Tag Archives: rose

Clovis Point Vineyard November 17, 2012

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with , , , , , , ,

http://www.clovispointwines.com/

Just like my last entry, this one also has a link to Long Island history.  However, instead of going back to the 19th century, this one goes back about 10,000 years, to when the people who lived on Long Island hunted woolly mammoths with stone tools, like the clovis point used by this winery as its name and symbol.

On a brisk but beautiful November day we continued our recovery from hurricane Sandy with a visit to this winery.  When we pulled into the parking lot, we were at first a bit concerned by the presence of two large buses and a limo, but when we entered the attractive converted barn serving as a tasting room we were relieved to note that one large party was out on the lawn and another in the awninged side veranda, and there was room at the tasting bar.  A band called the Earthtones was playing folk rock, a bit too loudly for our taste, but the music was pleasant, and we also enjoyed looking at the paintings of local scenes on the walls (all for sale, some at very reasonable prices).  They also have cheese trays and chocolate pairings available for about $10.

There are three tasting menu options, plus of course wines by the glass and bottle, which we saw several groups doing.  You can have the “Cold” tasting, three whites and one rose for $8; the Reds, four reds for $10; or the Premium, also all reds, for $14.  We opted for one Cold and one Premium, planning to share as usual.

1.  2010 Chardonnay          $18

According to our well-informed server, all their whites tend to the light and bright side.  This steel-fermented chard is light, with a lemon aroma, and a taste that reminds us of lemon candy.  A bit too sweet for us, but if you like your chards on the sweet side you might like this one.  It contains 1.3% Gewurtzraminer, which might account for some of the sweetness.

2.  2011 Chardonnay          $18

However, this chard also has 1% Gewurtz, and yet is quite different.  The aroma is somewhat like chamomile tea, and though it is also steel-fermented it is quite mellow, with some notes of honey, and nice legs.  Buyable!  This would be a pleasant sipping wine, and the server points out that it won a gold medal.  We discuss how interesting it is that essentially the same grapes can have such different tastes.

3.  2008 Barrel Chardonnay     $25

So this is their oaked chard, having spent 10 months in oak barrels.   It has a somewhat off-putting smell of rotten wood, though the taste is fine.  As it sits in my mouth, I taste vanilla, oak, and burnt pear.  Though not unpleasant, I don’t particularly care for it.  As we discuss it, the server gives us a taste of the 2009 Barrel Chardonnay for comparison.  What a difference!  We like this one much better, with tastes of butterscotch and refreshing citrus.  This also spent 10 months in oak.

4.  Clovis Point Rose          $20

Made from cabernet franc grapes which spent three days on the skins, this is a pleasant rose with tastes and aromas of watermelon and strawberry, and would make a nice summer sipping wine.  I could see having it well iced with a few strawberries in it.

Now we move on to the Premium tasting, for which we get a clean glass, always a nice touch.  We also notice that those who buy a few bottles of wine get an attractive cloth bag to carry them in. (And if you buy three bottles, the tasting is free.)

5.  2008 Cabernet Franc          $27.50

Our server characterizes this as “European style,” and notes that it won a silver medal.  The aroma is “forest,” we decide, some fruit, some oak, a bit of smoke.  The taste is good, with dark cherry fruit and also a bit of smoke and oak.  This, we decide, is buyable.

6.  2007 Cabernet Sauvignon          $27.50

Though primarily cab sauv, this wine also has 2% merlot and 2% cab franc, and 07 was only the second year they made it.   This is also a good and buyable wine, with an aroma of cedar and berries and tastes of red plum.  The tannins are soft, and it is easy to drink.  I think I’d like it with duck, but not in any kind of complex sauce.

7.  2007 Vintner Select Merlot          $35

Again a blend, the merlot is 85% merlot, 6.5% cab sauv, 2.5% syrah, and 1% petit verdot.  This one also won a medal, this time double gold, we are told, and that it is called “select” rather than “reserve” because they are saving the term “reserve” for really exceptional wines.  An aroma of smoke and coffee preceeds a somewhat odd but pleasant flavor I think tastes like lychee fruit.

