Continuing to dig through my pile of tasting notes that I've written over the past 6 months, I came across this gem that I had completely forgotten about. Enjoy!
Candia Vineyards Noiret Vault Reserve
Country of origin: USA
Region: New England
Appellation: New Hampshire (not an official AVA!)
Stats: 13 % ABV, dry
Cost: don't remember--$10-15 retail
Appearance: Deep, dark purple. Strong legs with maybe some gas bubbles
Aroma: Deep, dark cherries, toasted oak, and aromas of black pepper and spice.
Taste: Strong green & black pepper with an abundance of dark fruit--blackberry & currants. A tannic finish with a lingering pepper taste. Much like an Australian Shiraz
This wine comes to us from a boutique winery in Candia, New Hampshire. I stumbled across it during a visit to Abbey Cellars wine shop in Lincoln, NH and was intrigue because I had made wine from Noiret grapes in 2006. Noiret is a new hybrid grape varietal developed by the genuises at Cornell University and has only recently begun to be planted commercially for winemaking. This grape was designed to produce a robust, bold red wine in cold climate regions like New York, Pennsylvania, and other Eastern States. One would think that New Hampshire winters might be a challenge, but Candia pulls this off. They were the first to plant the grape in New Hampshire (a dubious accolade considering the paucity of wineries/vineyards in New Hampshire), and have been producing the wine from their grapes since at least 2006. The 2006 and 2007 vintanges have each won several bronze medals at various wine competitions.
Salute,
a Wine Student
