WINEMAKING / TASTING NOTES
At Turtle Run, Max’s Small Batch Red’s are our pinnacle in red wine blending. Nothing is off limits and some barrels are specifically targeted for Max’s Blends and not used for varietal bottlings. The staff truly enjoys when we have a Max’s Blending Day, as we come up with a style that we want and then blend accordingly, usually with 3-4 versions from which to choose. Since Max’s 52, Max is old enough to help with the blending, so he did. I pulled the samples from barrels that I thought he might want in the blend and sure enough, had I done it, the wine would have been different. I let Max do all the blending for this version. Like all of it! What a fun day. The base is Zinfandel and Syrah with a healthy dose of some secret stash of wines I had been saving for making a complex red. Where he went syrah, I would have gone cabernet sauvignon. Every time I try the wine, I realize he did a spectacular job. It really is.
Laura made Max’s 53 and I made 54 since no one was around and we needed wine. For 55, it was a collaboration between Stephanie, Christine, and Jim. For 56, it was back to Jim (me)
The 57 is a collaboration of Laura and Jim but more Jim’s influence. 58 was back to Max just nailing it and 59 was a collaboration, mainly Jim, some Laura, and the staff.
With number 60, Max is in full engineering school mode, so it was back to me (Jim) with assistance from Angie and Janice, more so to make sure I didn’t screw it up. But I knew for I had been thinking about it for several months. I knew what I wanted to do. Surely it would work.
Number 61 I made, and then Max made 62. For 63, it was back to me from a time constraint standpoint. The grape varieties involved to make this wine include Mourvedre, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Barbera, Chambourcin, Frontenac, and Seyval Blanc and are blended from 2020 and 2021 grapes.
For Max’s Small Batch #64, the blend was more Laura and me with Barbera carrying the flag for the primary in the blend with Mourvedre and Chambourcin running in the supporting cast mode.
This wine is intense, smooth, and has great tannins, and lots, and lots of fruity cherry notes. Lots of fruity and cherry notes. The wine feels like there is a little bit of residual sugar and there is, but the wine finishes dry.