If you were a cool breeze (my nickname in high school), you’d love blowing through the “Templeton Gap” – a series of mountain passes near Paso Robles – just to get to the rolling hills of Cass Vineyards. Your job is to cool their 100% estate-grown Rhone varietals so they can ripen into majesty.
In addition to being 100% estate-grown (which we LOVE), Cass’ grapes are also ENTAV certified – that’s quality control for Rhone and other French grapes only recently available in the U.S.
So what’s that tell you? That these guys are cutting-edge and serious about quality and tradition. Cass didn’t *HAVE* to do this – they *WANTED* to!
This is the first vintage of their Flying Nymph White – a blend of the three main white Rhone varieties Viognier, Marsanne, and Roussanne. That’s right – a VMR!
The nose is a breakfast of right-from-the-orchard pears with freshly cut flowers in a vase on the table. Now take a taste and add ripe, freshly-cut apple to your breakfast. Let it finish – add a little grapefruit and mango. Not sticky sweet, but a pretty nice blend of dry and sweet.
Drink Nymph with a chicken salad sandwich, the Asian Zing from Buffalo Wild Wings, or even Thanksgiving dinner. Or drink it with a nymph. Or a nymphomaniac. I did. While watching the VMAs!
Just don’t bring this nymph into Alabama …
