FIELD NOTES William Chris Vineyards 2023 Cinsaut — Texas High Plains
This one didn’t settle down. It didn’t need to.
The Bottle & The Approach
The Wine: William Chris Vineyards, Cinsaut, 2023. Texas High Plains.
The Question: Would a loud, restless wine find its footing over three days — or just stay wild?
My Method: No food. No decant. Small pours across three nights. The cork pushed back in and left on the counter each time. The goal wasn’t to tame it. It was to pay attention.
The Daily Notes
Day 1 — Just Opened
It came out swinging.
Strawberry and raspberry right away, but nothing quiet about it. Pepper. Herbs. A green edge — stem and fresh herb, not underripe fruit. All of it at once. Thirty minutes later still pushing — nothing had backed off.
Tight and sharp from the first sip. Mouthwatering. Light body. Almost no grip. Long finish. The sharpness eased a little with time but the herbs and that green edge stayed put.
What it did: Loud from the start. Stayed that way.
Day 2 — A Day Later
This was the best night.
The green edge pulled back and let the fruit through. Strawberry up front, pepper right behind it, a little thyme underneath. Still had energy but now it felt like it knew where it was going.
The best it ever got. Light. Long finish. Like drinking a bowl of strawberries — but in a wine way, not a sweet way. Thirty minutes in that mouthwatering sharpness came back and the pepper carried all the way through.
No grip. Smooth the whole way.
What it did: Same energy as Day 1. Better aim.
Day 3 — Two Days In
By night three it had gone somewhere else.
Pepper and tomato plant on the nose. Strawberry still there but faint. After thirty minutes something musty showed up — like an old cellar. Didn’t expect that.
Sharp and tart from the first sip. The alcohol carried some heat going down — the fruit had stepped back and something drier took over. Still a long finish but it felt like a different bottle.
What it did: Pepper, tomato plant, old cellar. The fruit was gone and something earthier showed up in its place.
The Story It Told
This wine never really settled.
Day 1 it was wild. Day 2 it focused up — fruit and pepper finally pointing the same direction — and that was the night to drink it. Day 3 it went somewhere earthy and sharp and strange.
Not every bottle gets better the longer you wait. Some reward showing up on the second night.
© Jake Ruse — Austin Texas Wine Society. All rights reserved.
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