Black Stallion has a modest portfolio of approachable high quality wines. In addition to their 2009 Muscat, I’ve tried their 2008 Rose with delightful results. Each of their varietals is handcrafted and carefully blended from small vineyard lots. Fermentation and aging are done separately in their cellar until just before bottling. Blending carefully achieves balance while showcasing layers of complex flavors. Since Black Stallion’s wines are produced in small lots, they are only sold through the winery Tasting Room and online.

So when I learned that Black Stallion was running a half price special on their 2009 Muscat, I leaped at the opportunity to purchase a bottle. I anticipated that this wine would be sweet and it is…but not so much that only the sugars pop through. It’s just as appropriate to sip with dessert as to linger with a glass between meals. As they indicate, I definitely tasted Asian pear with apricot and candied ginger notes. The grapes for this Muscat come from both a vineyard on Silverado Trail in Napa Valley just south of Black Stallion Winery and a vineyard in the Alexander Valley in Sonoma. This combination is officially known as North Coast. All of the grapes for this 2009 vintage were harvested at night retaining the fruit’s crisp character. Its bright fruitiness comes from a slow cool temperature fermentation in steel tanks.

Photo courtesy of Steve Mirsky

Black Stallion's Most Tasty Rose

Black Stallion’s 2008 Napa Valley Rose, inspired by the lush fruity roses of Provence in the south of France, is made by gently pressing whole clusters of fruit until just the right color is released without excess tannin or astringency.  What you get is a cranberry juice hue with a light grapey bouquet.

This extremely drinkable wine immediately sweetens the tip of your tongue before effervescing over the palate with bubbling biting berry.  A perfect cleansing between bites of fruit, cheeses, pastas, and other hors d’oeuvres.  Sweet fruits like strawberries are actually enhanced.  Similar in many ways to a Prosecco, its light floral body never intrudes or overpowers but always elevates coalescing with other flavors…seafood and fish….perfect! 

When you’re planning on passing an hors d’oeuvres plate around at your next gathering, grab a bottle.  With anything spicy…say dishes influenced by chilies or habaneras, this wine springs to life in a swirl of heightened white pepper.  Sweeter with fruits, more biting with spices.  A chameleon, it adapts to the ingredients it’s paired with.  The sugars remain steady with neutral foods while its complex personality emerges with more complex tastes…cheeses, Chinese, and even pizza….and did I mention chocolate?  Just right for Valentine’s Day, this varietal even pushes inferior chocolate to the limits making a piece of Hershey’s chocolate taste like what a chunk of Valrhona might under the circumstances.

photo courtesy of Black Stallion Winery