Blue Duck Winery’s tasting room is located in Cisco, Texas (about 2 hours west of Dallas). Cisco was one of our stops on our “West Texas Road Trip” specifically for the winery tasting room (website) and for the Conrad Hilton Center & Museum (website). You can see some pictures of Cisco below.
We got there as they were just opening up on a Saturday. It was an interesting tasting – as we got a bit lost as to which wine was in which position.
Viognier
Their Notes: A Texas cousin to Chardonnay with characteristics of butter, pear and peaches.
Our Notes: Definite citrus and melon scent. The taste is very tart and peachy with a lingering sugary taste. Not quite a chardonnay, but would pair well with citrus shrimp or fish tacos. We decided this was a good book club wine – drinkable without food, but will go good with nibbles.
Primativo
Their Notes: A well structured wine that is hearty, rich with blackberry, violet and pepper with a tannic rusticity on the finish.
Our Notes: Smells sweet with a very berry scent. Slight chocolate and dust scent (you know like the inside of your desk drawer at work). However, it was very astringent and acidic with a vinegar finish. But remember – we got there first thing – so someone might have not stored the bottle from the previous day right.
Cabernet Sauvignon?
Their Notes: None
Our Notes: Cherry but dry – with a bit of a petroleum and berry scent. Petrol follows on taste with lingering flavor. Not our favorite
Tempranillo?
Their Notes: Spanish style with a Texas twist, hints of plum, tobacco, leather and herbs.
Our Notes: Very sweet and “perfumy” scent. It evoked memories of walking into Crabtree & Evelyn as a kid at Christmas looking for a gift for my mom. (It was always soap, and she never used it, just put it on the shelf with the towels in the hall closet.) A light fruit scent with a flavor we couldn’t place.
Dessert Wine
Their Notes: Choc-Holiday – Made with Ruby Cabernet and dark chocolate
Their Notes: Annie Laura – A delicious sweet wine with blackberry and blueberry notes
Their Notes: Cynthia Ann – Enjoy a sweet luscious taste of chocolate and blood orange
Our Notes: We think this is the Annie Laura – based on the fact that it tasted like blueberry muffins from Christmas mornings. But at the same time there was the taste of the Queen Anne Cherries we always get for Momma Deb for Christmas. Maybe some Bourbon Sugar sweetness to the scent (like a candle). Definitely high in residual sugar.
Final Thoughts
We had a great tasting even if the poor lady doing the tasting was alone and we were there right at noon. So, despite the cheese pizza coming without sauce (love it that way – suggest ordering it that way) and not following which wine was which on the tasting board – we had a great time. The cheese bread (no sauce, so not pizza) went really well with the last wine and it went well with the Viognier.
We didn’t buy anything as it was our first stop on a weeklong tour of West Texas in the summer… but we’ll head back and get something on a Saturday day trip.
