Battle of the Texas Sangiovese 2018

In 2017, we held the Battle of the Texas Mourvèdre where 17 Texas Mourvèdres were judged by a diverse group of judges. We had previously held the first Battle of the Texas Orange Muscats six years ago. A year later we were doing the Battle of the Texas Roussannes. Then, it was the biggest Battle yet which was the Battle of the Texas Tempranillos with 28 wines from 28 wineries.

We thought that last year’s Mourvèdre Battle might be the last, because we could not think of another varietal wine that a number of Texas wineries made, and that was well liked by the organizers. Then I happened to speak to one of last year’s judges about the situation and eventually Sangiovese was suggested. I thought about it and said, “Yeah, there’s some Texas wineries making Sangiovese.” Little did I realize how many!

I contacted wineries letting them know about the upcoming Battle of the Texas Sangiovese, and where to send wines if they were interested in participating. The wines then started arriving, and we had to make space in our three wine coolers and wine fridge to properly store them. And the wines still kept coming! I was often surprised by a winery’s entry because I honestly did not know they made a Sangiovese. A couple wineries wanted to participate, but they were either sold out or the Battle was in the midst of them coming out with a newer Sangiovese. In the end, we received 27 Sangioveses from 24 wineries!! All Sangiovese that was entered had to meet the requirement of being at least 75% Sangiovese so Sangiovese could be put on the front label, along with the important word of Texas representing Texas grapes.

While waiting on wines, it was time to find a place to hold the Battle, and fortunately like the previous Battles, owners Ryan Levy and Ian Eastveld of Nice Winery, let us use their facilities. Ryan and Ian make an award-winning Texas Blanc du Bois that sells out usually within a month and are always eager to try other Texas wines.

Then came the challenge of creating a list of judges. We believe the best judges are a diverse mix of people from different backgrounds instead of just one set such as sommeliers. We also wanted to mix up the judges and not have the exact same ones from the previous Battle, so palates would be different and a fair judging of the wines would be given. We ended up with a total of 12 excellent judges.

The Wines

The wines included in the blind tasting in alphabetical order were:

• Brushy Creek Sangiovese 2015 – Reddy Vineyards – Texas High Plains – $23
• Brushy Creek Sangiovese 2016 – Reddy Vineyards – Texas High Plains – $23
• Driftwood Estate Winery Sangiovese 2015 – Estate – Texas Hill Country – (75% Sangiovese, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 5% Malbec) – $30
• Flat Creek Estate Super Texan Sangiovese 2015 – Texas – $24.95
• Georgetown Winery Sangiovese – Texas
• Grower Project The Source 2015 – Letkeman Vineyard – Texas High Plains – $25
• Hilmy Cellars Sangiovese 2014 – Bishop Vineyards – Childress, Texas – $42
• Hye Meadow Sangiovese 2015 – Reddy Vineyards – Texas High Plains – (85% Sangiovese, 10% Petit Verdot, 5% Mourvèdre) – $32
• Kiepersol Sangiovese 2014 – Estate – Texas – $24.95
• Kissing Tree Vineyards Sangiovese 2016 – Texas – $25
• Llano Estacado Winery THP (Texas Hocus Pocus) Sangiovese 2016 – Texas High Plains – (75% Sangiovese, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon) – $20
• Los Pinos Ranch Vineyards Sangiovese Riserva 2014 – Timmons Family Vineyards – Texas High Plains – $89
• Los Pinos Ranch Vineyards Sangiovese 2015 – Timmons Family Vineyards – Texas High Plains – $28
• Lost Draw Sangiovese 2016 – Texas High Plains – $32
• McPherson Cellars Sangiovese 2016 – Texas – $20
• Messina Hof Sangiovese 2016 – Texas High Plains – $14.99
• Red House Winery Sangiovese 2016 – Texas – $32
• Rohan Meadery Entropy 2017 – Texas Hill Country – $25
• Ron Yates Sangiovese 2016 – Tio Rancho Ranch – Texas Hill Country – $27
• San Martiño Winery & Vineyards Sangiovese Reserve 2012 – Texas – $30
• Signor Vineyards Sangiovese 2016 – Timmons Family Vineyard – Texas High Plains – $30
• Texas Hills Vineyard Sangiovese 2013 – Estate – Texas Hill Country – $17.95
• Trilogy Cellars Sangiovese 2016 – Texas High Plains – $23
• Wedding Oak Winery Sangiovese 2015 – Texas Hill Country (86% Sangiovese, 14% Tannat) – $29
• William Chris Vineyards Sangiovese 2016 – Narra Family Vineyards – Texas High Plains – $36
• William Chris Vineyards Klenk Sangiovese 2014 – Klenk Family Vineyards – Texas Hill Country – $45
• Winery at Willow Creek Sangiovese 2015 – Trails End Vineyard – Abilene, Texas – $20

The Tasting

The scoring system we used in the previous three Battles has worked well, and we decided to use it again. It gives us a result from 70-100 per wine. All wines also had a backup bottle in case one wine was determined to have a fault.

