Hunt Country Vineyards 2009 Valvin Muscat

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor

Valvin Muscat is a hybrid -- known genetically as 62-122.01 -- developed in the early 1960s at the Cornell Experimental Station in Geneva and was released commercially in 2006. It is a cross of muscat ottonel and muscat du moulin.

There are a handful of wineries in the Finger Lakes experimenting with Valvin Muscat, but no producer has embraced it as much as Hunt Country Vineyards. (read about their first release back in 2008). In fact, it's one of the grapes the Hunt family is most excited about. They expect great things from it in the future.

I've been a bit less enthusiastic based on the examples I've tasted -- but this Hunt Country Vineyards 2009 Valvin Muscat ($15) certainly shows the grapes promise. It's certainly the best the winery has released thus far.

As you'd expect with muscat, the nose is floral -- explosively so -- but also with aromas sweet citrus and Fruity Pebbles cereal.

Just off-dry, the palate is pleasant if a bit simple in its floral-lemon candy profile. Though balanced, just a bit more acidity would really sharpen the mid-palate and finish.

I don't know how high the ceiling is for this grape in the Finger Lakes, but it seems like it hasn't been achieved just yet. There's potential here.

Producer: Hunt Country Vineyards
AVA: Finger Lakes
ABV: 12%
pH: 3.7
TA: 7.4 g/L
RP: 1.7%
Price: $15*
Rating: 84

 

Comments

[Peter Bell / Fox Run]

Very good comments. I don't make Valvin Muscat, but believe me, the acid question does come up around here. In my experience, an acid addition would SEEM to be the right idea in terms of freshening it up, but in fact it makes the wine hard and slightly metallic, as does fermenting it too dry. The default is to leave the acid slightly on the low side, and let the aromatics do the talking.

[Lenn Thompson]

Thanks, as always, for the comment, Peter.

Don't get me wrong though -- this isn't flabby or cloying on the finish. The acidity is just a hair lower than I want.

Interesting to hear that about the addition of acidity bringing about a metallic characteristic. Thanks for sharing that.

[jim silver]

I wonder what kind of yields you can expect from Valvin Muscat?

[Evan Dawson]

Jim - When I worked harvest a few years back, Villa Bellangelo brought in Valvin at 17.5 brix and 7.5 tons an acre.

[Lenn Thompson]

Evan: Remind me what they do with that valvin...dessert wine of some sort? I can't remember.

[Evan Dawson]

Lenn - Yes, VB makes a kind of frizzante dessert wine. Semi-sparkling, 8 RS or so. Very competent, solid for the category. Popular with their customers.