2009 Two Lads Pinot Grigio

This retails for $16 at the winery.

Pear and vanilla on the nose.

Solid acid, a touch of sugar, golden pear, green apple, even a bit of green grape, with a bit of vanilla, and even some tropical fruit - mango perhaps.

A solid length to the finish with pear and apple at first fading - way off in the distance - to pineapple.

Pinot Grigio is a tough wine to describe because most of them taste similar, the differences between a good and a great one is in finesse and subtleties. I like this one a lot, I think I may have liked the 2008 a bit more, but regardless I'll probably be buying a fair amount of this next time we're in the tasting room.

Score: 90

2008 Two Lads Pinot Noir

This is a Pinot Noir from northern Michigan up on the Old Mission Peninsula near Traverse City. Recently we've had some Michigan Pinot Noir from Black Star Farms and Shady Lane Cellars and they both has similarities - perhaps terroir? Does this have it? Let's fine out. This goes for $35 through the tasting room.

The nose? Funk. Sassafras and earth - not much in terms of fruit until about two hours in, then some ripe, farmer's market style strawberry comes through.

All sorts of dark spice - clove, cinnamon, nutmeg. I considered this to be perhaps even too spice driven, but that blows off after a few hours. Beautiful acid - integrated nicely, present and strong but not in your face or abrasive...in fact, in terms of acid this might be one of the best examples of 'balanced' that I've had in some time. For fruit, I'm getting mostly a black raspberry thing.

The raspberry thing really comes through immediately on the finish. A bit of vanilla bean seems to come through - in a spicy rather than creamy kind of way - as well.

Though I'm not doing a direct comparison and not taking away from the other wine, I do think this is noticeable step up from the other MI Pinot Noir. Of course, at $35 a bottle though, it's also a step up in price. Is it worth it? That's up to you. That being said, when I found out this was a Michigan Pinot I was not surprised - it had many of the same qualities, but the whole thing just hit me as a bit more polished.

Score: 91

2007 Two Lads Cabernet Franc

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

2007 Two Lads Merlot Old Mission Peninsula

The wines from Two Lads not only deserve, but I think sort of need, some time in the decanter before drinking. Yeah, I know, every young red should be aerated a bit, but these wines really come alive after around four or five hours of air exposure.

Cassis, cherry, mint, and peach are present on the nose.

Very nicely balanced - cherry, cola, eucalyptus, sassafras, strawberry, raspberry - fruity, spicy, with more than a spoonful of dirt. After it's opened an interesting stone fruit is coming through on the back palate - almost like a drop of nectarine juice got mixed in - it's stone fruit and it's not plum. As it opens a mild chocolate component comes through.

The finish.....remember when you used to bite the ends off of Twizzlers and then drink a Coke with it? Then, when the Coke is done, you eat the Twizzler and a fair amount of the candy flavor has faded and some of the Coke qualities have been absorbed? Imagine that used Twizzler put into a chocolate phosphate - take a sip and take a bite of the candy. There ya go.

I'm not sure how "varietal correct" this is - as a Merlot, I don't know if I'd expect what this wine delivered. As a wine, however, it's interesting and quite complex. At $35, this is a 'special occasion' pricing and would hardly be a disappointment.

Wine: 9
Value: Yep

2007 Two Lads Cabernet Franc Reserve

Today being my birthday, I decided to pop open something from the top shelf of the wine rack, aka "the special occasion and whatever you do don't open for guests" section. This goes for forty big ones at the winery.

There's a cherry candy quality - in fact, I distinctly get Cherry Nibs - on the nose, as well as some chocolate notes.

This is a dangerous wine. Every so often I encounter a wine like this and my initial opinion tends to be frustration or disappointment because of the "drinkability" - it's the kind of wine I pour a glass, drink, enjoy, but don't think much about. It isn't until I force myself to step away, take a glass, and ponder that the impressive craftsmanship comes through. Actually, this is like the wine version of Paranormal Activity. After seeing it, I left the theater annoyed at its flaws (talk about a terrible ending, what a sellout). It wasn't until two nights later when I woke up at 3 am, needing to use the bathroom, when I refused to get out of bed until I confirmed Fran was asleep and laying in bed, not standing over me or in the kitchen, that I realized just how effective that flick was.

