When Lieb Cellars’ new Bridge Lane 2013 Chardonnay ($15) is released this summer, it won’t be available in a 3L box (it’s white blend cousin is available in one) but at $15/bottle and $260/disposable keg (retail) — which works out to $10/bottle — it’s one of the best white wine values to be found on the North Fork. In fact, positioned and sold correctly, it could help get local wines on more by-the-glass wine lists across the metro area.
Not, it’s not particularly complex or nuanced, but it is a fresh, versatile steel chardonnay that is as at home on the beach as it is at the table with fresh local seafood.
Steel chardonnay is rarely explosive aromatically, but this one shows nice notes of Macintosh apple and lemon curd tart are accented by a faint citrus blossom quality. Open-knit and ripe, the palate delivers a core of sweet, slightly candied apple and lemon fruit flavor that coats the palate with some weight before being scrubbed away by juicy acidity. The finish drops off fairly quickly, but in this case, just take another sip.
Producer: Lieb Cellars
AVA: North Fork of Long Island
Blend: 100% chardonnay
RS: 0
TA: 6.8 g/L
pH: 3.37
Oak Program: None
Production: 1,020 cases
Release Date: Summer 2014
Price: $15*
(2.5 out of 5, Average-to-Very Good)