Monmouth, Ore., winemaker Dave Jepson has a passion and a knack with producing Muscat in a dry style, and for a second straight vintage he’s merited our top rating with it. While he continues to use Muscat Ottonel, he changed up the blend just a bit from last year by substituting Muscat Blanc for the historic Muscat of Alexandria. The resulting wine remains just as fanciful with classic Muscat aromas of rosewater, lychee, ripe pineapple and white flowers. The drink is clean, bright, dry and lovely with tropical fruit flavors and rosewater. There’s complexity on the midpalate with a slight sheen of lanolin before the cleansing arrival of acidity and a finish of orange oil. Fortunately, he’s increased production by about 50 percent, and while he packages it in a 375-millilter bottle, don’t confuse this for a late-harvest or sticky dessert wine.
Rating: Outstanding!
Production: 90 cases
Alcohol: 13%
Leave a Reply