8. 2007 Archaeology       $60

How did this blend of merlot, cab sauv, cab franc, petit verdot and syrah get this name?  They had a contest, with the wine club members voting on the anonymously contributed names.  As it happened, this was the name the owner submitted…The aroma has some of that earthy terroir, and also black fruits.  The wine is fairly dry, with nice fruit and is good, but not worth the $60.  However, if you join the wine club it is only $40, and at that price would be worthwhile!

Reasons to visit:  Pleasant tasting room with cheese trays available; good 2011 Chardonnay and 09 Barrel Chardonnay; also some good reds; art for sale; well-informed servers; nice rustic view from the veranda.

Paumanok Winery October 27, 2012

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting, Uncategorized and tagged with , , , , , , , , , ,

Image

http://www.paumanok.com/

“Blow, blow sea winds along Paumanock’s shores/I wait and I wait till you blow my mate to me!”–Walt Whitman

Who knew that our visit to the Paumanok tasting room a day before hurricane Sandy would come to seem so prophetic, since as we arrived there I quoted the above lines from a poem by Whitman about a lovelorn seagull.  He liked to use the old Native American name for Long Island, and so, apparently, does this vineyard.

Paumanok had somewhat fallen off our radar because it is not included in a map of the wineries  published by a wine growers association.  According to our well-informed and intelligent server, some years they choose to join, and some they don’t.  In any event, their Festival Red had been mentioned in an article on $20 wines by Eric Asimov, so we decided to check them out.

The tasting room is a pleasant, barn-like space, with a tasting bar that could be bigger and a large patio area outside. They offer four different tasting options (aside, of course, from the usual by the glass or bottle prices):  Festival Flight, $8 for 4 (mixed red and white); Paumanok White, $9 for 3; Paumanok Red, $12 for 3; or Grand Vintage, $15 for 4.  We opted for one Festival and one Grand Vintage flight, and our server re-arranged the order of the wines to maximize the correct tasting order.

1.  2011 Festival Chardonnay          $16.99

This is a light “spritzy” white, with lovely green apple or pear blossom aromas and tastes of pears and minerals.  Nicely tart.

2.  2011 Semi-Dry Riesling          $19.99   AND 2011 Dry Riesling  $22 (not actually on on the tasting, but she gives it to us so we can compare)

Hmmm…the aroma of the semi-dry reminds us of some goldenrod honey friends of our made, and so does the taste.  Pleasant, but we prefer the dry one.

How interesting that the same grape can give such different results!  The Dry Riesling has an aroma of lemon-lime, with lots of flavors, some flower, some gooseberry.  Excellent and very buyable!

3.  2011 Dry Rose          $17.99

They blend all four of their reds–merlot, cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, and petit verdot–for this pleasant rose.  The aroma reminds us of wet grout (Next time you repair your bathroom tiles, see what you think of that smell.), and there is the typical strawberry taste of a rose.

4.  2011 Festival Red          $19.99

This is a blend of the same four reds, and is the one mentioned in the Asimov article (as our server also points out).  Well, we agree–this is a very buyable and good red, with blackberry and some spice flavor, with some tannin.  It reminds us of another everyday red we like, Red Rooster from Old Field.

5.  2010 Assemblage          $50

This, clearly, is from the Grand Vintage tasting, and is very good, but not worth the price.  It is a blend, with 21% petit verdot, so it is a fairly big red.  Perhaps with time…?

6.  2010 Cabernet Franc Grand Vintage          $45

Interestingly, the aroma of this one once again reminds us of goldenrod honey.  The taste, however, is of cherry, with some woody notes, and is very fresh.  Our server notes that it will age well.  Good.

7.  05 Cabernet Sauvignon Tuthills Lane Vineyard         $60

They have three different parcels of land (of about 30 acres each), so this one is named for the particular place where the vines are grown.  The aroma is cherry and mineral, and the wine is dry but soft, with some lovely fruit flavors.  We are informed that Robert Parker gave it a 90, and the quote from him is almost delirious.  Perhaps he got a bit carried away?

