Old Man Scary Cellars – San Saba, Texas

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.

www.oldmanscarycellars.com