Black Prince Winery

After a nice lunch in Bloomfield, we continued down the highway to the Black Prince Winery. Regretfully decorated with medieval symbols - suits of armour, crests, fake swords and the like - the tasting room provides an outlet for local artisans, some good, some less so.

Black Prince also allows a few other wineries - start-ups who can't manage their own tasting rooms yet - to sell their wines out of the tasting room. This is a noble and princely gesture and - sorry, I've been taken a bit overwhelmed by the place.

One such winery is Bella Vigne. Their founder works at Black Prince, though he's apparently heading out on his own soon. He's experimenting with some interesting if not necessarily great varieties. Black Prince also sells some Harwood Estates wines. Here's the tasting record:

Bella Vigne Geisenheim 2006
A nice, complex nose of melon, pineapple, and mineral, the only taste is a strong sour apple. So far, I'm not impressed with the Geisenheims I've tried.

Bella Vigne Leon Millot/Foch 2007
Another obscure grape, this time tempered by Marechal Foch. Candied red fruit and leather on the nose, but sour, sour grapes in the mouth. Now I know why it's obscure.

Harwood Estates Gewurztraminer 2007
Typical Gewurz aromas of lychee, citrus and honey. The taste is slightly bitter, with little acidity or sugar. The bitterness takes over the long finish.

Harwood Estates Pinot Gris VQA 2007
Minerality, grapefruity and a grassy quality on the nose, with much the same present in the flavours. Medium acid, it has a long citric finish. Not bad at all.

Black Prince Unoaked Chardonnay 2007
This has a nice set of aromas: melon, and ripe summer fruit. The melon, along with some residual sugar, continue in the tasting, along with a secondary flavour of citrus. Medium acid, it has a medium citric finish.

Black Prince Black Series Cabernet Franc VQA 2007
This award winner has plummy, leather and black pepper notes, with some sour cherry and leather in the mouth. But I found the long finish, focused on the sourness, a bit too much.

Black Prince Vidal Icewine VQA 2006
We realized too late that this vintage is pretty much sold out. I bought the second to last bottle. It has some nice sweet spice and peach aromas, followed by flavours of honey and sweet summer fruit. Their best product.