8.  07 Merlot Tuthills Lane Vineyard          $60

Not much aroma to this one, with some fruit/berry taste and some wood.  Parker (according to the tasting menu) described the taste as “cherry pit” and gave it a 92.  Not sure why.

But wait, there’s more!  Out on the patio, in the calm before the storm, they are selling platters of oysters, $20 for a dozen.  So we buy two glasses of the Dry Riesling ($6 each) and pay for a plate of oysters and enjoy the late October sun on the patio as we gaze out at the vineyard. The oysters are wonderful–essence of ocean!  Too good to even need a squirt of lemon, they are fresh and brimming with liquid, and come, we are told, from Peconic Bay right near Southold.  The wine goes perfectly with them, and I decide this is a great way to start celebrating my birthday (which I will continue that evening with dinner at Noah’s in Greenport).

Reasons to visit:  Pleasant tasting room with well-informed servers (and buses and limos by appointment only); Festival Red, Dry Riesling; oysters if they have them.

Waters Crest 8/11/12

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with , , , , , , , ,

http://www.waterscrestwinery.com/

Waters Crest has probably the worst-located winery on the North Fork, in a strip mall around the corner from the Southold town dump, which is too bad, because their wines are generally quite good.  The tasting room is small but pleasant, with a selection of gift items including some cute t-shirts and a cheese tray for $9.99. Jim Waters makes all his own wines, but buys his grapes from local growers, not having his own vineyard.  He started as a home winemaker, and, as we’ve learned from talking to other winemakers, that’s often the first step to becoming a professional wine-maker. (The server, Jenny, also tells another couple how Jim was a volunteer at Ground Zero, and after that decided to follow his dream.)  We bonded with Jim and his wife on our first visit, when we discovered they had looked at and contemplated buying the house we eventually bought in Mattituck!

The tasting menu now includes all seven of their wines, for $15, or you can buy individual tastes of whites for $2 each or reds for $3 each.  We opt to share one tasting.

1)  2011 Rose          $24.99

This is a simple and refreshing rose, with a fresh strawberry aroma and taste, fairly tart.

2)  2011 Chardonnay          $18.99

Although it is steel fermented, it has some interesting notes of vanilla and caramel which makes us wonder if it spent any time in oak, though Jenny says no.  It has a pleasantly lemony finish.

3)  2010 Reserve Chardonnay          $25.99

Delicious.   A somewhat smoky, mineral aroma makes us wonder how this will taste, but the wine has a nice balance of fruit and is not too oaky.  Jenny says it spent 10 months in new French oak barrels.

4)  2008 Merlot          $39.99

We get new glasses for the reds, always a nice touch.  This is a lovely soft Merlot, with a berry aroma and dark plum flavor, without too much of the North Fork dirt flavor.  Not much in the way of tannins.

5)  Due Sorelle          $34.99

Two sisters–named for the Waters’ daughters Michelle and Lauren–combines two wines, Merlot and Cabernet Franc to good effect, with lots of yummy pepper and fruit flavors including cherry.  Mild and mellow, this is dry despite the good fruit flavors.

6)  2008 Campagnia Rosso          $49.99

This is a right bank Bordeaux blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Petit Verdot.  The aroma is somewhat funky and off-putting (earthworm?) though the taste is better than the aroma. However, it is not our favorite of the wines.

7)  2007 Cabernet Franc Grand Vin          $39.99

Though the aroma of this is also somewhat earthy, the flavor is excellent, lots of ripe fruit with some mineral on the finish.  We buy a bottle!

Reasons to visit:  some nice wines, especially the 07 Cab Franc Grand Vin and 10 Reserve Chard; intimate setting, with the frequent chance to chat with the owner.

Bedell Cellars 8/7/12

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting, Uncategorized and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

http://www.bedellcellars.com/

If someone ever gives an award to a winery for attention to design, Bedell should get it.  From the pretty flower-surrounded parking lot to the attractive type-face of their signs to the arty labels on their wines, it is clear that someone is paying attention to appearance, and doing it very well.  The tasting room is well-designed, and the outside veranda lovely.  Even the servers wear a “uniform”–checked shirts with the Bedell logo.  Happily, the wines are equally well-designed!  We are here on a warm late summer afternoon with our daughter, son-in-law, and a now 14-month-old distraction, so not all of my notes are as comprehensive as they could be.  However, many of the technical details of their wines are readily available on their web page.

