Mineral Wines built a reputation for fine wines and fun tasting experiences, with a lovely outdoor tasting area beside a lake, with views and wild animals to spare. This worked well for years, but recently Mineral Wines made a dramatic transition. Their new tasting room is in the middle of Main Street in Murphys. We were very excited to have our first tasting experience in the new venue.
It was the weekend before Memorial Day, and Murphys was full of motorcycles! A bit loud, but a great bunch of people to wine taste with. Murphys has ample free, public parking, so losing Main Street parking to beautifully detailed motorcycles was no problem. We parked back by the river and strolled to Main Street. Our plan had Mineral Wines at the top of the list.
We loved the original Mineral Wines venue. It was with some trepidation that we entered the new tasting room. Happily, the new room had much of the charm of the original, with a wall made from rock and natural wood and gems featured at every opportunity. So far, so good! It was then time to taste some wine.
Wine guide Daniel made us welcome and poured their 2014 Viognier to get us started. Crisp and floral, with just the right amount of acid in balance, this was our favorite Viognier of the trip. Next we had their 2014 Vino del Oro, a blend of 60% Roussanne and 40% Viognier. A creamy mouth feel, with interesting notes of lemon and toast.
Shifting to reds, we tasted their 2013 Barbera, sourced from the Metzger Vineyard. This was a fruity explosion in the mouth, with boisterous cherry and plum notes. The 2013 Merlot was a favorite with our group. With very light aromas, the fruit and tannin balance will only get better with a few years in the rack. We bought a bottle to find out what the future holds for this wine.
We next tasted their 2013 Cabernet Franc. We found it to be assertive and somewhat tannic, with a nice crisp finish. Our final taste was their 2013 Tempranillo, with aromas of butter and nice layers of fruit on the tongue. The finish was so clean that another sip was definitely in order!
The day was just begun, so we paid for some wine, arranging to pick it up later. Given the threatening weather, we didn’t want to start our walking weighed down by a lot of wine. That would come later.
Cheers!
About the Author: John grills a mean steak and is always in the market for another wine fridge. Believes that if a winery has more than 10 employees, it's probably too big. Buys wine faster than he drinks it, but who cares?
