Born to Rhone - Wine Tasting in Central New Jersey
Central New Jersey
Tasted July 21, 2012 by brigcampbell with 1,748 views
Introduction
New Jersey probably isn't at the top of your list of wine regions but you'd really be suprised by what they're capable of producing already. I had tasted here once before, it was a small place which primarily made fruit wines like blueberry/etc. As was expected the grape based wine was not memorable, well it was, just not a positive memory.
I heard stories that wineries in New Jersey were making some nice juice so we decided to check it out this time around. By coincidence, Danny ran into the owner of Silver Decoy Winery on the dock while surveying a boat. He mentioned they were making some good wine and stop on by for a tasting. We also decided on a place which was known for its beautiful winery and location, popular among the wedding crowd.
So we grabbed Sam, Loretta, Danny, Cathy, Chris, and myself and piled into the car for our adventure in New Jersey wine tasting with the Springsteen channel on XM blasting in the background.
Flight 1 - Silver Decoy (13 notes)
The winery and tasting room reminds me of Foxen, take one part "the shack" and one part hunting lodge and you'll get the idea of this rustic environment which is perfect for tasting while mounted trophy animals overlook. Mark is the son of the gentleman Danny met earlier on the dock and seems to be the "wine guy" of the operation because he was more than happy to talk soil drainage, rootstock, and chemical analysis of the various wines which is good stuff. Plus, he loves to fish offshore and we chatted about favorite places for tuna. This winery would fit in anywhere in the central coast of California, whether it be Santa Barbara or Paso Robles.
I keep a very open mind when tasting wine, I'm not hung up on any specific variety or AVA, I'll gladly taste it all. And the good news is Silver Decoy was more than willing to share it all including a barrel tasting of the Cabernet Franc. How much does it cost to taste? You can't beat the price, it's free, but $3 if you want the premium tasting which we all gladly forked over the cash.
Let me start by stating how terrific the wines Silver Decoy is producing, right across the board. I was shocked at the number of varieties and the quality of each. Truely impressive.
This is Mark, one of the owners and a sportsman.
Tasting Room
Cathy and Chris
Look at the vineyard out the backdoor.
Rosé
N.V. Silver Decoy Winery Sunrise Dry Rose
USA, New Jersey
Color is light red with a touch of orange. Melon and Strawberry aromas. Palate is light strawberry. Mid palate fades and the finish is short. But this is a very enjoyable wine.
Note: not to be confused with the Blush which is not dry. Even though both wines use the same label.
Red
2010 Silver Decoy Winery Cabernet Franc
USA, New Jersey
Barrel Sample: This wine has not been blended yet but the bones are outstanding. Cherry and a bit more fruit than '09, tar, spice, and earth notes. Big showing of tannins so the sructure is there. The finish is long. This could be really something special and is cellar worthy.
Red
2009 Silver Decoy Winery Cabernet Franc
USA, New Jersey
Nose is spice cherry compote. Palate has the same cherry/tar notes as the '10 but less fruit showing. Finish reveals some level of new oak treatment with menthol.
White - Off-dry
2011 Silver Decoy Winery Traminette
USA, New Jersey
First time with this variety. Very light pear color. Very fruit foward, not sure if there is RS but it certainly is "sweet". Fruit is baked pear with a perfume and jasmine aromas. Finish is medium/-.
Rosé
N.V. Silver Decoy Winery Sunrise Blush
USA, New Jersey
Bright red color, very sweet. Strawberry shortcake flavor with high residual sugar, probably 3-4%. A little to much for my liking but well made and the others really enjoyed this wine. Drop a couple of ice cubes in this on hot day and it'll hit the spot.
note: not to be confused with the dry version with the same label.
Red
2010 Silver Decoy Winery Chambourcin
USA, New Jersey
This seems to be a popular variety in the central Jersey area as it's featured at a couple of wineries. Baking spices show on the nose. Palate is tart cherry with charcoal following the attack. Slight drying at the finish. Interesting and well made wine.