There are two tasting options (as well as the usual ability to buy wines by the glass or the bottle):   The Estate tasting includes 5 wines from their lower priced line for $10, while the Premium tasting gives you 5 tastes of their higher priced wines for $15.  We opt for one flight per couple, with one pair trying the premium and the other the estate so we can taste all ten wines.  The pour is small, but since we are there at the end of the day (4:30), a couple of times we get the benefit of a little extra to empty a bottle!  The servers are very knowledgeable and pleasant, and we also enjoy chatting with another young couple with a baby in tow, and our granddaughter enjoys meeting the calm and very friendly golden lab who is allowed into the room just to say hello.

Estate Tasting:

1)  2010 First Crush White          $18

This is a mostly steel-fermented blend of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling that is light and tart and refreshing.  The aroma is of mineral and chalk, and the fruit is subtle but there, with a pleasant dryness.

2)  2011 Chardonnay          $25

The server explains that this wine spends some time in neutral oak barrels (in other words, in barrels that have already been used for previous fermentations, and so have lost much of their oaky taste) in order to give the wine a better texture, and indeed, it does have a pleasant mouth feel.  The tasting notes also point out that beach stones are used in the casks, which we learn help to keep the cask full.  How much, if anything, they do for the flavor is debatable.  The flavor is pleasantly citrusy.

3)  2011 Taste Rose          $18

This is a light, fairly nondescript blend of Merlot, Cab Franc and Cab Sauv.   Can’t compete with Croteaux’s roses.

4)  2010 First Crush Red          $18

This is a Beaujolais Nouveau style of light red, and would be nice slightly chilled with a roast chicken.  The aroma has some of that North Fork earthiness, but it tastes better than it smells.

5)  2009 Merlot          $20

Nice berry aroma, and a typical Long Island Merlot, though without the earth flavor that is sometimes too prevalent.

Premium Tasting

1)  2011 Sparkling Rose          $35

This is NOT a champagne-style sparkling wine, but rather one made by injecting CO2 into the tanks.  It is a refreshing blend of Cab Sauv, Cab Franc, and Merlot, but tastes a bit too much like a pink soda to me.

2)  2011 Viognier          $35

Winner!  This is a delicious white with lots of citrus and pleasing amount of complexity, despite a somewhat funky aroma.  Since I have no earlier notes on this wine, my guess is it is a new one for Bedell.

3)  2010 Gallery         $40

The Viognier grape also appears in this blend, which adds Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc to the mix.  The aroma reminds me of lemon candy, and the taste has a sweetness of ripe fruit to it, but it is a pleasant wine.

4)  2010 Taste Red          $35

Yum.  The server notes that this was aged for 12 months, and is a Bordeaux-style blend of Merlot, Syrah, Petit Verdot, Cab Franc, and Malbec.  The aroma is intensely berry berry, and the taste is lovely, with lots of fruit but dry.  Good tannins.

5)  Musee          $75  (!)

This rather pricey wine is also a Bordeaux blend, with an aroma of coffee and plum.  It spends 14 months in a combination of oak and old oak, and is a blend of Merlot, Cab Sauv, and Petit Verdot.  Though it is a good wine, with some complexity and good fruit flavor and a nice finish, we feel it is not worth the price.

Our son-in-law buys the First Crush Red, a good choice, we all agree.

Reasons to visit:  beautiful room and attractive labels; good though expensive wines; First Crush Red.

