Heron Hill Winery 2007 Pinot Noir Reserve
By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief
There is little doubt that riesling rules the Finger Lakes roost, but what grape will be the one on which the region's red grape reputation will be built? The jury is still out I think. Some say cabernet franc. Other content that Blaufrankisch is the grape. Many blend the two in what might be a signature red blend. Maybe it'll even be a hybrid, though the potential is probably limited there.
Then you have a small, dedicated group of growers and winemakers who think that pinot noir shows the most potential — but only in the best years and/or when grown in the right locations to the right yields.
2007 was one of those "best year" so I recently tasted six different Finger Lakes pinot noirs side-by-side, including this Heron Hill Winery 2007 Reserve Pinot Noir ($28). The results were mixed, as you'll see over the course of the next week or so in these pages, and based just on these wines, it's impossible to define a Finger Lakes style of pinot.
The Heron Hill was one of slightly darker wines, a medium-light cranberry red with a slightly bluish tinge.
The nose is big with crushed red raspberries, black cherry skin, vanilla bean and smoky oak.
Ripe is the first descriptor I'd use for the palate, the second would be oaky. Ripe, somewhat juicy raspberries and cherries play off of cinnamon-clove spice, smoke and vanilla.
The fullest bodied of the 6 wines, the tannins are well-incorporated and bring just a little grip to a plush mouthfeel. The finish is long and cherry filled.
If you like your pinot noir toasty, this one will be right up your alley. It's a little to oaky for my tastes, but that's a stylistic preference.
Producer: Heron Hill Winery
AVA: Finger Lakes
ABV: 13.5%
RS: .3 g/L
TA: 5.8 g/L
Price: $28*
Cases Produced: 450
Rating: (3 out of 5 | Recommended)
Don’t you mean “Lemberger”?
No. Blaufrankisch.
Used to be that the top PN at Heron Hill was from the Ingle Vineyard. Any idea where the grapes come from in this one? What I find in FL PN is a total lack of consistency amongst the producers from year to year. More than can be simply explained by vintage variations. Maybe it is the producers trying to explore the variable space, which is huge with PN and allows for little error. Dr. Frank has made the largest number of FL Pinots that I have enjoyed. Oh, too much newish oak (and some of it that horrible green tasting American stuff) is another issue.
I like the vanilla beans add on this, it just gives that extra twist that makes this perfect.
Re: Where the grapes came from. Assistant Winemaker at Heron Hill, Brian Barry just let me know that the grapes for the 2007 Pinot Noir Reserve are from Tuller Vineyards (west side of Seneca), Wagner Vineyards (east side of Seneca) and Hosmer Vineyards (west side of Cayuga).
Thanks Kitty. Interesting mix of vineyards, wonder if they still bottle their own Ingle Vineyard separately?