Posts Tagged“2012”

Red Tail Ridge Winery 2012 “Block 606” Riesling

Red Tail Ridge co-owner and winemaker Nancy Irelan clearly enjoys experimenting.  She’s already garnered attention for growing and working with unique varieties like teroldego and dornfelder, but with the 2012 vintage she also tried some different things in the cellar with the Finger Lakes’ most beloved grape — riesling. This Red Tail Ridge Winery 2010 “Block 606” Riesling ($25) was made with hand-picked fruit that was whole-cluster pressed and allowed to ferment without inoculation. Fermentation took 76 days to complete. The result is a dry, lower-acidity style of riesling that shows some complexity — particularly on the nose.  Featuring aromas…

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Keuka Spring Vineyards 2012 Riesling

People sometimes ask me what a “typically Finger Lakes riesling” tastes like. This Keuka Spring Vineyards 2012 Riesling ($15) is a well-priced example. Aromas of mixed apples and pears meld nicely with notes of fennel frond, lime and citrus blossom on a fresh, appealing nose. Crunchy, racy acidity frames flavors of apple, pineapple, fennel, citrus and green melon. There is some sweetness on the midpalate, but it’s well balanced by that same acidity, finishing crisply and nearly dry with a subtle river rock minerality. This is the kind of riesling that will appeal to a wide array of palates —…

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Villa Bellangelo 2012 Dry Riesling

Tangy and driven by wet slate — rather than fresh fruit — character, Villa Bellangelo 2012 Dry Riesling ($19) is a reminder of just how difficult it is to make great dry riesling. It’s very minerally on the nose — think wet river rock and slate — with background notes of Granny Smith apple, just-ripe pear and apple blossom. Lighter bodied, the palate is so slate-y as to be almost salty, with faint lime and grapefruit zest flavors as well. The acidity is bitter-pithy rather than juicy. The mid-palate is a bit hollow, but the finish is long and appetite…

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Keuka Spring Vineyards 2012 “Humphrey’s Vineyard” Riesling

Beautifully perfumed with aromas of apples, apple blossom, lemon zest, fennel and dried apricot, Keuka Spring Vineyards 2012 “Humphrey’s Vineyard” Riesling ($22), shows an impressive combination of complexity with restraint. Focused and fresh, well-integrated, nervy acidity, the palate tastes dry, offering fennel, apple, pear, apple blossom and peach flavors.  Showing great length, the finish lingers with pomme fruit and chamomile tea. Producer: Keuka Spring Vineyards AVA: Finger Lakes Brix: 20 ABV: 12% RS: .9% pH: 3.1 Production: 120 cases Release Date: June 2013 Price: $22* | Order from Empire State Cellars  (4 out of 5, Outstanding and Delicious, Highly Recommended)

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Channing Daughters Winery 2012 “Home Farm Vineyard” Refosco

Chris Tracy, partner and winemaker at Channing Daughters Winery, could put out a red refosco every year and sell it out based on its scarcity and uniqueness alone — it’s refosco afterall, no one else is doing this. Their adventurous, sizeable wine club would clean them out quickly. But he doesn’t and hasn’t, instead making rose with it. It just wasn’t up to his standards. Until 2012. Channing Daughters Winery 2012 Refosco isn’t released yet — look for it in the next couple of months — but even if it’s only made a couple times a decade, it’s worthwhile. It’s very aromatic,…

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Damiani Wine Cellars 2012 “Sunrise Hill Vineyard” Lemberger

If Finger Lakes producers could come together and agree to call these wines either lemberger or blaufrankisch (I vote for the latter), this could become an important category in the region. Either as a blender or bottled alone, these are some of the most consistently good and food-friendly red wines grown and made in the region. Damiani Wine Cellars’ 2012 “Sunrise Hill Vineyard” Lemberger ($22) is one of the more earthy renditions I’ve tasted. The nose leads with damp soil and wet leaves, with Chinese five spice, white pepper and bright, fresh red berries — cherry and raspberry — playing…

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Hector Wine Company 2012 Pinot Blanc

Don’t over-chill your white wine. That’s the lesson of Hector Wine Company 2012 Pinot Blanc ($20). Right out of the fridge, it’s neutral and nearly characterless. But as it warms the nose unfolds with notes of dried pineapple, lime peel, wet gravel and white pepper. Similarly, once a bit warmer, the medium-bodied palate shines with apple and pineapple flavors and a wonderful mid-palate mouthfeel that is somewhat is silky and fresh at the same time. White pepper and chalky earth flavors peek through toward the finish, which lingers just a bit and shows some bitterness at the end. If you…

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Bedell Cellars 2012 Cabernet Franc

Though a bit timid right after pulling the cork, Bedell Cellars 2012 Cabernet Franc ($40), unwinds steadily with aromas of crushed blackberries and currants. If you’ve ever tasted just-picked cabernet franc grapes, there is some of that here too. On the medium-bodied palate, this fresh, juicy red shows ample strawberry flavors to go with darker fruits like blackberries and black cherries. Though the tannins are soft, there is enough acidity to keep the palate lively.Woodsy spice and subtle grape stem flavors develop on the second day open, adding some complexity. Long Island needs more cabernet franc in this style —…

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Keuka Spring Vineyards 2012 “Pre-Emption Vineyard” Gewürztraminer

Part of winemaker August Deimel’s single-vineyard program, the Keuka Spring Vineyards 2012 “Pre-Emption Vineyard” Gewurztraminer offers a bright nose of sweet melon and pear with the floral notes you expect from the variety — but more white flower than rose petal. Mouth-filling but not overweight, the palate brings sweet, over-ripe honeydew and lemon drop candy flavors with floral undernotes. The midpalate steers toward cloying, but the combination of just-enough acidity and bitterness on the finish keeps it in check. The finish turns more floral but ripe, sweet fruit remains. Producer: Keuka Spring Vineyards AVA: Finger Lakes ABV: 12% RS: 1.25% pH: 3.52 Production:177 cases Release Date: May…

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Shinn Estate Vineyards 2012 Haven

After tasting Shinn Estate Vineyards‘ sauvignon blanc-based wines for several vintages now, it is clear that vineyard manager and co-owner Barbara Shinn has a way with the grape and that her piece of land is well suited to the variety. First Fruit, the winery’s steel-fermented sauvignon blanc is a perennial favorite — crunchy with acidity, citrusy, herb-y and faintly saline. Their Haven bottling is a completely different wine, and not just because it has some semillon blended in. The juice that becomes Haven spends extended time on the skins before being fermented by ambient yeasts in French oak. The result is…

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