What a pleasure it is to get turned upside down with your head planted firmly in the turf.
This is a non-vintage wine from the great state of Maryland, from a winery apparently never reviewed by either the Wine Advocate or the Wine Spectator, blended from six red, I’m guessing a blend of two vintages, because it was aged 28 - 40 months in 100% new French oak barrels. It would be nice to know how old this is, but the winery website gives no clue, in fact does not mention this bottling.
Non-commercial post: My friend Lucie Morton is a vineyard consultant here.
Deep healthy ruby color. Intense aromas feature black cherries, blueberries and red raspberries along with some smoky notes, a touch of black pepper and just a hint of perfectly integrated oak. The palate is vigorous and young with a lot of really fine tannins. The black fruit barely takes precedence over red raspberries and cherries, the pepper is pronounced but not excessive, there are other spicy notes, the texture and flavors are seamless, the vigor is polite. The entry is abrupt, in your face, but the finish is moderately long. This is really excellent. If tasted blind, I would guess New World but otherwise would have no idea of varietal or place, things I know and care about.
See opening sentence.
From the label, the blend is:
37% Cabernet Sauvignon
31% Syrah
22% Merlot
6% Cabernet Franc
3% Malbec
1% Petit Verdot
I rate this 92.5 tonight, I would guess it will improve a point or two over the next 2 - 5 years, but this is my only bottle. Apparently this winery sells out of most everything pretty quickly, at pretty high prices. Bless ‘em. Thank you Black Ankle, for the wine, for the education, and for the wake-up call.
Why “wake-up”? They have pretty much been making excellent wines since day one, as I am sure your consultant friend has reminded you. Interesting that their red blends have varied the percentages of different varieties from year-to-year.
Fascinating. I grew up a stone’s throw from there, and spent many a summer day at our swim club in Mt. Airy. Yet another reason to visit the old homestead.
‘Wake up’ because I hadn’t tasted the wines before. When I lived in Virginia, I would see Lucie Morton 10 - 20 times a year, now that I live in Maine it’s maybe once a year . Last year we traded some wines, I just got around to my first bottle of Black Ankle. Glad I did, hope to run into some more.
David, I grew up just outside Gamber, MD which is not far from Mt. Airy - where were you (I was there in the 70s)? And, yeah, I’ve been thinking of driving by the old homestead on Niner Rd. to see how much the housebird has deposited recently…
Did you know the Mowbray family? IIRC they had a vineyard back then and I believe still do now. I went to HS with Claire Mowbray.
Visited there a couple of times and enjoyed it. Picked up a few bottles each time and enjoyed them. I will say that they are not shy when it comes to pricing, something I find pretty common in both MD and VA. It hasn’t hurt their business as I understand their mailing list is full and you have to sign up for a wait list with the possiblity of getting on the mailing list in 2015.
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. Last year we traded some wines, I just got around to my first bottle of Black Ankle. Glad I did, hope to run into some more.