Thursday, September 19, 2013

Texas Wineries: Miranda Lambert's Red 55

Last year the husband and I spent a few days visiting the wineries of the Texas Piney Woods Wine Trail, which covers the area roughly between Dallas and Tyler.  One of them is the Miranda Lambert/Red 55 Winery in Lindale, Texas.  (I had to be informed that Miranda Lambert is a country singer who grew up in the area, since I’m not familiar with any recent country music.)  

This location is only a tasting room, not a functioning winery.  Most of the grapes are grown in west Texas, and Red 55 has a partnership with Crump Valley Vineyards, which makes most of the wine.  The winery is a family project, with Miranda’s brother designing the labels and her family choosing the names of the wines. The store front in Lindale is a combination tasting room and souvenir shop for all things Miranda-related.  

We tasted all 7 of the Red 55 wines at the winery, and honestly I wasn’t impressed.  I bought 1 bottle of my favorite (Kerosene) to take home and taste again later.  Here are my notes on all 7 wines, in descending order of yumminess:

Kerosene
This full-bodied dry white – made from Blanc du Bois, Chardonnay, and Muscat Canelli* grapes – is the best smelling of the lot.  It has flavors and aromas of tart citrus, apple, apricot, and herbs, along with some floral and earthy notes.  High acidity. 

Red 55
Made from Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, this smells and tastes of black currant, herbs, and smoke.  It has moderate acid and tannin, but needs to be decanted or aerated.  (12% abv)

County Road 233
Made from Merlot grapes, this has the usual Merlot markers of red and black fruits and spice, with some herbal undertones.  Moderate acid and tannin.  (13.1% abv)

Belle
This is a sweet red cabernet with aromas of black currant, red berries, and an earthy quality.  Moderate acid and tannin.

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
This sweet Muscat Canelli* has a good sugar/acid balance going for it, but a funky aroma that I wasn’t crazy about.  

White Liar
This crisp, dry, unoaked Chardonnay smelled good, but had a very simple flavor and wasn’t as fruity as I had expected.  

Electric Pink Blush
This semi-sweet rosé (think White Zinfandel) is made from a blend of several grapes, but I found it to have a funky aroma and very little flavor.

*Muscat Canelli is the same grape as Moscato, though Texas wineries often use the Muscat Canelli name instead.

All of these wines are sold at the downtown Houston Spec’s.  Unfortunately, I can’t suggest that you buy any of them, except possibly the Kerosene.  They’re priced between $15 and $18, and while they’re not terrible, you can get much better wines for that price.  I would only recommend you try them if you are a) really into Miranda Lambert, or b) so interested in Texas wines that you want to try all of them, even the not-so-good ones.  Obviously, I fall into category b.

2 comments:

  1. So wine tasting on texas is a good experience eh?. You better check out some of the canadian wine tasting because it's really great there.

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  2. Yes, tasting Texas wine is great! It's a huge state, so there are tons of different types of wine, many of them great, and all worth trying. The only Canadian wine I've had is ice wine, but I'm looking forward to trying others in the future.

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