By Lenn Thompson, Founder and Editor-in-Chief
It's pretty easy to tell that Kelly Urbanik, winemaker at Bedell Cellars, took over primary winemaking duties with the 2007 vintage.
Why is it so easy? The wines have a lot less overt oak character. At least the finished wines that I've tasted so far.
I'm not anti-oak, but I think that some of the Bedell wines before Kelly took over were too aggressively oaked, especially the chardonnays and cabernet franc.
On the nose, this Bedell Cellars 2007 Cabernet Franc ($25) is intensely ripe with dark, dense fruit — black raspberry and black cherry — with a little earty edge and subtle vanilla-oak note in the background.
The medium-to-full bodied palate is just as dense and ripe with a burst of sweet black fruit flavors and earthy spice.
The mid-palate is a little juicy and is fruity with light tannins that extremely ripe and well incorporated. Good acidity keeps the fruit crispy rather than jammy and the medium finish ends with an intriguing anise note.
Producer: Bedell Cellars
AVA: North Fork of Long Island
ABV: 13%
Price: $25
Rating: 
(3 out of 5 | Recommended)