Mattebella Vineyards

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with , , , , , , , ,

http://www.mattebellavineyards.com/

May 19, 2012

I’m catching up on past entries, made before I started this blog.  We visited Mattebella on a beautiful sunny day, our second visit.  This is a fairly new winery, and when we came last year we were almost the only ones there, but now it is more crowded.  Chris, who with her husband owns and operates the winery, remembers us.  She’s lovely–very friendly and outgoing, happy to chat about her wines.  The vineyard is named for their children–Matt and Bella!  Although the tasting room is a tiny shack, they have plenty of chairs and tables on a rustic patio, close to the vines.  They have six wines, at $2-4 per taste, served in lovely round-bottomed glasses.  We opt to share a full flight.  Although Chris is being helped by John, who is very knowledgeable, service is slow.  We actually see one couple get up and leave, having not been served, but it is a lovely warm day and we are in no hurry.

1)  08 Chardonnay          $16

An aroma of honey and, surprisingly, spinach.  We taste apricot and red grapefruit, but it is a bit sweet.  Maybe too sweet to have with a meal…but it would make a good aperitif wine, as it is nice for sipping, with a pleasant finish.

2) 09 Chardonnay          $17

A little plate of creamy brie and sliced baguette comes with this wine, and Chris urges us to taste it both before and after we have the brie. Good move.  The aroma is grassy, and a bit like white grape juice (I know, shocking, a drink made from grapes that smells like grape juice!).  The wine is tart with a light oak taste and some zingy acid at the finish.  After the brie, it is definitely less acid, with nice fruit as the flavors blend in the back of my mouth.  This wine is light, and good cold, and clearly good with brie.

Chris tells us that all their grapes are hand-picked, and they use all organic growing methods.

3) 2010 Rose          $16

This rose is 90% Merlot, with aroma and taste that reminds us of watermelon.  Actually, it reminds me of a watermelon infused with vodka I once had (and I’m not going to say anything more about that).  There’s a slight tingle, and it is a simple, nice wine, but not as good as Croteaux’s roses.

4)  Famiglia           $15

This is a good basic red table wine, which would be fine with pizza.  There’s an aroma of tobacco and dark fruits, and the taste is dry with some minerality.

5)  07 Old World Blend          $30

This is a Bordeaux blend–Merlot, Cab Franc, Cab Sauvignon, and Petit Verdot–and we bought a couple of bottles last time we were here.  The aroma includes tobacco and the earthy terroir typical of the North Fork.  The flavor is interesting, with some cherry, and a good balance of dry and sweet.

6)  08 Old World Blend          $30

Another blend–Merlot, Cab Sauvignon, and Cab Franc.  We are served a little plate of bread, cheese, and fig jam with this wine, and find that there is a fig taste in the wine that is enhanced by the fig jam.  Fascinating.  Other than that, we taste black cherry, and sense again a slight earth aroma.

We buy 2 bottles of Famiglia, one 09 Chardonnay, and one 08 Old World.  Now I just have to get some fig jam.  I wonder if Briermere carries it?

Reasons to visit:  personal service; the chance to see how some of the wines taste with food; support for a mostly-organic vineyard; Famiglia, 08 Old World Blend, 09 Chard.

Croteaux Winery

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with , , , ,

July 14, 2012:  Bastille Day, the perfect day to visit a French winery!

http://www.croteaux.com/

We are here after another day on the water with friends who like wine, but are not used to wine tastings.  They are a little surprised that you do have to pay for a tasting, and tend to violate the “drink these wines in this order” instructions, but otherwise enjoy the experience.  Croteaux is just off the main road, a little west of Greenport, and used to be somewhat undiscovered.    No more!  The parking lot (a grassy field bordered by rows of corn on one side and vines on another) is pretty full, and so is the tasting “room”–a lovely patio with umbrella-shaded tables and comfortable Adirondack chairs, bordered by a picturesque half-ruined barn.  However, the very competent and attractive young staff guides us swiftly to a table, and asks us if we would like some bread and cheese ($10).  A basket with slices of baguette and a crock of goat cheese quickly arrives.  There are two tasting options:  $10 for 3 of their $19 wines or $15 for 6 of all their wines (the more expensive group sells for $25 per bottle).  We easily decide that each couple will share a tasting of 6 wines.

1)  Merlot 181 (all named for their clones)

The server describes it as “summer in a glass,” and we agree.  It is a light, rosy rose, with a taste of unripe melon and a lemony finish.

