2007(?) Mary Michelle Norton

From memory - I drank a bottle of this a couple of months ago. I'm fairly sure it was the '07 but don't have the bottle in front of me. While browsing Binny's wine site I found this Norton and stopped in the Downers Grove store to pickup a bottle a while later. The staff had no idea what I was talking about - Norton... you mean the malbec? After some explaining, they sent me "back there maybe" into the far corner of the store and there were about a half dozen bottles on the shelf in the "other" section of the store. On the way out, I showed my find to the guy behind the counter that had never heard of Norton. He seemed unimpressed.

This was a solid ten buck bottle of wine. Definitely Norton, but it seems that they're working to make an easy to drink, accessible wine that can be enjoyed young. This is not a monster Norton that needs years of cellaring to tame the tannins. Good fruit, a friendly wine that would be a good introduction to Norton for a traditional vinifera drinker.