Tannins present, but smooth and silky, you won't even notice them - an acid balance that is so well defined you won't even notice it - a combination of fruit, spice, earthy so well integrated you almost think you're tasting nothing, when in fact, you're tasting everything. Cherry, strawberry, raspberry, eucalyptus, cola, earth, basil, black pepper, nectarine, white pepper, cassis, chocolate, coffee - I can go on.

A dried cherry, almost prune, almost dried cranberry (Craisin?) thing lingers for some time on the finish.

Another outstanding offering from Two Lads. I have some more Two Lads reviews in the pipeline, and before I'm accused of being a shill, I want to point out they make wine I do not like - I try before I buy and I buy what I dig.

Wine: 9.5
Value: Yep

2008 Two Lads Dry Sparkling Wine

On the one hand, one should not think of sparkling wine as something to consume only for celebration. On the other, why not celebrate the little things? Today, for example, Kiss released a new album. Is it good? Well, it's better than it has any right being so for that, my friends, I Just Wanna celebrate. $25 at the winery, cool looking bottle, with a bottle cap enclosure.

To be blunt, I came to this wine expecting to dislike it. I suppose because my experience with sparkling Riesling has been iffy (and don't get me started on the vegemite of wine, sparkling Shiraz) so this fairly atypical varietal for a sparkler gave me pause. In a word, crisp. In many ways, this hits me like a damn good Blanc de Blancs - more of that pear and apple with a bit of citron - the palate is mostly fruit, nothing in terms of toast and maybe, just maybe, since I'm looking, a suggestion of yeast.

More golden apples on the finish as well as a vaguely tropical thing - can't quite place it, but something here makes me think of papaya.

No complaints - in fact, much praise, far better than a bottle of Cold Gin. A quality wine in a funky looking bottle - if you'd be willing to let it leave your hands, this is the definition of the ideal party and/or gift wine, but pick some up because it won't last Forever.

Wine: 7.5
Value: Sure enough

2008 Two Lads Cabernet Franc

I'm not going to pretend to be up on vintage ratings for Michigan, but my understanding is 2007 was considered exceptional and 2008 was merely average (in fact, there was some, shall we say, bitching about how the Old Mission fellas probably couldn't make a great '08 CF). Let's unscrew a bottle and try an '08, shall we? The winery normally sells for $25, but is on sale for $20 - not sure how long that deal will last.

Rich, black raspberry with a chocolaty - almost carob like - nose.

The first word that comes to mind is tart. Served blind, I probably would've guessed Italy. Loads of acid and not a lot of tannin - the sorta wine you can crack open immediately and serve with just about anything that has red sauce on it and it will go perfectly. There's a very interesting cherry thing going on - it's almost like a dry cherry soda (there's a new line of "dry" sodas on the market, I haven't dried them but I'm guessing it has this sort of quality).

Tart cherry, not to bring up the soda/candy thing, but it almost has a CherryHead quality, but by no means is it sweet, nor is it artificial tasting.

--

I let half this bottle sit overnight. Notes from day two differed enough that this warrants another set of notes -

The nose is like half Coke, half root beer with a dash of cherry syrup.

On day one, I liked this wine. On day two, I loved it. Most the "tart" quality has faded leaving a clear cherry cola component. In fact, I would say cherry cola dominates both the palate and finish and for that I tip my hat. You know, it's almost like regular ol' Coke with a shot of cherry vodka.

If you like tart, Chianti style wines, open a bottle and pour. If you like cola notes, almost Burgundian qualities, pour one glass, drink it, recap and put the bottle in the fridge for a day or two, and you're all good.