2) Merlot 314

This has a lovely flowery aroma and a tart strawberry taste, with some hints of citrus.

3)  Merlot 3

The aroma is not too sweet but not unpleasant, and, even though it is 100% steel fermented seems to have a trace of vanilla.

As a transition between the two groups of three, our server turns over the little label in the tray that held the first three tastes (in attractive round-bottomed glasses) so that the next three are detailed.

4) 181 Sauvage

This wine uses the same Merlot clone as the other 181, but uses wild yeasts, and since Channing Daughter’s L’Enfant Sauvage is one of my favorite wines, I’m interested to see how this will taste.  (By using wild yeasts, the winemaker gives up a measure of control and sees what the air brings to the wine.)  The aroma has notes of mineral or clay, and though the flavor is more interesting than the 181, our friend dubs it “sour.”

5)  Chloe

This is a Sauvignon Blanc Rose with some Cabernet Franc as well.  We like it. The aroma reminds us of ripe peaches and the taste is dry but with plenty of fruit.  This is good, but not like what one expects a rose to be like.

6)  Jolie (French for pretty!)

This is a Cabernet Franc rose, a Bordeaux style, and my favorite of the afternoon, with lots of ripe strawberry/raspberry tastes.

That should be the end of our tasting, but we have a nice surprise in store.  In honor of Bastille Day, we are given free tastes of their two sparkling wines, the Cuvee Sparkle and the Cuvee Rouge Sparkling Cabernet Franc Rose, each $28 per bottle.  The first is light, made in what our server says is the French “charmat” style, and the second I really like, with tastes of lots of berries.  A final nice touch–as we sit and chat with our friends, the server brings a bottle of chilled water for us, a welcome treat on this hot day.  Tres civilized…

Reasons to visit:  great place to sit and relax on a warm day; best roses on the North Fork; you can pretend you’ve gone to France!

McCall’s Winery

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with , , ,

June 9, 2012

http://www.mccallwines.com/

This is a small winery where you are most likely to be served by Mr. and Mrs. McCall themselves, a lovely and very friendly couple, especially when it is not too busy—which unfortunately is not the case today, as there is a large party at one rustic picnic table and people at almost every other table.  This winery is right across the street from Pellegrini’s, and is located in a converted barn/stable that still keeps many of the features of its original use.  Our table, for example, is in a horse stall, with wood shavings underfoot, the aroma of which interferes a bit with the tasting!  (The McCalls also run a cattle ranch which provides high end beef, which may often be bought at Love Lane Market.)

We are here with our daughter and son-in-law and a small distraction of just over one year old, so we decide to share two tastings, an $8 flight of 3 wines and a $16 flight of 4 higher-end wines.  The pour here is generous.  They concentrate on reds, though they do have a couple of whites (which we did not taste).

1)      2011 Pinot Noir Rose                        $16

This is a pleasant, light, sipping wine, with some of the Long Island earthy aroma and not much fruit.

2)      2009 Pinot Noir                     $24

The aroma combines dark fruit with some oak.  This is a light burgundy, very pleasant, and would go well with a roast chicken.  It has some of that NoFo earthy terroir, but not too much, with nice black cherry flavor and a tart finish.

3)      2007 Pinot Noir Reserve       $60

Whew—expensive, and, we all agree, not worth it, though this does taste like a real burgundy, with lots of fruit flavor that lingers on the tongue.  There is a somewhat veggie aroma and the color is a lovely dark, um, burgundy.  We do agree that it has enough structure that it will probably cellar well.

4)      2007 Merlot                $30

This is a case where the wine is definitely worth the price.  Yummy, springs to mind.  Lots of dark ripe blackberry flavor right from the first taste, with some mid-tongue dryness and none of the earthy terroir.  Definitely buyable—which we do.

5)      2007 Ben’s Blend       $48

The aroma has that earth/dirt terroir.  Very dry, with nice fruit and some complexity.  I like it, but think it would taste better with food—like lamb chops.  However, everyone else prefers the 07 merlot.

Reasons to visit:  personalized service; good reds, especially the 07 Merlot and 07 Ben’s Blend.