Channing Daughters Winery 2007 Rosso Fresco
Chris Tracy, winemaker at Channing Daughters Winery, thinks of Long Island as a white wine region, which is a unique stance in the industry. It's hard to argue with him when you taste the white wines in Channing Daughters' portfolio though. He creates some unique-to-Long Island blends with Northern Italy as the model and the results are often delicious and always interesting.
His red wines, however, are sometimes a bit less polished.
This wine, Channing Daughters 2007 Rosso Fresco ($18) is a blend of 80% merlot, 14% syrah, 2% blaufrankisch, 2% cabernet franc and 2% dornfelder. It's the second vintage for this wine, which replaced the "Fresh Red" merlot (called Fred by fans). I didn't love the 2006 and I don't love this one either.
The nose is interesting and unqiue with oak aromas mingling with smoke, grilled meat and earthy notes, but there is very little fruit character here at all.
A medium-bodied palate houses flavors of earth, smoke, spice with a little red cherry, but low tannins and acidity leave it a bit soft for my tastes. A bit more acid would really help.
Grape(s): 80% merlot, 14% syrah, 2% blaufrankisch, 2% cabernet franc and 2% dornfelder
Producer: Channing Daughters Winery
AVA: North Fork of Long Island
Price: $18
Rating: (2 out of 5 | Average)
