Members of the New York Cork Club will recognize this wine — it was part of our October shipment — but for some reason I never got around to publishing a review. That's a shame because this is a very interesting wine that combines value with all the characteristics that make Long Island merlot so unique and delicious. As I taste more and more 2005 reds, I'm finding them inconsistent. Some really show off the ripeness attained during the hot, dry growing season (before the deluge that is). Some don't. Many were bludgeoned with a lot of oak. Some weren't.…
Posts Written OnJanuary 07, 2009
New on LENNDEVOURS for 2009
Now that we're almost a week into the new year, I thought it a good time to do a little housekeeping, make a couple announcements and talk a bit about some plans I have for 2009. First, I've added a new page to the blog about the New York Cork Club. Membership is growing and I want to make the club a bit more prominent here on LENNDEVOURS. It's my pet project and it's something I'm pretty excited about each and every month. You may have already noticed, even though we're only a week in, that wine reviews are appearing…
Natural vs. Synthetic Corks: A Mystery Solved and an Ongoing Debate
By Evan Dawson, Finger Lakes CorrespondentPhoto by Morgan Dawson I nearly sprinted down to my basement — ahem, cellar — when Lenn made a bit of a shocking announcement last week: His 2007 Ravines Argetsinger Riesling was closed with a synthetic cork. This is a very highly regarded wine (Lenn included it in his 2008 wines of the year) and it seems destined to improve with time. Wine Spectator gave it 89 points and advised readers to "drink now through 2009;" I found that assessment to be wholly misguided and actually wrote, in silver marker, the words "drink after 2020"…