The Cassis of the Hudson Valley

I've been collecting Cassis from the various producers in the Hudson Valley.  I lined them all up and invite you to the tasting.  To me Cassis is Cassis and should have certain aromas.  Tastes do vary.

Back in 2010 I did a post on Cassis.  I am not going to rehash it, but you can go read about the history of the black currants and the process of making Cassis here (Blog post on Cassis and the fruit that produces it)

Here are my reactions to the different Cassis produced in the region.  Take very good note of my facial expressions.

Just as I finished up the video my husband Paul walks in.  I asked him if he would sit down and taste them on video and he declined but wanted to taste.  So he did a blind tasting of the Cassis.  I brought in each glass, one by one, got his take on the wine before revealing the producer. Paul being a winemaker himself (at a non Cassis producing winery) looks for different aspects in a wine.  As I am critical on sugar, smell, overall taste and he is on acidity and balance. This shows how two people taste the same thing with different palates and like totally different selections

Here is his take:
Tousey Cassis - Way to good of a mouth feel for Cassis. Color a little off. After revealing that they sweeten it with honey he associated the mouth feel to the addition of honey.  I should note here that Tousey produces the honey they use to sweeten the Cassis.  Paul thought the wine smelled like plastic.
Glorie Cassis - High acid and unbalanced
Brookview Station Conductor's Cassis - better balanced, nice fruit.
American Fruits Black Currant Cordial - decent fruit, higher acidity, long tart finish
Hudson Chatham Cassis - tart
Clinton Vineyards Cassis - Black licorice and coffee on nose. Good balance between sweet and acidity.

When I asked Paul what two bottles he would take out that evening he said American Fruits and Clinton Vineyards.

This is just to show you two peoples different views on a tasting experience.