Saturday, March 30, 2019
Thanks to everyone who tasted our wine!
The 4th annual Lodi Wine & Food Festival featured wine tasting, a bounty of food from local restaurants and caterers, wine pairing, olive oil tasting, blind tasting and live music, and ran from 3pm to 6pm for general admission.
However, beforehand, from 2pm to 3pm, the Festival held a limited-entry VIP tasting, when wineries and winemakers poured specially-selected wines. Since Markus, himself, could not attend, Festival Staff poured our 2014 Markus Nimmo library selection at:
Lodi Grape Festival Grounds
Ole Mettler Grape Pavilion
413 E Lockeford St
Lodi, CA 95240
209-369-2771
A limited number of VIP tickets were sold for $70 each in advance only, allowing more focused time to spend with winemakers. VIP admission included an hour early entry to the Festival, wine tasting and food, a commemorative wine glass, a food tray and access to the VIP Lounge presented by Harrah’s of Northern California.
This was a great opportunity to see how our 2014 Nimmo has aged over the years. Feel free to scroll down and read more about this library release.
Meanwhile, we invite you to sign up to be notified about upcoming Markus events and new wines:
Cheers!
The Markus Team
THE WINE THAT WAS POURED
2014 Markus Nimmo, Lodi
Mokelumne Glen Vineyards:
71% Kerner
13% Gewürztraminer
11% Riesling
5% Bacchus
This special library release for the Festival is a refreshingly dry and unusual white that should convince you Lodi wines can certainly age well.
The 2014 was Markus’s second vintage of this blend that showcases the cooling influences of the Delta and the Mokelumne River which runs right along the vineyard (and sometimes floods it!).
There’s still a living vibrancy here that results from pure, fresh fruit energized by dynamically-balanced acidity that has resulted in graceful aging for 5 years and many more to come.
The notes from back in July 2015 show: “tart – not gripping – lemon and orange peel wrapped in something like tea leaves. Then there’s an exotic twist, like Gewürz-supplied lychee or maybe mango, and ending with overall intriguing wet stones or granite. Underlying is an almost chalky texture that coats the mouth from interplay of new oak, lees stirring and natural acidity, lending body.”
Some of those notes still apply, though Markus says the Riesling is responsible for most of the changing of flavors. The oak influence has shifted from nutty to more caramelized and rounded. In more recent vintages, such as the 2016, below, he has reduced the amount of new oak used for barrel aging.
180 cases bottled May 29, 2015
13.8% alcohol by volume
Library only – no longer for sale
THE CURRENT VINTAGE
2016 Markus Nimmo, Lodi
64% Kerner, 16% Riesling, 5% Bacchus – Mokelumne Glen Vineyards
15% Gewürztraminer – Grand Island Vineyards, Clarksburg
The style is very similar to the 2014 Nimmo, so you’re going to see a lot of the same descriptors…
There’s definitely a living vibrancy here that results from vivid fresh fruit energized by dynamically-balanced acidity that will keep this youngster aging gracefully for years, as you discovered by hopefully tasting the 2014.
Flavor wise, you could proclaim citrus, maybe lemon zest, but there is much more to it, such as an exotic twist that might be described as “mix of melons” – like honeydew – with orange blossom or some other flower, and ending with spicy wet stones, then even more fruit. Underlying is minerality and a decent body that nevertheless fills the mouth refreshingly. The interplay of new oak and lees stirring contributes to that body, bringing vanilla and spice.
Just about any food that would pair with a Sauvignon Blanc would work well, but what sounds particularly good is chicken piccata with that traditional lemon butter sauce with capers and a side of pasta primavera.
105 bottled March 10, 2017
13.5% alcohol by volume
Price $24.00 (Thankfully, still available!)
DRINK/BUY
A SIMILAR WHITE
If you’d rather have a white that is just a bit more fruity, but still dry, try our Nativo. Very similar blend to the Nimmo, but no oak whatsoever.
2016 Markus Nativo, Lodi
Mokelumne Glen Vineyards:
69% Kerner
21% Riesling
10% Bacchus
As perhaps mentioned above, the relatively cool Mokelumne Glen Vineyards in Lodi is the only source of the rare Kerner grape in California.
Compared to last year’s vintage of the Nativo, this 2016 is more zippy and richer, but a bit drier, with a pleasing chalkiness on the persistent finish. It’s an intense bushel of lemons, layered with flinty stones and fresh stone fruits.
Thinking of food, whatever you eat that benefits from a squeeze of lemon would work very well with Nativo. A sunset dinner on the beach with flame-grilled newly-landed fish would be perfect.
By the way, the label ingeniously contains the postal code for Markus’s hometown in Switzerland.
80 cases bottled January 13, 2017
13.6% alcohol by volume
Price $22.00
DRINK/BUY
And, no, we don’t have a tasting room, so purchasing here though our website is the best way to get your hands on these bottles.