Need
wine? Old Man Scary Cellars (OMSC) might just have what you’re
looking for and worth the drive to check it out. Located on the same block as
Wedding Oak Winery, this latest edition to San Saba represents another quality
leap for the community’s downtown business industry growth. Owners,
Gabe and Carrie Hisel, opened this new venture in November of 2015. Mike
McHenry of at Wedding Oak has been helping Gabe with the winemaking
process. OMSC is an incubator project allowing it to experiment and mature
to the vision and quality that Hisels envision. The “story” behind the
winery name goes back to an old farm house on the Hisel estate. To
sum up, someone died there, someone later saw something old and scary there,
and then a child referred to the house as the “scary old man” place. Hence,
the name stuck over the years. Grapes are sourced from California, Washington,
the Texas High Planes and San Saba County in addition to the family estate near
Hockley County. At the time of our
visit, there were 15 wines to sample. A full tasting session is either
three or five wines, both have different price points. We have highlights
for the ten of them that the two of us sampled. For the whites, they
have both a 2014 and a 2015 Viognier. The ’14 is from Lodi County
California and the ’15 is from San Saba County. They both contrast
in profile with the ’14 being more fruit forward and the ’15 providing the distinct
Texas “minerality” and rounded feel. The 2017 Brujita is a dry
Muscat blend of Muscat Canelli (60%) and Orange Muscat (40%). It’s light and
crisp, making it a perfect warm weather day pairing. Sourced from
Washington’s Walawala County, the 2014 Riesling is a delight! It’s
off-dry and quite refreshing with pear and apple notes. The last white we
tried was the 2015 Prima Volta. This white blend has Roussanne fruit from their
estate vineyard, the Rattlesnake Road
Vineyard. The mixture is (66%) Riesling, (14%) Rousanne, (10%) Muscat Canelli, (6%)
Verdehello, (2%) Viognier, (2%) Vermentino. This slightly off-dry
blend has refreshing notes of honey and pear and is smooth and
light. There are two lovely blushes. The 2014 Button Blush is a
Muscat/Trebbiano blend with a touch of Tempranillo that is off-dry with strong
flavors of melon. The 2015 Blush is similar, but a bit sweeter with the
addition of strawberry notes and Dolcetto grapes. The “button” name
for their blushes comes from the rattler tail. For their reds, the
2015 Sangiovese is quite a delight! Grown in San Saba County, this
red wine is light with peppery and smoke notes and strong raspberry flavors.
Their Eclexia is to die for! This NV multi-blend is bright and bold
and exhibits the best qualities of Ruby Cabernet, Cabernet Sauvignon and
Tempranillo. The 2016 Prima Rosa is a great compliment to the
Eclexia. This (70%) Cabernet/30%) Montepulciano blend from the Texas
High Plains exudes boldness and full mouth feel and a perfect for pairing with
a nice hearty meal! Finally, the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon, produced
with fruit from Lake County California, is a red wine full in texture and
rounded with some great cherry flavors…bring on the chocolate! And
just in case you miss any of the notes of the wines, they have them posted on
the wall behind the tasting bar. With great wine, live music, and cool
events, this will be worth the trip to San Saba! Enjoy.
