(Re-Tasted July 2009) ... After the atrocity that was the Muscedere 2004 Cab Franc Reserve, I decided to give another Lake Erie wine a go: Sanson's Bird Dog Red. Dennis Sanson, is one of the unheralded winemakers of the Lake Erie North Shore region - it seems that everything he touches turns to liquid gold - or at least something close. This is his 2002 Bird Dog Red, a Bordeaux blend of Franc, Sauv and Merlot and it has aged well. The nose seemed to be ever-changing throughout the few hours the wine remained open, starting out as pepper and herbs, segueing into hints of green pepper and then moving on to include a little vanilla about an hour and a half in. The palate was also peppery from the get go, then came a touch of fruit, blackberry, for a brief visit, before the secondary flavours of pepper and spice took over for the long haul. It smoothed quite noticeably in the time it was opened (3 hours), and fruit did drift in an out of the realm of recognition, but mainly this wine was dominated by herbs and spice, which did most of the talking. For those interested, and who still have a bottle in the cellar, I do believe this is a last chance bottle, meaning that it does not have many years ahead of it, but it is still quite drinkable.
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