Senseless Women with Wine: The Goosecross Experience
Our day began with the magic words, “would you like grapefruit juice for breakfast?” Why yes, we certainly would! And a wonderful glass of 08 Goosecross Sauvignon Blanc was served by the lovely Nancy (known as @vinifera in the world of Twitter) as we gathered around an outdoor table with a spectacular view of the vineyard. The wine had nice notes of honey, grapefruit, pear and citrus – it was delightful and $23. I’ll take that for breakfast any day.
Goosecross Cellars began in 1985 and is truly a family affair. Our group of ten was greeted by Geoff Gorsuch, Winemaker & Vice President with a pretty on target comment, “What group are you with? Women tasting wine without sense?” We shortened it to Senseless Women With Wine. Geoff, I can tell you my husband would more than agree with that statement and usually after he sees the credit card damage from a Napa/Sonoma excursion.
Our group quickly came to a consensus about the 08 Viognier that made red wine lovers buy white. Full of nectarine, floral, honeydew and apricot notes, it was a fantastic Texas summer porch wine that made me wish for Summer. Naturally, my wish came to fruition as it hit 80 and now I can’t get my wines shipped. But, for $32 it was definitely one of the universal group favorites and chances are it will be served if you drink wine at our houses this summer.
Next up was the 07 chardonnay that had notes of green apple, vanilla, citrus and a creamy finish. It was priced at $34 and I actually saw it on the order form of one of my exclusively red drinking friends.
We jumped over to red wines and started with the 07 Napa Valley Syrah, which retails for $36. This was a great syrah representation with lots of cherry, smoke and spiciness. Our next wine was the merlot which tasted of cocoa, black cherry and vanilla at $42. The 04 Howell Mountain Cabernet had plum, cherry, cedar and something I couldn’t place that turned out to be anise. At $69, I’d put this up against the many $100 plus cabs that we tasted over the weekend.
The grand finale came as we were checking out and were poured a taste of the ÆROS 2006 Napa Valley Estate Meritage, only the second release in 24 years. Let’s just say that this was well worth the wait. Excellence doesn’t come cheap and this wine is priced at $142. But, wow! It was rich and seductive. Big fruit, smoke, stone fruit and ripe raspberry made this well balanced wine the winner in the bunch. But honestly, with the hospitality, great wine and Colleen’s adorable puppy that we couldn’t get enough of, you can’t go wrong with Goosecross as a must see winery.
