La Garagista Vinu Jancu Reserve 2017
- Region
- USA » Vermont
- Type
- white still, dry
- Producer
- Vintage
- 2017
- Grapes
- La Crescent
- Alcohol
- 12.5
- Volume
- 750 mL
- Cellar
- not available
Vinu Jancu is an old Sicilian name for white wines made in an orange wine manner. This style has a deep nobility with a long history in the Eurasian production areas of Armenia & Georgia, but also found in Italy, Sicily., and other alpine areas of Europe. The white wine grapes are treated like red grapes: the juicy ferments on the grape skins and may remain sur lie long afterward, taking on more color (hence the orange), tannin, texture, and aromatics. This Vinu Jancu is made from La Crescent, a descendent of Muscat de Hambourg, and grown in the hills and valleys of Vermont. Hand-picked and hand-sorted, this honest, unfiltered wine was crushed traditionally and fermented on native yeasts at out cantina, and remained sur lie for the winter in glass demijohns.
— Deirdre Heekin & Caleb Barber
We've been making Vinu Jancu since the beginning. Dare I say it's a flagship wine? A reserve wine, it's grown in the West Addison vineyard, on clay and limestone, on the edge of Lake Champlain, and is defined by the explosion of wild flora that grows beneath the vines, golden rod, purple aster, daisy fleabane, and wild mint.
- La Crescent
- Wild yeast
- No added sulfites
- Grown on clay and limestone
— Deirdre Heekin
Ratings
Bottle variation is expected, and I like this one more because of its better structure. It has aromas of orange, sea buckthorn, soap, green apricot, IPA, and mango. IMO it still lacks volume and tastes like a thin stream, but the experience is interesting.
Overly strange wine. Macerated La Crescent, a hybrid cold-hardy grape bred by the University of Minnesota. IPA, tropical fruits like mango and pineapple, and oranges filled with soap. Interesting palate, fresh and long aftertaste and flavours of green apricot, mango and ascorbic candy. Not for everyone, but at least it's something new.
About Producer
*La Garagista*
/noun/
One who makes wine in a garage, one who works in a garage, one who uses all parts of a garage.
La Garagista (one who makes wine in a garage) is located on Mount Hunger at the edge of the forest in the Châteauguay and in the Piedmont chain of hills in Barnard, Vermont, USA. It's a small homestead farming focused on vines, but they also grow vegetables, fruits, flowers, and herbs for personal consumption. Deirdre Heekin and Caleb Barber started the farm in 1999, yet the winery opened its doors in 2010 with the first vintage. They currently make around 34 distinct cuveés, including several ciders.