Owner and winemaker, Joshua Fritsche, is no stranger to the
Texas wine world. Many know him from his days at a number of wineries, most
notably William Chris and Ron Yates. He launched his own wine brand after the
birth of his daughter in 2012, Tatum Rose – and thus began the next chapter in
his winemaking career. With a focus on single-vineyard and Rhône varietals,
Joshua has become well recognized for his quality wine production. Many long-time
Texas wine fans will also remember the 2012 Hotspur, with the gorgeous wine
label - just might have a bottle or two left in the cellar library! In the
beginning, you could find Josh’s wines at a few pop-up events which were great
to attend and chat with the winemaker as you sampled his small batch produced
wines. It has been a very long time coming, but the small boutique winery
tasting room in Johnson City is a great addition to this journey. What was once
a barbershop (which still has some of that décor) has now become the go-to
tasting room for Tatum Cellars in this quaint vintage building in the downtown
Johnson City square.
There are currently five wines to sample. All wines on the
list are currently single vineyard, plus all Texas Hill Country fruit. Production
is just around 1000 cases per year, so the hands-on and personal quality checks
are all there. The first bottle sampled was the 2023 Trois Étoiles. This
classic Rhône style blend was crafted from Uplift Vineyard fruit and is a blend
of 63% Marsanne, 21% Viognier and 16% Roussanne. It is well balanced and quite
refreshing with notes of stone fruit, good acids, and a bit of minerality. Next
to sample, was the 2024 Rosé of Carignane. This newbie on the list was whole
cluster pressed from Spicewood Vineyards with a very beautiful nose followed by
a crisp and refreshing wine. An ecxcellent wine for warm weather days. Moving
to the red wines, the first to sample was the 2020 GSM. Oh my… this mighty
beast is loaded with robust flavors, good acids and is very well balanced. The Grenache
(60%) was sourced from Uplift Vineyard and the Syrah and Mourvèdre (20% each)
came from Salt Lick Vineyards for this super fine GSM. The next red wine
sampled was the 2020 Syrah. For this vintage, the fruit was left hanging on the
vines longer than normal and it underwent extra maceration and had a “splash”
of Mourvèdre added to it. It has very nice smoky notes to it along with natural
tannins to dance across your palate for that big mouthfeel satisfaction.
Rounding out this fantastic tasting experience was the 2020 Mourvèdre sourced
from Salt Lick Vineyards. Sitting at 15.4% abv, this high alcohol wine is well
integrated with spicey notes and a touch of nuttiness on the finish. This wine was made with Montepulciano skins
as part of the process for a little extra full feel and color for this wine.
Everything on the tasting menu is take home worthy. You
might also notice the collection of vinyl records in the corner and LP player
as you sip and savor both the wines and the music collection. This small
tasting room has a well shaded backyard area for that little feel of Hill
Country outdoors enjoyment to compliment the classically cool inside décor. As
a bonus, they are open till 8pm! You will get the vibe of how this place fits
in well with the small town feel that still lingers in Johnson City when you
stop in and enjoy a visit. The team is friendly, and the space is hip. It’s a
great place to sip, relax, and enjoy your favorite record music and wine
pairing. Cheers!
