Last year, Bedell Cellars added a new premium white wine to it’s portfolio, named Gallery. I really enjoyed it and I actually just polished off my last bottle a few months ago. They didn’t make much of it, so once my last bottle was no more, I wasn’t able to get my hands on another bottle or two.
Luckily, Bedell has recently released the second edition of its flagship white with Bedell Cellars’ 2006 Gallery ($48). And even if I like this one a little less, it is far more successful that the two chardonnays I reviewed earlier this week, if still pricey and with a touch more oak than the 2005.
It is a blend of chardonnay, viognier and sauvignon blanc and the nose is expressive with super-ripe peach and apricots up front with vanilla, faint toasted oak, baking spice and fresh flowers layered behind.
Extremely flavorful and well textured, it fills the mouth with spiced apricot and peach pie flavors, lemon zest, hints of mango, vanilla and sweet oak. There is terrific balancing acidity here that should give this some longevity and a lingering, slightly minerally finish stands out.
At $48, it’s not a cheap wine to be sure, but these sorts of blends can be very successful with Long Island fruit. The success of Channing Daughters Winery is further evidence of that.
Producer: Bedell Cellars
AVA: North Fork of Long Island
Price: $48
Rating:
(3.5 out of 5 | Very good-to-Delicious)