We followed the same process as last time where we will only give the top 10 wine results instead of the entire list from top to bottom. We believe this is fair since the last place wine might imply it was a bad wine, when in fact it may be very good, but just got a lower score.

Along with the help of Texas Wine Lover contributing writer Jim Rector’s wife, Carole, she and I handled the bagging and numbering of the wines at the Nice Winery. All foil capsules were removed if present. All wine bottles were placed in brown bags and the neck taped at the top of the bottles to prevent any possible sign of the wine.

We did three wines per flight for the judging with eight minutes per round to allow enough time for the judges to write tasting notes. I will compile all the notes and send them individually to the respective winery.

Once all the judges arrived, they sat down to begin the blind tasting. After instructions on judging were given, the first round of three wines was poured by judges who volunteered to help.

The Results

With the scores tabulated and ranked, the results were presented to the group by unveiling the wines they had just judged. Special Texas Wine Lover gold, silver, and bronze medals were awarded for the top three wines.

These are the top 10 wines which were ranked by the group of 12 judges:

1. William Chris Vineyards Sangiovese 2016 – Narra Family Vineyards – Texas High Plains – $36
2. Kissing Tree Vineyards Sangiovese 2016 – Texas – $25
3. Brushy Creek Sangiovese 2015 – Reddy Vineyards – Texas High Plains – $23
4. Llano Estacado Winery THP (Texas Hocus Pocus) Sangiovese 2016 – Texas High Plains – (75% Sangiovese, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon) – $20
5. Hilmy Cellars Sangiovese 2014 – Bishop Vineyards – Childress, Texas – $42
6. Signor Vineyards Sangiovese 2016 – Timmons Family Vineyard – Texas High Plains – $30
7. William Chris Vineyards Klenk Sangiovese 2014 – Klenk Family Vineyards – Texas Hill Country – $45
8. Messina Hof Sangiovese 2016 – Texas High Plains – $14.99
9. Trilogy Cellars Sangiovese 2016 – Texas High Plains – $23
10. Grower Project The Source 2015 – Letkeman Vineyard – Texas High Plains – $25

The judges had been instructed to judge each wine individually and also to give fair results from the start to the finish. Some of the top ten wines were at the beginning of the tasting and others were at the end, so the judges did a fantastic job in treating each wine fairly. There were also some wines that were made by the same winery, and the scores for those wines were back to back in the results. That is an incredible feat considering the wines were randomly placed throughout the 27 wine lineup and the judges had no idea what the wines were.

The Battle had been another fun experience with excellent wines and knowledgeable judges. Many of the judges had agreed that Texas wines were getting better and better every year. Thank you to all the wineries who participated and the judges who traveled, some as long as three and four hours, just to help judge our latest Battle. And as always, a huge thank you to Ryan and Ian from Nice Winery for helping Texas Wine Lover.

The Judges

The set of judges was an eclectic set including winemakers, winery owners, viticulture experts, Sommeliers, wine media, and experienced wine judges.

• Mike Batek – Hye Meadow Winery – owner/winemaker/viticulture
• Jon Burger – Houston Winery – owner/winemaker
• Chris Caldwell – Tribal Hill Cellars / Caldwell Family Wines – owner/winemaker
• Ian Eastveld – Nice Winery – owner/winemaker, Certified Sommelier
• Tiffany Farrell – Haak Vineyards and Winery – winemaker
• Bob Landon – Landon Winery – owner/winemaker
• Ryan Levy – Nice Winery, owner/winemaker, Certified Sommelier, Certified Specialist of Wine
• Dario Najera – Sommelier
• Michael Poole – Blue Lotus Winery and Texas Mead Works – owner/winemaker/viticulture
• Jim Rector – Texas Wine Lover wine media/amateur winemaker
• Justin Scheiner – Texas A&M Extension Viticulture Specialist – viticulture
• Fritz Westover – Westover Vineyard Advising – viticulture