Les Bourgeois Jeunette Rouge NV

And so it begins!  I am starting to post my reviews from my "Taste My Vacation" event held last weekend, so brace yourselves, this is going to be good!  We will go in the same order we tasted them, so if you click here you can see what we tasted and the order, etc.  Since we are going in order, tonight's review is of a little wine I bought at a small winery in Missouri called Les Bourgeois, just east of Kansas City (don't ask how far, this was a distraction as I was so focused on getting barbecue!).  Oh, and for all of these reviews, please excuse my photos, I took them with my phone and even though I took them all before the tasting began, it still looks like I took most of them well into the evening festivities!

Now what's interesting about this winery and Missouri in general is a specific grape called the Norton grape, as this is apparently the only wine grape that is native to North America, all the rest have been transplanted here over the centuries from Europe.  Now the Norton grape has a long and storied history, and was cultivated and made into wine not long after the revolution, including on Thomas Jefferson's estate in Virginia.  It was made into some award-winning wines in the mid-19th century, so it has some heft behind it.  Now I tried Les Bourgeois' pure Norton wine at their tasting room, and I'll admit I was taken aback when the young lady serving the wine asked me if I liked mushrooms, and then informed me that if I liked mushrooms I'd like this wine.  Not exactly a stellar endorsement, and since I really am not a big mushroom fan, I was prepared for the worst.  I was not let down, it was pretty repugnant at least in my taste.

So, I tried the Jeunette Rouge, which was a blend that contained some Norton along with a number of other varietals, and in this case I was pleasantly surprised.  The wine has a lighter color and body, similar to a pinot noir.  The nose is full of red berries, leather and an earthy aroma of mushrooms and moss.  The taste was very fruit forward, with the berry flavors quickly giving way to flavors of fresh herbs midpalate, and then leading to some wonderfully mild tannins and a smooth, dry finish.

Overall, I would rate this one a solid 7, it wasn't spectacular, but for only $12 it was certainly well worth taking home from Missouri!  This one would pair nicely with some stronger fish dishes, or some classic southern cuisine given the earthiness and how that might accent some comfort foods.  So if you get down to Missouri and want to try some wine from the Norton grape, I highly recommend it!

Officially Unveiled: The Taste My Vacation Line Up!

At long last, I am officially having my "Taste My Vacation" wine tasting next Saturday, thank you Shani and Karen for offering your deck!  And since this is so long in the making, I've decided to officially announce the line up a few days early.  Now you might be thinking, "what's the big deal?" or "What in the world are you talking about?"  Well, let me outline this event for you.  As you may have read, I took a bit of a wine vacation earlier this summer, and spent 10 days driving across country, visiting wineries and all sorts of tourist traps, and when I returned I thought, wouldn't that make a great theme for a wine tasting?  Since I brought back wine from Missouri to Walla Walla, and points in between, it would be like vacationing though the magic of wine.

So I've selected seven bottles of wine that I brought back with me, and rather than think through this in terms of order and what not, we are simply going to taste these wines in the order I tasted them on the trip!  And don't worry wine blog friends, I'll be posting tasting notes for each of these over the coming weeks.  So, without further adieu, here are the seven wines we will be tasting:

1. Les Bourgeois Vineyards Jeunette Rouge, a red blend from Rochefort, Missouri that is made with the Norton grape, one of the only wine grapes native to North America.
2. 2005 Carmela Cabernet Merlot, a blend of 50/50 Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, this wine from Glenns Ferry, Idaho was the second wine I tried on the trip from the Snake River Valley.  The climate is similar to the Columbia Valley in Washington in terms of length of daylight and temperature, but the volcanic soils tend to make these wines a bit more earthy.
3. 2009 Seven Hills Ciel du Cheval, a wonderful Bordeaux style blend of Merlot (39%), Cabernet Sauvignon (35%), Petit Verdot (15%) and Cabernet Franc (11%), from my first winery stop in Walla Walla.
4. 2008 Forgeron Sagemoor Vineyard Barbera, from my second stop in Walla Walla, I really came to like these wines, great quality and solid values.
5. 2004 L'Ecole No. 41 Ferguson Commemorative Reserve, made in honor of the founders, Baker and Jean Ferguson, this is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (48%), Merlot (42%), Cabernet Franc (5%) and Petit Verdot (5%).  L'Ecole was the third stop on my tour of Walla Walla!
6. 2008 Reininger Mr. Owl's Red, this was from my last stop in Walla Walla, and this was a blend dedicated to Raul, who became Reininger's cellar master, but when the owners' children were young, they had difficulty pronouncing Raul, and it came out Mr. Owl, thus a blend was born!  This vintage is a blend of Merlot (88%), Syrah (7%) and Sangiovese (5%).
7. Yellowstone Roadblock Red, this one I bought in the gift shop at Yellowstone since earlier in the day I was stopped by a roadblock of a herd of bison coming back into the park, and the label on this bottle has a pickup truck being blocked by bison!  This red blend of organic grapes was made by Ten Spoon Vineyard in Missoula, Montana, my last wine of the trip!

So there you have it, the magnificent seven wines that we'll be tasting next week and sharing through the month of October with my faithful blog readers, giddy up!