When you look at a bottle of wine from The Federalist, you immediately notice the image of a great American president on the label. We could refer to the two wines reviewed here as Lincoln and Franklin, but we’d rather talk about what’s inside the bottles. Here they are:
2017 The Federalist Honest Red Blend – Abraham Lincoln graces the label on this bottle, which houses a blend of 
Merlot, Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon. Different blocks of each were fermented separately, all seeing extended soaking time on the skins. The blended wine is finished with 15 months in 35% new oak. Our thoughts:
A dark red wine, this has a big nose of dark fruits. It also has some noticeable spice. It is medium+ bodied, with a fruit forward palate and a long finish. This is solid, delicious and a good value at its SRP of $22.
2016 The Federalist Cabernet Sauvignon Lodi – here Benjamin Franklin stands guard over the bottle, within 
which is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and small amounts of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petite Sirah and Sangiovese. Similar to the above wine, this is fermented in separate blocks prior to blending. It also went through 15 months of aging in 35% new oak barrels. Our impressions:
Dark red in color, with a nose of darker fruits and some baking spice. Medium+ body and some smooth tannins make for a wine with some complexity, along with a seamless profile. This is pretty easy drinking. Good length as well. About $20, and a reasonable value there.
The two wines above are solid, and present reasonable values in their price ranges. If we had to pick a favorite it would be the Honest Red Blend, which we thought was a little more integrated, and had slightly better focus on the fruit. Both provide a good wine drinking experience.
There are other presidents in the line, including George Washington on a bottle of Zinfandel. You”ll find the Statue of Liberty on another bottle of Chardonnay. Additional wines, aged in used bourbon barrels, round out the line.
Clearly we have more to try.
A votre santé!
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