Wine: Day 1 - 8. Day 2 - 9
Value: Yep

Two Lads - Traverse City, MI - 10/3/09

I was wandering the audiobook stacks at the local library and the new David Cross book, quite appropriately titled I Drink for a Reason caught my eye. It seemed like the perfect accompaniment for this little day trip, seeing as we were making the drive for one of our reasons for drinking.

Two Lads released four new wines today - 2008 Cab Franc, 2007 Merlot, 2007 Cab Fran Reserve, and a 2008 Dry Sparkling Pinot Grigio. I have no notes for any of these releases as full bottle write ups will be on the way in the coming weeks/months. Expect the first review - a writeup of the 2008 Cab Franc - to be up by Monday.

While in the area, I felt compelled to show some respect to Harding's Cup winner, Brys Estate, an establishment that just didn't work for us last time (this time was better, notes follow).

We were able to try the top three Cab Francs from the Harding's Cup and, I know what you're thinking - who the hell do you think you are commenting on such things? - but I'll just leave it at the following: The Brys wines were both very good - worthy of the top three? Perhaps. Yet, I bought neither. The Two Lads Reserve? I walked out with four.

2008 Two Lads Pinot Grigio

Alright, Two Lads - Pinot Grigio. Retail this goes for about $16.

A big ol' Pinot Grigioy nose, which is an obnoxious descriptor, but good PG smells like PG. It's mostly a green apple thing with some vanilla.

Michigan Pinot Grigio is, in my humblest opinion, some of the best on the planet. You can get some cheaper bottles from Italy, but for this price - $18 which is right around Santa Margherita territory - places like Two Lads and Left Foot Charley annihilate the pasta makers. Excellent blend of acid and sugar, mostly green, or maybe golden, apple notes. There's some nice spicy qualities, more vanilla, just the slightest touches of green grape, pear, and even banana (usually a quality I'd consider a flaw, but it works well here). Way on the back palate bring lychee. Something was lingering here that totally stumped me - I recognized something distinct, but could not place it. After about 90 minutes, it hit me - Juicyfruit gum

I keep getting vanilla in this one - even on the finish as well as more pear and lychee.

2007 Left Foot Charley was the best PG I've ever encountered. Two Lads owns 2008. If a more interesting Pinot Grigio exists at this pricepoint I will gladly pay you Tuesday for a bottle today.

Wine: 9.5
Value: Hell to the yeah

Two Lads Winery - Traverse City, MI - 7/1/09

Two Lads is the northern most winery on the Old Mission Peninsula.

The tasting room deal changes, but for now the first sample is free and then for eight bones you get three more pours and a small food plate with some smoked gouda and two baked goods from Morsels - a cheddar/olive savory morsel, and a sweet chocolate/black pepper. When the new reds are released, this will change a bit.

When we got home from our first Traverse City visit, Two Lads was easily our favorite in the area, after our second visit to the area, even after finding some other good places, I gotta say it still us.

This time around we met the owners and got a tour which was very informative. We don't often do tours - in fact, it's been a few years since we've done one because they're frequently uninteresting or led by people who only know a script. When talking to the winemakers directly, so much information is available that it's at times overwhelming.

If either Chris or Cornel are working the tasting room, it's very much in your interests to chat them up.

The winery itself is somewhat different than many in Traverse City - it's modern, it's sleek, and it's dare I say, serious, all while totally lacking pretension. It can be an intimidating place to the new wine drinker perhaps, but it also can be the most informative if you allow it to be.

More wines are forthcoming from the Two Lads, including a sparkler, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot, and Cab Franc Reserve. We were able to try the last three in progress and all were excellent.

No wine notes from the tasting room, but here's write ups of the Rose, Riesling, and Cab Franc (a revisit is coming soon on the Cab Franc, we've had two bottles since and both were noticeably better).

There you have it - our warmest recommendation overall in terms of wine, tasting menu, and venue. The sort of place to get excited about - well worth your time.

2007 Two Lads Chardonnay

Alright, we are fans of Two Lads, but how will they do with a grape we do not like? This is not currently available from the winery, but can probably be found in an array of restaurants or shops. I assume later this year or perhaps early next, it will be back in a new vintage for around $20 a pop.

