Black Star Farms – Suttons Bay 7/14/08

Black Star Farms

This place had a bit of a corporate feel – take that for what it is, on the one hand it's impersonal – the staff can answer only the most basic of questions - on the other they charge you for the samplings, you get the keep the glass, and since the tasting bar is completely separate from the cash register, there's zero pressure to buy. $3 for five wines and then there's a reserve list where it's $5 for two.

2006 Arcturos Pinot Noir – spicy and a bit of earth, cherry, medium body with mostly cinnamon and nutmeg.

2005 Arcturos Cabernet Franc – peppery nose / cherry, mild tannins, chocolate, and cedar

2006 Leorie Vineyard Merlot Cabernet Franc – earth on the nose / really good, balanced, complex but approachable black spice, pepper, cherry, oak, tobacco, and cedar.

2006 Arcturos Merlot – Light bodied, cherry, oak and spice...meh.

Red House Red – light, easy drinking, cherry – a good pizza wine

Red House Rose – all strawberry, really more of a blush

Late Harvest Riesling – nicely made, good balance of acid and sugar with a whole mess of peach.

Sparkling Wine – too sweet for us, a bit of toast on the nose / good body and well made just not our style.

2007 A Capella Riesling Ice Wine – At $92.50 this is easily the priciest of what we've sampled – peach nose, nice and balanced but honestly this is incredibly mild – no great explosiveness on the palate, nor any significant depth....of the ice wines we had, this was probably the least interesting.