I recently helped a friend move his son to Texas Tech. In exchange for the use of my truck (and me driving), I was to be treated to a winery trip. We visited McPherson Cellars in downtown Lubbock, Tx. It’s in the former Coca-Cola Bottling Plant building. We embarked on their tasting flight of the month.
2019 ‘Verde Verde’
Their Notes: Modeled after the spritely wines of Northern Portugal, ‘Verde Verde’ plays tricks on the tongue with her effervescence and easy drinking. This bottle tickles the palate with flavors of cucumber skin, green apple pulp, and freshly shaved ice, drawing water from the corners of the mouth. Subtly green in both aroma and color ‘Verde Verde’ feels entirely fresh-squeezed, juicy, and refreshing.
My Notes: This wine is very green with a great green apple scent but the taste of green pear. You can taste the yeast in the form of a hint of wheat on the tongue. While it’s acidic on the tongue, it is also very high in butter in both taste and feel. Despite the greenish color, it has a very clear edge.
My friend and I discussed that we’d put this wine with his butter scallops or my shrimp scampi – both of which rely on a heavy butter sauce over noodles. It would also be great with a blackened salmon. Unfortunately, the name of the wine is too close to the name of another Albariño blend so they will no longer be manufacturing the wine. As of this blog post, the wine is no longer available on their website. Good thing my friend bought a couple of bottles, as it’s the perfect Wednesday night dinner wine.
2019 Viognier
Their Notes: Our golden-hued viognier is aromatic and sophisticated, offering fragrant floral notes backed by fleshy summer peaches; it’s the perfect Texas wine for Chardonnay lovers. The palate is fresh and bright with an easy, delicate weight that finishes with a zippy lift.
My Notes: It was a very clear butter color with a nutty scent. The wine itself is heavy on minerals, which translate to a bit of a rough feel in the mouth. While I get the peach flavor – it get more of the pit or a bit more of the tartness of nectarine. My friend doesn’t like Chardonnay, so this was a no go for him.
2019 ‘Los Espines’ Rosé
Their Notes: This dry rosé is a blend of equal parts Grenache Noir and Grenache Blanc. In the glass, it displays wild strawberry and crunchy cherry fruit and a pomelo-tinged palate working into the fray of that red fruit and refreshingly lip-smacking finish.
My Notes: This is a very light baby pink as you can kinda see from the image at the top of the blog post. I got crushed strawberry – the kind you get when you make your own strawberry shake and don’t blend well – so its a flash of strawberry flavor. There are hints of cassis and lemon. My friend got hints of pepper, but I did not. We both agreed that this is a dry rosé but not Brut, there is still some residual sugar but not too high in sugar. It has a cardamon spice finish.
Final Thoughts
While we really enjoyed the first white, the second was a pass for both of us – though if I was at a party I certainly wouldn’t tun my nose up at it. We were split on the Rosé. His comment: “I’m out.” While, I can see enjoying this with a spinach salad with candied pecans and strawberries and maybe a little warm bacon dressing. And maybe some of Niemen Marcus’ amazing pop-overs and strawberry butter. A great Saturday lunch with girlfriends.
[…] The second half of the wine tasting at McPhereson Cellars, I earned as a reward for driving a friend’s son to Texas Tech. If you missed the white flight you can find it here. […]
[…] is similar to the Los Espines (review here) that I tried while at the tasting […]