I LOVE Port of Leonardtown Chambourcin Reserve 2014 (MD)

Not everyone likes Chambourcin. But then again not everyone likes Beethoven. Doesn't make it bad. In fact, Chambourcin makes a lovely, lovely dry red wine. Like so many other hybrids, many wine makers from generations ago, made sweet reds with Chambourcin, and so Chambourcin has gotten a bad rap. That said, it makes for great port!

Today, a new generation of winemakers have resurrected Chambourcin. There are a number of really good Chambourcins on the market being made by small craft wineries.

"Chambourcin is a French-American interspecific hybrid grape variety used for making wine. Its parentage is uncertain," reports Wikipedia. "The hybrid was produced by Joannes Seyve who often used Seibel hybrids produced in the 1860s. The grape has only been available since 1963; it has a good resistance to fungal disease, and is one of the parents of the new disease resistant variety, Regent, which is increasing in popularity among German grape growers. Chambourcin is considered a very productive grape with crop yields reported ranging from 11.1 tons per hectare to 17.3 tons per hectare in a study performed by Ohio State University."

"She has grown up around wine, grape growing and wine making since she was a child in Ontario, Canada. She remembers her mother making homemade wine and when she was young she worked in the field tending grapes, gaining an appreciation for the first half of the process of making wine," wrote the St. Marys County Times. "When she went on to college she studied wine-making, viticulture and the sale and marketing of the product."

More importantly, she has worked at six different wineries in North America and has even worked at a large winery in New Zealand before settling in at Port of Leonardtown.

Without question, she is among my favorite new winemakers on the eastcoast.

That's why I love this Port of Leonardtown Chambourcin Reserve 2014. This Maryland Chambourcin was harvested with an acid of 5.84 g/L and a pH of 3.69, and was aged for 18 months in French and American Oak. This is a big, solid, dry red wine. It has a lovely dark garnet color and intense aromas of raspberry, blackberry, and wonderful spices. The attack is big and jammy, that showcases lots of dark berries, and the oak has lent it a gorgeous middle palate (mocha, cocoa, and cassis) and a terrific spicy ending. Lovely tannins and nice acidity make the flavor long lasting.

Great job, Lauren, and to ALL the folks at Port of Leonardtown Winery!