Today I would like to highlight four New Jersey wines that were either recently released or that I recently enjoyed for the first time. The wines come from White Horse Winery, Auburn Road Vineyard & Winery, Autumn Lake Winery, and Hawk Haven Vineyards & Winery. They include two white wines and two reds.
2020 Painted White
This bottle comes from White Horse Winery in Hammonton. It may not be new to some of you, but I have not had it before this week. For those not familiar with White Horse Winery, the artwork for their iconic logo was crafted by the famous American artist, Jamie Wyeth. This beautiful bottle contained a delicious white blend of Traminette, Cayuga, and Vidal Blanc. I tasted subtle notes of peach and grapefruit. It is surprisingly dry and refreshing, considering the grapes (especially the Traminette and Cayuga are often more sweet than their expression in this wine). It is very refreshing and I can picture a glass of this on my patio on a warm spring afternoon or early evening. While very good by itself, it would go with many dishes (chicken, fish, etc.) with more than adequate acidity. The color (which you can see in the photo below) is a pale, straw color. In the photo above, I obviously had already enjoyed the contents.
2020 Barrel Reserve Chardonnay
This tasty Chardonnay comes from Auburn Road Vineyard & Winery in Pilesgrove. While they make two other Chardonnays (The White Bottle and NU), this is their more limited, barrel-aged version from their Featherbed Vineyard (you may pass it on your way to the tasting room). It has notes of apple and vanilla with a creamy mouthfeel and a long finish. I have often enjoyed their White Bottle, but last night was the first time I have had this wonderful bottle. My wife and I enjoyed it with the scallops I broiled in butter. Amazing combo! Unfortunately, I don’t have a good single bottle photo to share here, but it is the second from the left in the “group photo” above and in my edited narrow version below.
2019 Squankum
This creative version of Chamboucin comes from Autumn Lake Winery, which is located in Williamstown. The back of the bottle shares that Williamstown used to be known as Squankum. It comes from the Lenni Lenape tribe of Native Americans, who lived in the area. Squankum means “place with evil spirits.” This wine is made of 100% Chambourcin grapes aged in American Oak for 16 months and then aged again in Bourbon barrels for five months. The wine is full-bodied and complex in character with lots of tannin and notes of cherry, vanilla, and caramel. My guess is it would continue to improve with a year or so in the cellar. It is very good now, though, but when it comes to wine, I try not to put off until tomorrow what I can enjoy today. No worries about the Bourbon flavor overwhelming the fruit. It is subtle, but definitely and interesting wine to try. It has a fairly potent alcohol level (ABV=15.5%), but you won’t get any complaints about that from me. Good stuff!
2019 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon V Row
This super Cab comes from Hawk Haven Vineyard in Rio Grande. The Cabernet is a limited production Cab that was received a score of 89 points from the Tastings Institute (“Highly Rated”). It is a terrific Cab with Medium+ body, fairly smooth tannins, and a hint of dark chocolate on the palate. It is definitely one of the best New Jersey Cabs I have tasted. I remember tasting it at the Hawk Haven Futures tasting in the Barrel room. It was good then and has only improved since then. I paired it with a grilled steak and the Cab was better than the steak. However, the Cab was also great all by itself.
Cheers!
In Memorium
I can’t end this post without mentioning the recent passing of Tom Cosentino, the former President of the Garden State Wine Growers Association (GSWGA). Though he passed in November, I only recently heard about it. I got to meet him in person once and enjoyed a glass of wine with Tom at Cedarvale Winery a few years ago. He was kind to me when I published my book, New Jersey Uncorked. Tom interviewed me twice on the radio and recordings of the broadcasts were on the GSWGA website for awhile. Tom was a great promoter of New Jersey wines and wineries (large and small). He will be greatly missed.
Coming Attractions
- Independent Spirits Distillery in Swedesboro
- More New Wine Highlights
- Stokelan Winery in Medford (Opening soon)
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