Sugarloaf: Neither Mountain Nor Vineyard. Discuss.
As its name suggests, Sugarloaf Mountain in Maryland's western Montgomery County is not much larger than a loaf of sugar. Even the condemned Sisyphus wouldn't have minded rolling his boulder up Sugarloaf's measly 1,282 feet over and over again. But the hill's easy hikes are no longer the only draw that brings people out to the vicinity of Comus, Md. These days, a recently renovated restaurant and a new winery are attracting city dwellers to the rural countryside between Germantown and Frederick.
Less than a 45-minute drive from D.C. up Interstate 270, Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard sits in the short shadow of the short mountain, just down the road from the well reviewed Comus Inn restaurant. Long owned by the O'Donoghue family, the winery is a former farm — part of a nationwide trend of farmers clearing crops in favor of vineyards, no matter what the climate and no matter what the soil.
Maryland's rich soil, extreme seasonal temperatures, and Draconian shipping laws make the Old Line State a nightmare for would-be vintners who aim to produce quality wine as opposed to marketable local swill. Some, like Baltimore County's stand-out Basignani Winery, rely on solid techniques and unfamiliar French-American hybrid grapes, which grow better in these parts, to make the most of a tough situation.
But with a professed focus on traditional "Bordeaux-style wines," SMV appears at first glance to be following the money by bottling well known varietals, which tend to make for poor wines here in the mid-Atlantic. As an indication of what it will make in future years, the winery imported major grapes — cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and chardonnay — from California for its first vintage because its own vines of the same grapes were too young to produce satisfactory fruit. A recent visit left us wondering whether the young Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard will right the ship by introducing Maryland-friendly grapes into the mix before it's too late.
Of the four wines SMV poured in its tented tasting room, three bottlings came mainly from grapes trucked in from Northern California's Russian River Valley. The first, the 2005 Chardonnay ($17), scored points for its moderate oaking, which allowed a mild nose of candied apple to shine through amid the rich Nilla wafer and chocolate notes imparted by oak barrels. Although the winery claims that the wine did not undergo malolactic fermentation (a process that softens the wine), a hint of creaminess suggests that the wine may have spontaneously undergone the process. That said, the wine represents SMV's best effort, and the fact that hearty chardonnay can grow well even in Maryland makes us look forward to what SMV does with its in-state chardonnay grapes. Drop the price by $5, and we'd buy a bottle.
SMV's second California wine, the 2005 Merlot ($19), was more problematic. The bottling did show some stewed berry notes, but a musky aroma obscured most of that. The third California wine, the 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon ($19), suffered from an extremely light style that muted the traditional scents of cassis and black currants. Perhaps the cross-country trucking sucked the life out of the grapes. In any event, neither merlot nor cabernet sauvignon should play a role in SMV's home-grown efforts, but given the public's affinity for these familiar varietals, we have no doubt that SMV will make some similarly insipid wines from their estate-grown cabs and merlots.
The winery's lone all-Maryland offering was its 2005 Cabernet Franc ($19). Cabernet franc, one of the five major Bordeaux grapes, is one of the few European varietals that can thrive in the mid-Atlantic. SMV's version showed a bit of the typical pepper notes that make us love cab franc, but aggressive oaking muffled the varietal's true character with scents of wood that make the wine smell almost like an American whiskey.
Indeed, SMV's current crop of wines don't reveal much complexity or varietal character. And the winery's commitment to Bordeaux grapes makes us worry that the situation won't improve in coming years. But if SMV would bite the bullet and plant French-American hybrids alongside its chardonnay and cabernet franc vines (and lay off the heavy wood, for that matter), the fledging winery might have a chance of making a name for itself in a Maryland market with few serious players. If they don't embrace their location, we'll undoubtedly make our few local wine purchases elsewhere.
Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard
18125 Comus Road
Dickerson, Md.
(301) 605-0130
Open Wednesday through Sunday, 12-6 p.m.