I was recently contacted by Newton Vineyards with information about their unfiltered Wine and it’s similarity to unfiltered Coffee, or French Press Coffee. I was intrigued. Unfiltered wine? I had honestly never heard of it. But I love and live off of unfiltered Coffee. To me unfiltered Coffee and espresso are the two pinnacles of true coffee taste. With espresso you get only the best stuff pulled out, and condensed into one sensory explosion. With Unfiltered Coffee you get the fullness and richness of the entire coffee, without bits being pulled out or removed.
The science is sound. by filtering Coffee or Wine you are removing bits of aroma, bits of flavor and bits of what make the wine or coffee special. With Coffee and Wine the origin of the product, or the terroir exists in subtle ways. Small indications and flavors that peak around the edges of the beverage, giving it character. By filtering your wines and coffees you are removing some of the finer bits and possibly even dulling the sense of place the wine and coffee has. I like the idea of an unfiltered wine, a naked wine showcasing its origins. Putting the faith in the grapes so to speak and letting them sing.
I want to preface this article by saying I am not a wine reviewer. nor am I a sommelier, so I did the best I could. I simply let the wine do the talking. I took a couple fo pictures and I enjoyed the hell out of this offering. I also Did what any good friend would do and I shared this experience with my friend David Watson, who not only loves coffee but happens to enjoy wine even more than I do. I’ll keep our experiences separate in the telling fo the tale. But we both love this wine. It is an exceptional beverage and very surprising.
Newton Vineyards Unfiltered Cabernet Sauvignon 2008
Paul’s Impression: Strong Berry smell, not overly sweet but incredibly pleasant. Smelled like dark cherries or currants. A full and round smell with the typical bite of a Cabernet. As soon as the bottle opened the smell was incredible. The wine had a nice dry mouthfeel without the bitter bite of an overly dry wine. The dark cherry and currant flavor was muted with a subtle oak and a bit of floral or herbal note at the end. A very pleasant and clean mouthfeel. This wine feels a slight bit more viscous than most other wines, probably due to the unfiltered nature, but there was no sediment in the bottom of the bottle… we checked.
David’s Impressions: Strong Berry and Fruit smell with a hint of flowers. A nice dry wine with no bitter end to the sip. Despite the strong fruit and berry smell there was only a tiny hint of berry flavor in the glass. Very clean finish with no aftertaste. A bold, pleasant taste with a wonderful body during the sip. It would be a fantastic wine to pair with a good steak or an Italian meal. The bold flavors would pair well with
Neither of us could believe that this Cabernet was such a subtle clean dry wine without the bitter aftertaste that can sometimes goes with a typical Cabernet. We both enjoy a good dry wine with a sturdy meal, and this wine was roundly praised as an excellent bottle right down to the last sip.
I have had the pleasure of going on a tour of several wineries in Napa Valley, and I’ve been through a couple of tours of the local wineries in Pennsylvania as well. So I understand the process of how wine in made. I have seen different examples of how different Vineyards produce their products. They have ranged from the overly commercial to the smaller and much more boutique operations. Every single person I have ever met involved with the wine industry has loved their work. And it shows in this artisanal selection.
Newton Vineyards puts a special emphasis on sustainability even going so far as to use indigenous yeast in the manufacturing of their wines. Newton Vineyards Wines has four unfiltered selections, The Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Claret, as well as a specially crafted Bordeaux call The Puzzle. The Puzzle is hand crafted by blending different hand picked selections from only the top blocks of the vineyard, carefully aged and bottled. They also have a line of filtered wines called Red Label. If this one spectacular sample was any indication they truly love their work and it shows in every sip. Thank you very much for allowing us the chance to sample this truly special offering. The connections to the coffee world are astounding, this isn’t just a labor, these people love their job and are passionate about the product in a way rarely seen outside of these industries. It was an unbelievable pleasure to have the chance to taste this exceptional wine. Newton not only does wine in a beautiful way, but they also have crafted a unique and exciting wine.
Full disclosure: I was sent this product at no cost for the purpose of reviewing it. This did not influence my opinion one way or another.