The nose here just reminds me of pineapple and butter.

The palate here isn't half bad, mainly because it's a bit lighter than one normally sees in an oaked Chard. Pineapple, vanilla, some slightly unripe melon of the musk variety all with a bit of the peachy/fuzzy navel thing. Oak, white wine, and our palates don't mix, but this isn't a bad offering - mainly because the oak is fairly light (it was aged in large 630 gallon oak vats, not smaller 60 gallon oak barrels). Still...I can't help but think "man, I'd rather be drinking something else."

The finish brings out some of the oak with some of the typically Chardonnay qualities coming to the front, including that butter and cream.

A respectable wine, more than respectable in fact, but not enough to win us over....if you dig whites, you cannot go wrong with this winery's PG and Riesling. If you're a Chardonnay nut, I can't see this not being up there, but for us? This one gets a pass.

Wine: 6.5
Value: Pass

2008 Two Lads Rose

We really liked the 2007 of this, so why not snag a 2008? I forget the exact price, but it's in the late teens or $20 flat.

I'm getting a bit of peach blossom on the nose.

Beautiful. Rather large in body – with the dominate fruit being cranberry along with some great peachy notes with a dash of strawberry. Something here is reminding me of hibiscus tea. With the punch of acid, dash of sugar, slight bit of tea, and outstanding fruit, this is among the best we've had.

More of that hibiscus quality on the finish plus more cranberry – if there's a cranberry hisbiscus tea on the market, I need to try it as I'd bet it's somewhat like this.

I can't recommend this highly enough as a great summer wine. I suppose there are two "types" of roses that we dig, the pure and traditional, bone dry ones you often see from France, and these somewhat more fruitforward and more - dare I say - complex wines. The sort of wine you can bring to a picnic but it almost seems like a shame unless you're bringing decent stemware.

Wine: 9
Value: Yes

2007 Two Lads Cabernet Franc

Here we have the debut red from Two Lads – Cab Franc, their inaugural red. The first sniff and sip of this was very tight, so I gave this one - that goes for $25 - three hours in the decanter.

As it opens I get cherry, oak, menthol, and cinnamon on the nose.

Chocolate and cherry with some distinct strawberry notes coming through on the back palate. Great acid with a blend of spices coming to dominate – clove, cinnamon, dried basil and oregano, with a dash of eucalyptus. Dare I say, this is Old World in its sensibility – a solid balance of fruit and earth with a good punch of acid.

A whole lot of earth on the finish, with just a little bit of brineyness, in an olive sort of way.

Cab Franc is a tough grape to hit the wow factor - in fact, it may very well be impossible to hit, but this is pretty close. I look forward to trying out another bottle after a few months (or years) and sampling their Reserve to see how this develops. For now, I say give it a go, but maybe sit on it for a while.

Wine: 7.5
Value: Yes

2008 Two Lads Riesling

We are big fans of Two Lads. I feel that sounds strange, as before visiting their tasting room, I can't say we were "fans" of any wine producer. There are other producers we like, but significant issues are present which present us from geeking out. Two Lads (and L. Mawby) is (are) [a] winery ([two] wineries) that I can, without hesitation, say we're fans of - enough for me to break out bizarre, and most likely, horrifyingly improper grammar. We dig many, if not most, of their products and their pricepoints are right without qualification (as in, not "good for a Midwestern wine").

When the new releases were announced, hesitation was not an option and I made sure we got a few bottles of each varietal. This is their first Riesling offering - $20 a pop – and so limited that if you want it, it very well may be too late. The tasting notes state that this is the best Riesling that Cornel (one of the Lads) has ever made. Some may be persuaded to go into this wine assuming it will be awesome. Me? The cynic? We'll see....

A powerful nose – pink grapefruit, orange zest, with a bit of strawberry and even some lychee.

