Amalthea Cellars, Legends Edition Europa II 2017, New Jersey

Tasting Note: A red blend with old-world reserve built on a foundation of bright, vibrant, red fruit.

Medium-intensity ruby in color, this wine has an aromatic, medium-plus-intensity nose of red currant, red plum, kirsch, red cherry and bramble with hints of clove baking spice.

On the palate the dry, medium-bodied red blend has medium-plus-intensity, red-fruit flavors suggested on the nose supported by medium acidity and well-integrated, medium tannin.

The wine has a complex midpalate and is comfortable in its own skin.

Bordeaux lovers take note.

Bottle Note: Cabernet Sauvignon 80%, Cabernet Franc 15%, Merlot 5%. Be “Le Vigneron” (wine growers), we at Amalthea know that wines are grown in the fields, not made in the cellars. In the cellar the winemaker is only the custodian of the natural process from vine to the bottle. Blending, one third of the art, is something under the winemaker’s artistic control. In France the blending of between two and six different grapes has evolved the finest wines in the world. Our intention is not to mimic the wines of Bordeaux. We are selecting the finest grapes from Southern Jersey and blending them in proportions dictated by the three century-old, time-honored techniques of Bordeaux. Now our customers can judge which blend showcases our local regional grapes in the best possible light. The blend of grapes used to create Europa II is typical of the region surrounding the great Chateau Latour.