TN- 2020 Sabelli Frisch "Mission del Sol"- WOW!

WINE TALK
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I was going to post this in the BD15 thread, but this wine is too unique to have its tasting note buried there. No notes on CellarTracker either. I’m the first one! This is late harvest Mission, fermented dry, vinified in an old style explained on the winery website (Mission Del Sol Late Harvest Mission — SABELLI-FRISCH). This is high alcohol, super concentrated, intense stuff; not the type of wine I usually go for, but I have to say that I love this. So unique, kind of like Port, but dry, and with a surprisingly light body. Amazing job @Adam_Frisch. Here’s my tasting note from CellarTracker.

My God…unlike anything I’ve ever had. Smells like dark cherries a hundred miles deep. Aromas are so complex and nuanced- Dr Pepper soda, watermelon, cocoa powder, raspberry preserves, fresh figs, canned cranberry sauce, potpourri, honey, a touch of leather. Surprisingly, this is not a super viscous glycerol monster. Medium bodied, medium in acid, tannins are fine grained but still clearly present. I read the description on the winery website, so I knew this would be dry, but the lack of sweetness is a shock nonetheless. Like the nose, there is so much going on that it’s kind of bonkers trying to list it all. Cherries, cherries, raspberries, red plums, dried cranberries, dark earth, bitter herbs, more cherries. The finish is very long, refreshingly bitter, a touch of alcohol heat. No idea how a wine like this will age, but I’m curious. I just bought more. This wine is absolutely bonkers and I love it.

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great TN. Wondering how it compares to his El Aliso

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Question for @Adam_Frisch; any idea how this might age?

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Food match?

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Good question! I opened this as an after dinner sipper, so I didn’t pair it with anything. The winery website recommends it as an aperitif, which I can see, or with hearty stews. That might work, kind of like an amarone of something like that. But I think it would be best with cheese and nuts- it’s a bit big to accompany a meal.

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@Adam_Frisch’s first love.

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Yeah, maybe Adam fermented all that Amarone dry and rebottled under his own label.

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Thank you @Noah_C !

I’m a bit late to this thread. Yes, it’s a hard one to pair. So hard that I bottled in in 500ml Cuban bottles, as I thought 750ml of the wine might be too much for a sitting with food and give the wrong idea.

I think Noah’s idea is probably best - with some cheese etc. For some reason I kept thinking a lobster bisque would go well with it, but I haven’t actually tried that :slightly_smiling_face:.

As it has no real sweetness, it’s kind of flying on its own a bit.

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