Sweet merciful crap! A nice punch of pineapple, pink grapefruit, grapefruit zest, a bit of orange, a dash of those irritatingly vague 'tropical' notes I speak of. As close to an ideal blend of sugar and acid that I've had all with great depth – loads of interesting subtle things going on that you don't see much – the slightest touch of vanilla, a hint of strawberry, all with just a touch of peach. It's been a while, but there's something here that's calling out “Crystal Pepsi” - a soda I miss to this day. The people who remember that pop as not being awesome never gave it a chance. I digress.

Fantastic length – the strawberry notes stick around along with a bunch of that grapefruit and fades away with some nectarine qualities.

I don't want to get nuts here and say "this is the best Riesling I've ever had" - I'm going to hold off for the next bottle before I make some bold declaration like that. For now? It just may be.

Wine: 10
Value: Yes

2007 Two Lads Winery Off Dry Pinot Grigio

I've been sitting on this one for a while. We visited this winery over the summer and loved it – so much so that we'll most likely be heading back to the area with the intent of visiting these guys, L. Mawby, and the Bad Dog Deli – anything else we hit will be nothing more than gravy.

A mildly peachy nose with nectarines and a bit of green apple.

Fantastic – this is definitely off dry, the sweetness is present throughout but there's enough acid to balance it out. Loads of peach, red apple, a bit of spice – serve this to me blind, I'd probably guess this to be a Gewürztraminer.

Spicy peach pie filling on the finish.

The depth, my friends, the depth. I wrote not long ago that another Michigan Pinot Grigio made by Left Foot Charley was my favorite PG ever – this is a close second. Pinot Grigio from Michigan - who would've known?

Wine: 9
Value: Hell yes

2007 Two Lads Cabernet Franc Rose

Alright – Two Lads – perhaps the most exciting winery I've encountered recently.....I have forgotten what I paid, but a website that seems reputable lists this at $17.

A fairly dark rose, almost ruby in color – (I've seen Pinot Noirs darker than this) – the nose brings raspberry coffee cake.

A big palette – a sharp bite of cranberry, bright cherry, raspberry jam, a nice zing of acid, some interesting spicy notes, and just a bit of sugar. My notes from the tasting room say this struck me as dry, but while it's not sweet, I wouldn't say this is “dry.”

The cranberry sticks around – almost like cranberry Jones Soda that you can get around Thanksgiving time – but as it fades some earthiness comes through.

I remember really liking this at the winery, but as I drink this bottle I like it even more. An outstanding bottle – next time we're in this area I hope they have some left as we'd definitely grab a case of this one.

Wine: 8.5
QPR: 8

Two Lads Winery – Traverse City 7/14/08

Two Lads Winery

We absolutely winged this trip – other than the hotel room, nothing else was planned including which of the many wineries in the area to go to we'd visit....in browsing the “Wine Country” magazine the state puts out, I'll freely admit something about this place's logo spoke to me....yep, the logo.

Working the tasting bar was a young woman who was friendly and knowledgeable.

At the time of our visit, none of their reds had been released – this is a brandspanking new winery which opened in 2008, but the quality in these bottles was the best we've seen among young wineries. The woman in the tasting room told us their plan is to specialize in reds and try to outdo everyone else in the state – I intend to be back after they're released next spring.

Pinot Grigio – Spicy peach on the nose / A bit fruity, green apple, pear, dry, and nicely balanced – there is something here, some extra “oomph” which sets it apart from every other Pinot Grigio I've had.

Sparkling Wine – my notes say “smooth but blah.”

Chardonnay – as a rule, I hate Chardonnay – we said we'd pass, the woman working suggested we try it anyway - “why not?” - I stand corrected....light and fruity, a little butter but none of that overoaked nonsense – a damn good Chardonnay, perhaps the first oaked Chardonnay we've had that I've truly enjoyed.


Rose – a fairly big rose, dry and fruity...I bought a bottle and will do full notes eventually.

Off Dry Pinot Grigio – somewhat like a Riesling with some stone fruit notes, light bodied and good balance.

A beautiful setup, a great building, a winery that I think shows tremendous promise.