FawnCrest Vineyards

Wine: Winery: Ambiance: Dec 31, 2010

Favorite Wine: Chardonnay

My family goes to Canyon Lake every Christmas holiday. I recently discovered there are two or three wineries around the lake, so we went to a couple of them. The first we visited was FawnCrest, owned by Wayne and Patty McNeil. A little hard to find, the vineyard is in a picturesque valley near Canyon Lake, with winery facilities close by and the tasting room in their house. Basically, the two of them do virtually all the work of cultivating, harvesting, wine-making, and promoting. They had four wines when we were there (the Meritage was sold out), a Chardonnay, a Cabernet Franc, a Merlot, and a "very young" Cabernet Sauvignon. The Chardonnay was a passable, lightly oaky offering, not bad. Next we tried the Merlot (*very dry*) and the Cabernet Franc, also dry, but with some flavor. The Cabernet Sauvignon should not have been offered--it tasted like a red version of Vinho Verde, almost effervescent, not nearly enough time in the barrel or bottle. All their reds were rather tannic, with a notable tannic aftertaste. The McNeis were delightful hosts, opened their tasting room just for us, even though they were technically closed. Their wines, alas, were not notable, except for the passable Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc, which was a bit more fruit forward than the Merlot. They have attempted to grow and ferment Bordeaux style wines, though these historically do not do well in the fickle climate and environment of Central Texas. More power to them, but their wines could benefit from aging and from better controls in the fermentation process which should reduce the tannic aftertaste.