The Nortons have arrived and I'm starting at the low end. Cynthiana is the same grape as Norton, which is pretty obvious after a taste. Not much in technical details on this wine aside from the fact that it's aged in oak and 14.2% ABV and topped with a screwcap. $5.99 on the winery website.
St. James says that Cynthiana is a little lighter style of Norton. That being the case, can't wait to try their Reserve Norton - this is probably the biggest six dollar bottle of wine I've ever had.
Tasting notes:
Day 1: Smells like Norton. It's a different flavor profile that I still haven't pinned down the components to, but it's growing on me. Spicy, and this one has a bit of Concord grapiness to it. Nice medium dark color on a swirl. But it falls apart on tasting. It's big all right, solid tannins but not too much, spice (hint of curry?), rasberry, and St. James says "fig", which I guess I could see. Then it gets gamey, like a muskiness that stays with the finish, and the finish goes on forever. A little bitter too. Might be a bad bottle. Wanted to drink something better, so into the fridge it went. Moved to a decent Rhone, which tasted like watered down cool-aid at first compared to the Cynthiana.
Day 2: Still a Norton. The gaminess has let up a bit, and so has the overt grapiness. The nose has opened up, more spice and dark fruit. Similar on the taste buds too. There's just a hint of concord now and the wine has gained a whole bunch of depth. Nortons seem to like a lot of air.
Day 3: Tried some with the Son. He also noticed the muskiness, which is much tamer now. Like day two but more so.
Conclusion: Interesting wine, I might try another bottle to see if the muskiness was the result of an off-bottle or that's just the way it is. Worth the six bucks it cost just to experience something so different.
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