Wines of Dotson-Cervantes – Pontotoc, Texas

Out on the edge of the Texas Hill Country is where you’ll find this shining light producing some great Texas wines.  Owners Alphonse Dotson and Martha Cervantes may have started out on difference paths in life, but good karma has brought them together and lead them to this piece of Texas wine country.   Alphonse was a former NFL player and played for the Oakland Raiders.  Martha worked for resort companies in Mexico.  They met and had a desire to start something entirely new in their lives and determined that Texas was the place for their vineyard.  They have been growing grapes in their vineyard near Voca for about 18 years.  The vineyard has about 20 acres planted with about 20,000 vines.  Fall Creek Winery has been using their grapes to make some of their award-winning wines for many years.  Fall Creek and the Dotson’s helped disprove the myth that high quality Chardonnay can’t be grown in Texas.  You may have seen their wines at area wine stores.  Don’t be afraid to try them.  They are quite good!  The tasting room in Pontotoc opened in November of 2014.  They currently have four wines for tasting.  Ed Auler and Sergio Cuadra from Fall Creek helped with the winemaking, too.  The 2015 Perseverance is a blend of 75% Muscat Canelli, 13% Malvasia Bianco, 7% Chardonnay, and 5% Moscato.  Alphonse tells a great story of how these vines recovered from an accidental herbicide dose, hence, the origin of the name. This white wine is crisp with lovely citrus notes.  It has the taste of sweetness, yet it’s dry.  The 2015 Gotas de Oro is a 50% Chardonnay, 50% Muscat Canelli blend.  The “Drop of Gold” wine has delightful citrus and pear notes with a nice soft finish.  Now, the Something Red is a real treat!  This 2008 blend of Cabinet Sauvignon 68% and Merlot 32%.  It has all the right berries, all the right tannins, and just enough spicy notes to give that wonderful full mouth feel.  We also tried the same wine that had been opened for two weeks.  Guess what…it still tasted great!  It was just a bit softer and more mellow, but the fruit still held up well. We enjoyed Fall Creek’s Chardonnay that he had on hand.  It’s a very nice wine for the white wine lovers!  Already bottled and waiting to settle down is the 2015 Patience.  This blend of 55% Merlot, 17% Sangiovese, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 13% Petit Verdot is surely to be the next knockout red wine for the Dotsons. When you come, plan on spending a long afternoon sitting, visiting and enjoying yourself.  There’s no rush or hurry in Pontatoc. Alphonse has some great stories to tell while you sip and enjoy these wonderful wines.  We’re looking forward to the next outing here and hope we’ve inspired you to make the journey as well!  Cheers!

www.dotsoncervanteswines.com