Hinnant Family Vineyard 's 2004 Norton

We realized this week that we have an extraordinary inventory of Norton wines and decided it was time to start drinking some. We have been told that Norton wines age particularly well in the bottle so once in a while we will pull a random bottle and evaluate it. This week we drew the Hinnant Family Vineyard's 2004 Norton. This North Carolina winery is primarily known for its muscadine vineyard, but they branched out to Norton earlier in the decade. The 2004 vintage still retains the characteristically dark, dark crimson color and a grapey nose. But that's where any similarity ends. The grapey flavor has disappeared and is replaced with a blackberry\dark cherry flavor and an interesting spicy finish. The finish is long with the spicy flavor retained on the tongue. It reminds us more of a Syrah than a Norton. The thesis has its first confirmation: the Hinnant Family Vineyard's 2004 Norton ages well in the bottle.