I was quite pleasantly surprised to notice last week that wines from Troon Vineyard have finally made their way into the Detroit market. I was perusing the shelves of (where else) Ferndale’s Western Market, and found placements of Troon’s 2016 Whole Grape Ferment (Orange) Riesling, which we reviewed a while back, and the bottle noted below. We’ve tried and enjoyed quite a few different things from this rising star from southern Oregon over the past couple of years, thanks to General Manager Craig Camp’s inclusion of the Gang on Troon’s reviewers list, so, given that, I was only too happy to fork over the bucks to give this one a try.

2016 Troon Vineyard Merlot Rogue Valley, 13.8% alc, $19.99: We like everything about this wine, starting with the twist-off Stelvin enclosure. (Kim just loves the sound these make when you crack them open, and neither of us are cork snobs.) It shows a clean, dark color, and exudes an earthy black currant and blackberry nose, shaded with subtle herbaceous notes that add to, rather than detract from the appeal. These impressions echo and explode on the palate; the earth and herb play off the attractive fruit very nicely, and there’s not a hint of oak to be found. Yay! Full bodied without being heavy, and while it’s structured for at least 5 years in the cellar, it’s more than approachable already. This shows a sense of place, and will never be mistaken for one of the cookie cutter models coming out of Sonapanoma and surrounding environs, and that’s just the way we like it. Frankly, I went back a few days after trying this and brought more, because it offers a lot for the price. It’s an obvious red meat kind o’ wine, and check out Troon’s Facebook page for lots of food pairing ideas for this and many others of Troon’s bottlings. Find this wine

Reporting from Day-twah,

Bastardo

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5. Two Troon Italians