Two Lads....Frequent readers of this blog know we love Two Lads - they were the first winery we visited in Traverse City and set the standard. Reviews of their wine have been strong here - but how much of that is bias? I like their aesthetics, I like the staff, I like the lads themselves - so when I crack open their wine do I like it because I genuinely do or because I want to? This, my friends, is why I switched to blind reviews. If this wine sucked, I'd say so - I genuinely don't care. Chalk it up to the power of suggestion and move on....I liked, but didn't love, this wine the first time we had it and even I didn't expect what follows...
Something about the nose reminds me of books - take a book, not a terribly old book, but not something brand new, flip through the pages right in front of your face and inhale - I get that. After some air time I get plum, menthol, and even some barnyard? Nice.
Solid - a distinct cedar chest quality, a bit of tobacco, cherry, and plum. There's a nice zing as well mid palate. This is a subtly complex wine - I'm getting sassafras way in the back palate, more of that (slight) menthol comes out as well. There's more - it's all subtle - and I'm content to just sit back and enjoy. The tannins are beautiful on this - integrated near flawlessly giving fantastic structure.
I get a bit of fuzzy tobacco on the finish - bite a cigar in half and let some of the tobacco get on your lips, it's that 'feel' (rather than the taste). Cherry cola and maybe some of that tobacco comes in...
Before the bottle was revealed I guessed this was a high end California Cab - instead I got a $25 Michigan Cab Franc. A twenty-five dollar Cabernet Franc from Michigan. Let that sink in. I give this the same score I gave a sixty dollar California Cab. Take note wine drinkers - this is the future.
Score: 94
4 comments:
Wow! That is a high score for a blind wine. That is fantastic. I make no apologies for being a fan of the Lads. I have bought several bottles of this wine and think it is one of the best Cab Francs in the state. Stay tuned, our next podcast is going to feature 2 Lads 2008 Sparkling Pinot Grigio!
All I can say is when I saw the bottle I was positively stunned - I would have never, in a million years, guessed Michigan Cab Franc on this one...I'm still shocked.
I am also a huge fan of 2Lads and the Cab Franc. Was lucky enough to get my hands on 6 last summer. I have to agree that it is an excellent bottle and I am looking forward to drinking the 5 I have left in the coming years.
Great review. Michigan Cab Franc is, indeed, the future, and we here at Harding's have been saying so for 3 years. That's why we hold an annual competition of same, Michigan vs France. Whether it's 2 Lads, Brys Estate, Free Run or Shady Lane (or a dozen other worthy candidates), this cool climate grape is expressing itself in serious fashion on the peninsula. The 45th parallel (and areas all around it) isn't to be ignored.
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