Not much on CT about this winery, but this was legitimate juice. Easily the best New England wine I’ve ever had, and probably the best non-dessert hybrid I’ve ever had, too.
2007 Running Brook Vidal Blanc- USA, Massachusetts, Southeastern New England (11/27/2010)
This was quite excellent, sort of a cross between a gewurtz and a gruner, with a spicy and tropical fruited nose contrasted against a fat, savory, white pepper/pleasantly vegetal palate. Just off-dry, and these were ripe grapes for Vidal with the RS and at 12.5% abv. Impressive for the grape and region, enjoyed by all at the table. (90 pts.)
I haven’t had the Running Brook Vidal Blanc, but Travessia Winery, in New Bedford, MA also makes a delicious vidal blanc that fits your note almost perfectly…worth grabbing a couple if you can find it.
Thanks for the note, always on the hunt for local wines.
I really like Westport Rivers’ sparklers if the price is right. And not, MA, but Sakonnet in RI also makes a really nice Reserve Chardonnay. I blinded our poker group on it and while no one confused it for Montrachet, folks thought it was pretty darn good, especially for $17.
I like Westport Rivers’s stuff too, though my impression when I visited them was that they felt they couldn’t get their grapes to ripen consistenly to produce good still wine. I don’t know if these Running Brook guys are closer or further from the water than Westport Rivers (I’d never heard of them till the couple we were visiting pulled out this bottle) but this was damn ripe, and I don’t remember 2007 as a particularly torrid summer.
One of the things I liked about it was that it wasn’t an 80% simalcrum of a wine grown elsewhere in a more vinifera-friendly region. It was different than anything I’d tasted before, but ALSO damn tasty. Rare combo for local stuff.
