The Amish Shed

When we bought our house, there was a c. 1950's aluminum shed in the back yard that, to say it had seen better days would make it sound like the Taj Mahal.  Remember those old sheds with the little sliding doors and the corrugated aluminum sides?  That's what we had, painted a lovely shade of beige that we thought would fade into the landscape if we painted it hunter green.  Yeah...not so much.

So, we decided to shop for a new Amish Shed which somehow evolved into a long strange drive home through part of the Brandywine Valley Wine Trail.  We fired up Penelope, our British GPS lady fondly referred to as Penny, and set out for a few wineries.  Stop number three?  Stargazers!

We drove winding roads through beautiful wooded areas for what seemed forever but as we approached our destination....Penny lost her satelites!  We found ourselves in a very residential area, questioning Penny's sanity.  Lo and behold, we turned into what appeared to be a small development only to see a home at the top of the hill with a really big garage.

Let me preface the rest of this by reminding you that it was the third stop - and it was a year ago - but we were so impressed by their commitment to sustainability that we really wanted to love the wines.  They are basically organic in the vineyard, using only a low impact chemical fungicide.  They capture rain water in cisterns for vineyard and winery use, and have a passive solar home and winery.  They have a subterranean cellar and fermentation temperatures are controlled by the water from their cisterns.  Their philosophy is less is more - minimal manipulation and filtration yields maximum flavors.

That was a really long build up to the bottle we opened last night - the Stargazers 2007 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon.  Oh, how we wanted to love this but I'm sorry to say that it wasn't quite there or perhaps we opened it too soon.  Our intital impression was a lot of oakiness on the nose and an acidity that came across as metalic on the front of the palate.  Ripe fruit exploded on the back of the palate with sweet vanilla but the finish was kind of odd.  We shoved the cork back in and put it in the refrigerator.

Day two - the oakiness of the night before is gone and the nose is kind of pretty - fruity with a hint of cedar.  It is medium bodied and the acidity is gone but, the fruit is a little muted on the palate.  The finish is dusty and oaky, but not in a chewing sticks kind of way. 

Tomorrow is another day and I would stay tuned to see what this wine does in a day or so.  Considering the climate and the opportunities for full ripening, I'd say that this wine is not quite there, but for a Pennsylvania Cab Sauv...it's close...very close.