.

or…

Get $2 off your e-book version at Apple’s iBook app with the same code: MarchMadness.

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