Home-turned-professional winemaker Jim Waters owns one of Long Island's smallest wineries — it's the storage/bay area behind his tasting room in a small industrial strip mall in Cutchogue. Jim, through his wines and through his personality, helps his small winery stand next to the big boys of Long Island wine. 2006 was a so-so year for most growers, but this Waters Crest Winery 2006 Private Reserve Cabernet Franc ($35) doesn't show any of the barely or underripe flavors some 2006s I've tasted present. 16 months aging in new French oak probably helps in that regard. Dark crimson red in the…
Posts Tagged“cabernet franc”
Fox Run Vineyards 2005 Reserve Cabernet Franc
I mentioned earlier this week that I've been impressed by some 2005 Finger Lakes cabernet francs. Well, this is the one that I liked best in that recent blind tasting. From the moment I pulled the cork, I knew this wine was going to be interesting. Once in my glass, complex aromas of camp fire, black pepper bacon, sweet vanilla, cocoa powder and intense black fruit fill the room. When I re-tasted this wine the next day, the smokiness had stepped back a bit, with fruit coming to the forefront and subtle herbal qualities emerging. Smoke and spice lead on…
Heron Hill Winery 2005 “Ingle Vineyard” Cabernet Franc
Over the weekend, I tasted a handful of Finger Lakes reds, mostly cabernet franc, and I came away pleasantly surprised by what I tasted. True, each of the cab francs came from the outlier 2005 growing season, which was hotter and longer than usual, but the quality can't be denied — even by those of us that wish Finger Lakes wineries would plant more riesling and Gewurzt and less merlot, cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc. Heron Hill Winery is perched on the western shore of Keuka Lake, but the grapes that go into Heron Hill Winery's 2005 "Ingle Vineyard" Cabernet…
Clovis Point Winery 2005 Cabernet Franc
Every time I drink a cabernet franc like this, I wonder how I had never heard of this beautiful, wonderful grape until I moved to Long Island almost a decade ago. To think, I could have been drinking cab franc back in grad school, wen was drinking super-fruity chardonnay and shiraz from Australia. Oh wait, maybe that's the problem, I was drinking those mass-produced, one-dimensional wines. I probably wouldn't have appreciated cab franc for all of it's non-fruity characteristics. This Clovis Point Winery 2005 Cabernet Franc ($25) is probably a wine I wouldn't have enjoyed back in my Black Opal…
Hunt Country Vineyards 2005 Cabernet Franc
If you don't like cabernet franc, you might be reading the wrong blog. And sure, for a long time I didn't have a lot of great things to say about Finger Lakes region reds, but a few have impressed me of late, including this one, Hunt Country Vineyards 2005 Cabernet Franc ($22). The summer of 2005 brought about great ripeness in vineyards throughout New York and that ripe fruit is on display here. The nose is bright and enticing, mixing strawberry and cherry fruit with black pepper, sweet herbs, and just a little vanilla. Bing cherry flavors, with more black…
Miles Wine Cellars 2006 Cabernet Franc
Miles Wine Cellars, a small, family-run winery located on the western shore of Seneca Lake, is one of the rare finger Lakes wineries that focuses on red wines, rather than the racy, aromatic whites that the region is known for. Pinot noir, cabernet franc and a merlot-cabernet franc blend dominate the portfolio of wines that are made by Peter Bell, winemaker at Fox Run Vineyards. This Miles Wine Cellars 2006 Cabernet Franc ($22) was fermented in Hungarian oak and has an interesting, oak-inflected nose of smoke, grilled herbs and fresh red cherries. Soft, flavorful and medium bodied, red cherry flavors…
Billsboro Winery 2006 Cabernet Franc
I've been a little hard on Finger Lakes reds over the years. Okay, at times I've been more than a "little hard" on them, but of late a few have grabbed my attention — mostly from the hot 2005 vintage. When I pulled this Billsboro Winery 2006 Cabernet Franc ($18) from my cellar for tasting, I didn't have high hopes. 2006 wasn't a great year for reds in the Finger Lakes and several that I've tasted just weren't very good. But this wine impressed with nuance, elegance and spiciness. Co-owner and winemaker Vinny Aliperti, who serves as winemaker at Atwater…
Wolffer Estate 2005 Caya Cabernet Franc
Wolffer Estate's winemaker, Roman Roth, made some delicious and unique wines to commemorate the winery's 20th anniversary, and this wine the Wolffer Estate 2005 "Caya" Cabernet Franc ($40) is one of them (even if I liked the 04 a bit better). The commemorative wines are all named for horses in the Wolffer Stables and this one bears the name of Caya, a 16- year old Hanoverian Warmblood and a Grand Prix winner. This blend of 86% cabernet franc and 14% merlot shows ripe, intense blackberry and cassis fruit aromas on the nose, which are accented by vanilla, toasty oak and…
WTN: Lieb Family Cellars 2004 Cabernet Franc Reserve
Every time I taste a wine like this one, I wonder if Long Island wineries aren’t crazy to push merlot as the be-all-end-all red in the region. Crazy might be overstating it a bit, but I wonder if cabernet franc would get more publicity in these parts if it were a better known variety amongst the wine-drinking population. You all know of my undying devotion to the grape probably best known as the key red France’s Loire Valley. But I’m not alone. Not by a long shot. General Manager Gary Madden, the sometimes-reluctant face of Lieb Family Cellars, loves the…
WTN: Pindar Vineyards 2005 Cabernet Franc (North Fork of Long Island)
Last year, when this wine won "Best Cabernet Franc" and "Best Red Wine" at the 2007 New York Food & Wine Classic, I was inundated with emails from surprised readers, emails asking things like: "How can that possibly be the best red wine in New York?""Have you had that wine yet? How is it?""How can anyone take these results seriously no?" I didn’t have much in the way of answers. I hadn’t tasted the wine at the time and for a variety of reasons, I still say that it’s hard to take the event 100% seriously. But this wine impressed…