Ethan Joseph has made a name for himself becoming the winemaker at Shelburne Vineyards. He grew up on Mt. Lake, a small area in northern NJ. He grew to love water and the great outdoors. This eventually led him to the shores of Lake Champlain and the University of Vermont, where he pursued a degree in water resources, and subsequently discovered a passion for winegrowing.
He started at Shelburne early in 2008, and became obsessed with the science, art, and mystery of wine. In almost 11 full years of self-education and first-hand experience he has grown immensely. He was also fortunate enough to have the full backing and support of Shelburne's owners Ken and Gail Albert. With this kind of backing, and passion, Ethan has made huge strides, and can now be counted among New England's best wine makers.
Shelburne Vineyard Iapetus Subduction Marquette McCabe’s Brook 2017 was excellent.
According to Shelbourne, the Marquette for this wine is grown on two of their three vineyard sites, planted in 2008 at McCabe’s Brook and in 2010 at Mt Philo. Vines are trained to a hi-wire system on 10’x8’ and 9’x6’ spacing. Both sites have a slightly western aspect and north-south row orientation which allow for maximum sunlight and exposure to prevailing winds. Soils are deep, well drained, sandy/stony loams formed in both glacial till derived from limestone, calcareous shale, schist, and quartzite and on sandy deltas, beaches and terraces that are underlain by medium-textured lacustrine deposits.
Again, according to the website, "The majority of the grapes for this wine head to tank destemmed and uncrushed, with 10% left as whole cluster and additional stems added back. Maceration was eighty-six days, after which the must was pressed, and racked into oak barrels within twenty-four hours. MLF was induced but not completed. The wine aged sur lie in barrels of various ages for a total of eight months with battonage performed weekly for the first three and half months. Once blended, the wine settled in a stainless steel tank for an additional two months before bottling. This vintage also has the addition of a 4% blend of several other red varieties."
This is really extracted stuff. Lots of whole berries and carbonic masceration lend a fruitiness to the wine.And a softness. Medium cherries and raspberries and plum come across. It's soft and approachable. With lovely layers.Ends with leather, black pepper, and the fruit lingers a nice long time. This is a sexy, sultry red wine. A classy, sophisticated wine.
A beautiful, well cared for wine, using everythign at his disposal to make an intense but balanced and complex wine.
Ethan has really done something special with the Iapetus stable of wines. The Iapetus wines are some of the best in all of New England.
My previous story on Iapetus: