The Biltmore in North Carolina has been on my list of places to visit for a number of years, but I just haven’t made it there yet—that list is a long one. But I do want to visit some day to see the architecture, the landscape and taste the wine. And so, I was glad to have an opportunity to taste a couple of their wines even though I didn’t travel there.
Despite the long history of the Biltmore, winemaking isn’t really a part of that history going back very far. The first vintage of Biltmore wine offered to the public was from 1979 and the Biltmore winery didn’t officially open until 1985.
I generally don’t think of North Carolina as a wine region, but then wine of some form or another is made in every state. And the wines that they produce at the Biltmore winery aren’t all from grapes grown in North Carolina. In fact, many of the wines originate from other regions, including the majority of the two that I tasted. The official appellation designation on these wines is “America” although most of the grapes come from California, aside from 2% of the white, which comes from North Carolina. Due to the American appellation designation these wines are not allowed to have a vintage date, however they are both from the 2010 vintage.
Biltmore Century White Wine
This wine is a blend of Gewürztraminer, Muscat Canelli, Riesling and Symphony. As I mentioned, 2% of the grapes are from North Carolina and the rest are from the Mendocino and Monterey regions of California.
I like the nose on this wine, it offers plenty of citrus, such as lemon an grapefruit, but it also shows melon, hay and mineral aromas—giving it a good bit of complexity. On the palate, this is a semi-sweet wine. I’m not opposed to sweeter wines, but it’s all about balance. If a wine is on the sweet side, it needs to have enough acidity to balance that sweetness or else it comes off as flabby. And this one is a little shy on the acidity. It’s not a trainwreck, but it’s just a little out of balance in my opinion. That said, the flavors are good with notes like lime, apple and tropical fruit. It finishes with apple & honeydew melon flavors that linger on for a good bit. The sweetness of this wine would make it a good wine for spicy Thai food.
Wine: Biltmore Century White Wine
Varieties: Gewürztraminer, Muscat Canelli, Riesling and Symphony
Vintage: Technically non-vintage, but really 2010
Alcohol: 13.1%
Rating: 84
Price: $15.99
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Biltmore Century Red Wine
The Biltmore Century Red is a blend of Sangiovese and Merlot from the Cienega Valley, Sonoma and Lake County regions of California.
The nose is pretty spicy, showine lots of nutmeg and cedar aromas alongside cherry, currants and chocolate. It’s also rather spicy in the mouth, with tangy wild cherry, plum, currant and spice flavors. It has nice tannins adding structure to the wine and good acidity too. The finish is medium-long and continues the theme of spiced berry flavors, plus a touch of black tea. It’s good.
Wine: Biltmore Century Red Wine
Varieties: Sangiovese and Merlot
Vintage: Technically non-vintage, but really 2010
Alcohol: 14.2%
Rating: 86
Price: $15.99
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Disclosure: This wine was received as a media sample.
