Two wines from Tassel Ridge Winery, Iowa Candleglow® White and 2014 Iowa La Crescent, scored highly in the May Midwest Wine Review. Iowa Candleglow White ranked #2 and 2014 Iowa La Crescent ranked #6 among the top ten wines featured in the article, “May 2019—Heart of the Heartland: Wines of Indiana, Iowa, and Nebraska.”
Scoring Criteria
According to the Midwest Wine Review, all wines submitted are reviewed and scored blind, but only the top ten are featured in the monthly review. The following criteria is used:
Base score = 50 points
Appearance and color = 5 points
Aroma = 15 points
Flavor = 10 points
Balance = 10 points
Finish = 10 points
Meaning of the scoring values include:
80–84 points = good, enjoyable wines
85–89 points = very good wines, with special character and uniqueness
90 points and above = rare and exceptional, with truly remarkable characteristics
Iowa Candleglow® White (#2—91 points)
Tassel Ridge Iowa Candleglow White scored 91 points. Jon B. of Midwest Wine Review began his assessment with these words: “This dry white blend packs an aromatic punch, bursting with pineapple, apricot, and muscat-like perfume. The palate perception is rich and well balanced, with ample body and bracing acidity.” He ended the description by saying: “This blend is a perfect example of what happens when northern grapes are vinted and blended by a skilled winemaker.”
2014 Iowa La Crescent (#6—89 points)
Jon wrote, in part, this about Tassel Ridge 2014 Iowa La Crescent: “This wine pours a rich yellow color, offering a powerful aroma of ripe, creamy papaya with an equally potent palate impression of ripe tropical fruit and candied cranberry. This one is quite sweet, almost in the realm of a dessert wine, but the ample residual sugar is supported by intense fruit flavors and bright acidity. One smell or taste of this wine could convince anyone that La Crescent is a serious grape, worthy of a spot among the great aromatic white wine grapes of the world.”
Availability
Both Iowa Candleglow® White and 2014 Iowa La Crescent are available at the Winery and at some of our 450 retailers in Iowa. If you don’t see these wines at your favorite store, ask the manager to get them for you.
