The July shipment of the Empire State Cellars Wine Club, won’t ship for another 3 or 4 weeks, but I want to tell you about them today so, if you’re not already a member but want the wines, you’ll have time to join.
If you’re not familiar with the club, you can learn more here.
Ravines Wine Cellars 2011 Dry Riesling: Winemaker Morten Hallgren favors dry wines as the best way to express Finger Lakes terroir. This riesling is precise and pure, with crunchy acidity and pretty floral, pear and lime peel flavors and a minerally vein throughout.
Suhru 2009 Shiraz: From Pellegrini Vineyards winemaker Russell Hearn’s private label, this is a spicy example of Long Island syrah with plum and cherry flavors to boot. Looking for a red to serve with burgers hot off the grill? This is it.
“Getting to Know New York” Wines
Anthony Nappa Wines 2011 Anomaly: Long Island doesn’t have many ‘cult wines’ but this white pinot noir has become one of them. Made with Finger Lakes fruit, it shows balanced red fruit — think strawberries and cherries — with subtle earthiness and a squirt of acidity on the finish.
Eveningside Vineyards 2010 Cabernet Franc: Fruit forward and nicely concentrated in its blackberry and blueberry glory, this ripe red shows restrained oak character and should age and evolve nicely — but is still very approachable today.
“New York Wine Trail” Wines
Keuka Lake Vineyards 2009 “Falling Man Vineyard” Riesling: I’ve been tasting a lot of riesling lately, and this is — by far — one of the best to cross my tasting table. Green tea, jasmine and wet slate intermingle with bright pear and citrus on a dry, vivacious palate. Delicoius.
Roanoke Vineyards 2007 Merlot: Roanoke Vineyards typically doesn’t sell this wine outside of its tasting room, but we were able to convince them to sell us a small parcel of this intense, age-worthy merlot that is appealing now (decant it for at least an hour or two) but will reward those patient enough to cellar it for another year or five.
“Excelsior” Wines
Tierce 2009 Riesling: This cooperative wine between Anthony Road Wine Company, Fox Run Vineyards and Red Newt Cellars is another snappy, dry riesling with the sort of electric tension I always look for. Acid lovers will adore this wine.
Paumanok Vineyards 2005 Tuthills Lane Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon: Tasting a wine like this, with some bottle age on it, is a joy. It shows currants and raspberry fruit with subtle earthiness, spice and sweet herb notes. Drink it now if you must but it has the type of ripe tannins to continue on for some time.
If you haven’t signed up for the club yet, fear not. You can still get in on this first shipment. Email Katherine Jaeger, Manager of Wine Clubs, at wineclub@empirestatecellars.com and she will take good care of you. And remember, you can customize your club to include just red or whites wines too if you’d like.