Now that we’ve gone from 55 F and rain for days on end to 90F and no clouds in the sky here in Virginia, it’s time to change gears and start shining the light on white wines, but we will have some notable red wine highlights to wrap up from the dismal weekend of 5/21-22 shortly.
For now, let’s celebrate the fine white (fruit) wines of Hermit Woods Winery in Meredith, NH as we change gears in the wine cellar.
In the last entry you read about the Lake House Red. Now, here’s the Lake House White:
Hermit Woods Lake House White NV
An elegant dry white fruit wine that drinks like a Loire Valley blend, or a Muscadet from a good year (this wine was aged sur-lie), made from 52% peach, 23% Rhubarb, 13% Quince, and 12% Rosehips, 12.9% alc. by vol. Nose: subtle ripe apple and white peach notes, like Loire chenin blanc. On the palate, the wine is vibrant with lots of dimension, from white and citrus fruits, to a round creamy mid-palate to a crisp lemony finish, but very well integrated to resemble a cool climate, non-varietal white grape blend. Very classy and a great summertime wine with chicken picatta or trout in a cream sauce. $22/375 ml, $38/750 ml
Hermit Woods Melange Blanc (fortified melomel)
For a white port-style wine (18% alc.), this elegant melomel (fruit mead) is restrained and subtle. On the nose, the peach notes are a bit more obvious than they are in the Lake House White, but only a bit. Behind the ripe white peach notes is a hint of evergreen (likely the rhubarb) and the dense layers of aromatics you get in a good mead. Palate: vibrant white peach and nectarine, with a knife’s edge dance between fruit and acidity, amplified by the richness the mead gives on the palate. If this wine were a dance, it would be a tango… with a peony between it’s teeth. It’s hard to find a grape-based wine as elegant and vibrant as this, at 18% alcohol and such low residual sugar. If this wine were a song, it would be “La Bayamensa” from the Buena Vista Social Club. Components are: peach, white cherries, pears, rhubarb, crabapple, rose hips quince and pear. 375 ml: available soon.