Sundays are wine adventure days for us. We typically invite a few friends to join us as we expand their horizons of the NC wine scene. Today were joined by our friend Susan.
Today’s adventure takes us to three wineries in the Yadkin Valley: Ragapple Lassie Vineyards, Divine Llama Vineyards, and Cellar 4201. We’ll be sampling a few new wines and will post the notes as soon as cell service allows.
Keep checking throughout the day for updates!
Our first update: Susan’s delayed in heavy traffic, but she’s only a few miles away. The good news is we should still make it to all three wineries. Updates coming soon!
Update #2: Susan finally made it out of the traffic. A 5-car pile-up on the highway was causing a standstill. We’re finally on our way!
Ragapple Lassie Vineyard
Stop #1: Ragapple Lassie Vineyards
We haven’t been to Ragapple Lassie for nearly a year, so it was great to get back and taste some of their newer wines. Most of the wines were of the 2012 vintage. The whites were light and delicate, but the reds were full of flavor and had a lot of character. Notable wines were the 2012 Merlot, the Syrah and the Kaleidoscope Red. The Merlot is the lightest of the reds with hints of cherry and chocolate on the nose. The flavor profile had soft tannins with underlying fruit notes. The Syrah had a nose of toasty oak and dark fruits with flavors to match. The Kaleidoscope Red is their red blend. This full bodied red is quite even with a delicious blend of cherries, pomegranates, and raspberry. Next time you’re in, you’ll need to taste them all and pick up a few bottles.
Stop #2: Cellar 4201
Slightly off the beaten path yet not too far off, Cellar 4201 offers a great selection of dry reds and two great white wines. They’re currently sold out of two of their flagship reds, but they’ll have them back soon. Notable wines here are the Sangiovese, the Merlot Reserve, the Cabernet Sauvignon and the new Rosé. The Sangiovese is well rounded with hints of tomatoes and cherries having a nice delicate finish. The Merlot Reserve is full bodied with a light spice carrying through to the end. The Cabernet Sauvignon is full of tobacco and dark fruit notes with a medium body weight. Finally, the new Rosé is similar to the old, but it has about 2% less residual sugar than before. It’s still made from the Merlot grapes, though. This wine is full of flavor and almost drinks like a light red. The mild strawberry flavors when combined with the slight effervescence of the wine make this quite unique and delicious.
Unfortunately we’re not going make it to our third stop, but we’ll make a trip there soon!
That traffic debacle was a huge mess. Good thing wine was in my future. Thanks NC Wine Guys!