White
2011 Silver Decoy Winery Riesling
USA, New Jersey
Very light colored, which is to be expected for a young wine. Nose is pear and palate is pear and red apple. Mid palate falls apart, completely flat. Not sure if this is missing the acidity or just a tough vintage. This is a pass.
White
2010 Silver Decoy Winery Chardonnay Black Feather
USA, New Jersey
Faint color, especially considering it's been oak barrel fermented. Nose is tight. Decent tasting chardonnay with typical fruit flavors dominated by pear. Medium finish. This wine would fit in anywhere in California.
Red
2010 Silver Decoy Winery Sangiovese
USA, New Jersey
How would of "thunk it"? This is a very good sangio, really. The nose after swirling around the glass told you something good was coming. There's a leathery underpinning around the dark fruit flavor. Slight drying midpalate. This has structure. Tannins are firm and reveal an wine that will improve with age. Nice job.
Red
2010 Silver Decoy Winery Syrah
USA, New Jersey
OK, the owner told me these are vines from Alban. Humm, interesting... Wonder what he could do with them. Well, this is a fantastic wine, shocking based on what I though NJ was capable of doing. This wine could sit with any syrah from the Paso Robles or the Central Coast in general. It reminded most of the Zaca Mesa syrahs with the cherry fruit, lots of spice and leather. The complexity is excellent. This wine is young, it needs time but still, amazing effort.
Red
N.V. Silver Decoy Winery Retriever
USA, New Jersey
CabSauv/Merlot Blend in honor of the bordeaux roots. Nice effort. I guessed this was a blend of the cab franc and sangiovese, missed by a mile, because it has a very similar flavor profile with the cherry, earth, and tar notes on the palate wrapped with firm tannins and drying finish. Good stuff.
Flight 2 - Laurita (6 notes)
What an amazing beautiful winery sitting up on small hilll overlooking the vineyards. It's easy to see why this is such a popular place for weddings, really striking. It might be the largest tasting room I've ever been in, just an enormous timber post structure. If they said it cost $5M to build I'd believe it.
Here is the problem: it's the worst wine tasting flight I've ever experienced and I've had my share of plonk. So sad, all show and soul. The wines are sweet and sweeter without anything resembling a love for the art of winemaking. If Silver Decoy would fit in Paso Robles then Laurita belongs in Temecula, and that's not a complement.
Groom having his wedding picture taken in front.
Beautiful Building
World's Largest Tasting Room - two levels
Peeking down on the vineyard
White
2010 Laurita Chardonnay Reserve
USA, New Jersey, Outer Coastal Plain
Way over oaked, brutal. In fact, there's a strong pine resin nose and flavor. This might have the shortest finish ever, it's completely missing. Should there be residual sugar in a chardonnay? Not good.
Red
N.V. Laurita Norton
USA, New Jersey
Yikes - this has a very odd nose, like warm candle wax. Flavor is EXACTLY like "red hots" candy. This is absolutely no structure and super short finish. Nasty.
Red
N.V. Laurita Chambourcin
USA, New Jersey
Nose has a whiff of barnyard which is ok. Palate is wildly sweet cherry. Not tannins, flabby, and finishes is very short. bleh.
Red
2010 Laurita Merlot
USA, New Jersey, Outer Coastal Plain
WTF? They can't be serious serving this in the tasting room? Extremely clouldy and the nose is straight out of a refinery, the chemical notes are strange. Have you ever tasted a wine and thought to yourself "I wonder if this could harm me?"
This stuff will.
Red
2010 Laurita Cabernet Franc
USA, New Jersey
Nose is funny, couldn't place it. Some structure in this wine. Palate is cherry/dark fruit and there is a small drying finish.
Closing
I'm sure there are more wineries producing great product like Silver Decoy, obvious the soil and climate support it. I could imaging a flurishing wine tourism business in New Jersey shortly.
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