Back in February we told you about Mira Winery's ocean-aged wine venture and now, months later, they've pulled their submerged bottles up from the depths of Charleston Harbor. Starting July 1 the Napa Valley winery will be releasing 12 of their 48 bottles of "Aquaoir" 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon exclusively to their Wine Club Members, available on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Mira Winery's three-month experiment came to an end on May 21 when they went back for their four cases of wine from 60 feet below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean. Once the bottles were brought back, they were sampled by Mira's winemaker Gustavo Gonzalez and Advanced Sommelier Patrick Emerson. "There's some magic that's happened on the Aquaoir...The primary elements of the fruits—the dark fruits, that sort of wonderful blackberry and cassis flavors are intermingled and they are more integrated, the tannins are smoother, and the tannins are sort of more relaxed into the wine," says Emerson.
The wine bottles will be sold in a two-pack set costing $500, each including a bottle of the Aquaoir and a bottle of their land-aged 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon so you can do an at-home taste test. “I was perplexed in thinking how can it be so different after three months, and it’s not a question of better or worse. There’s just these incredible differences between the two,” said Gonzalez.