McPherson La Herencia 2013: Deep translucent red color; cedar, vanilla, dark fruits on the nose; concentrated dark fruits, black cherry, plum, strawberry, licorice, chocolate, smoke on the palate;
chewy blend of 75% tempranillo, 11% mourvedre, 7% grenache, 4% carignan, 3% syrah. “Hernicia” is Spanish for heritage; this is genuflection to Spanish roots with some French thrown in. Grapes hail from Texas High Plains AVA; this effort is meatier and richer than typical tempranillo-based Rioja from Spain. Restrained tannin, as expected from the blend ingredients, dry, not fruity. Tempranillo emerges as go-to red variety in Texas, no surprise given Texas’ similarity to Spain in climate; the High Plains AVA flaunts hot days and cool nights, making for wine-grape-friendly environment. Winemaker Kim McPherson is the son of Dr. Clinton “Doc” McPherson, one of the founders of the Texas wine industry. In 1976, Doc—a chemistry professor at Texas Tech—and Bob Reed founded the Llano Estacado Winery in Lubbock, one the first post-Prohibition wineries in Texas. Kim graduated from Texas Tech with a food science degree, then the enology and viticulture program at Cal-Davis. He worked at Llano Estacado, then Cap*Rock until starting his own label in 2000. Kim converted a 1930s-era Coca Cola bottling plant into a winery in downtown Lubbock in 2008. La Herencia is a pure Texas play; Texas grapes made in a Texas winery located on Texas Avenue in downtown Lubbock. $16-17
Second photo: McPherson vineyards on the High Plains
