BLACKMON

When you hear of the winery named BLACKMON, there is only one thing a Texas wine aficionado knows with that name. That would be Bill Blackmon, co-founder of William Chris Vineyards. And that person would be right. Bill Blackmon has opened his own tasting room in Mason, Texas and I had to go visit.

As I wrote before, Mason has become a winery destination in Texas that everyone should visit. Besides the six wineries located directly on the Mason square within walking distance, there are also three other ones just outside of Mason (one that was on the square and recently relocated to their vineyard) that are all part of the same destination. That’s a lot of wineries that you can spend at least two days visiting without having to drive far. I attempted to visit them all on my recent trip to Mason, but it wasn’t possible. To help you plan your visit, we created a Trip in our Texas Wine Lover website Guide and mobile app. If you open the mobile app, go to the Trips menu and scroll down until you find the Mason, Texas trip.

One of the wineries you will now find in Mason on the square is BLACKMON. Reservations are recommended, so I made a reservation for a Saturday when it opened.

Owner Bill Blackmon greeted me in the tasting room, and we hadn’t seen each other since I made my move to San Antonio. I filled him in on what was going on with me and he let me know about his new tasting room. All his wines are from his estate vineyard at BLACKMON Ranch. The vineyard is about 10 miles northwest of Mason and is a 6.5-acre vineyard. The vineyard today is growing Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Merlot, and Petit Verdot. The wine labels also have the GPS coordinates listed to the vineyard.

Bill is the winemaker for the wines which are conveniently made at William Chris Vineyards. These are the wines available for tasting at BLACKMON at the time of my visit:

• 2018 “County Line” Blend (60% Malbec, 35% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon)
• 2019 “County Line” Blend
• 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon
• 2020 “County Line” Blend
• 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon
• 2021 Merlot
• 2021 “County Line” Blend

All the wines were excellent, and I was curious what “County Line” meant on the blends. Bill explained that County Line was where he planted his first vineyard northwest of Lubbock years ago. During the tasting, Bill took the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon ahead of time and put it in a decanter until we reached it in the tasting order. You may want to think of that if you buy a bottle to decant it a little.

Speaking of Cabernet Sauvignon, Bill explained that Cab takes a little time to do it right in Texas and of course, it’s not like a Napa Cabernet. In Texas, we can’t depend on the weather, and one year, his vineyard received hail and there was no Cabernet Sauvignon available that year.

BLACKMON produces 500 cases of wine right now, but they have the ability to go to 700 cases. There is a wine club available at BLACKMON.

These are exciting times for Mason, Texas with all the wineries in the locale making it a destination plus the possible upcoming Hickory Sands AVA. Plan your visit to Mason today!

120 Moody St, Mason, TX 76856