Dablon Winery featured on the ‘Sipology’ blog

The folks at Dablon Winery feel good about a recent review on a highly respected Michigan wine blog, Josh Wright’s “Sipology”.

Dablon owner Bill Schopf tells us he hosted Wright for a visit to Dablon and a lengthy tasting session in July, which led to a feature on Wright’s blog with detailed impressions of many wines. de Dablon, as well as Wright’s very positive view of the Dablon Experience. You can access this article via the link below:

https://sipologyblog.com/tag/cabernet-franc/

Wright summed up his visit to Dablon as follows:

What sets Dablon apart from his peers? A few things do, in my opinion. First of all, their Burgundy type wines are very good, but the overall strength of Dablon lies in Bordeaux style reds worthy of aging. This puts them in relatively rare company in Michigan, but what sets them apart even from other hard-producing winemakers is their willingness to experiment with different varieties. Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah are relatively rare in Michigan, but Malbec, Tannat, Tempranillo, and Petit Verdot are almost unheard of. Nebbiolo is only grown in another place in the state that I know of, and as noted above, Carmenere is probably unique to Dablon. You won’t taste Michigan Carmenere anywhere other than in Dablon’s tasting room, and varietal bottled Michigan Malbec is almost as rare.

Second, there is an independent streak for Bill and Dablon in general. The winery is not part of the Lake Michigan Shore Wine Trail or the Michigan Wine Collaborative, so Dablon does not appear on wine route maps and does not participate in many Michigan wine events. They’re a little too big to qualify as cult wineries, but they have a group of dedicated fans who have sought them out despite their rugged individualism and remain loyal year after year. After this visit, I think Liz and I consider ourselves part of this group.

What future for Dablon? Besides the new vintages of their current range, they are very excited about the upcoming Tempranillo and Nebbiolo releases. According to Rudy, the unoaked 2020 Tempranillo was released in September, with the 2022 vintage due out in summer 2022. The 2019 Tempranillo blend could be released in November (2021). As for the Nebbiolo: “The Nebbiolo 2021 will be made from 100% grape variety and aged in French oak barrels. We will taste it every few months to determine how long we will age it in oak barrels. This could last up to four years.