Sparkling Pinot Blanc | NoFo Wineaux

September 13, 2024

*The merger is so new, they don’t have a permanent sign yet.*

It has been a beautiful week, so when our friends the winery aficionados texted us and asked if we would like to do a tasting, we quickly said yes. We were delighted to hear we’d be going to Lieb, since we hadn’t been there since February 2020, and we were curious to see if anything had changed since Russell Hearn et al bought the winery recently. Hearn has been the winemaker for Lieb since 1993, and he also had his own label, Suhru, with an intimate tasting room on Main Road. Now the two labels are combined into one location, on bucolic Oregon Road, right across the street from Oregon Road Organics.

*View of Oregon Road Organics. I’ll have to check it out some day.*

At the moment, the tasting menu has four options. One is just for Lieb Estate wines, another for just Suhru label wines, and two others that mix and match the two. In addition, our very knowledgeable and chatty server, Nate, told us we could sub any particular wine in or out of a list. Our friend is a member of the Lieb wine club, and was entitled to two free tastings, so we deferred to him. He decided to get the Lieb Estate flight, and we decided it would be fun to follow suit, so we could compare opinions. You get five tastes for $30 (if you’re not in the wine club!).

Nate informed us that in the future they will be editing these lists, to remove redundancies, and will probably use the Suhru label for some experimentation.

*I always appreciate it when they serve a bottle of water.*

After deciding on our flights, we turned our attention to the food menu, since it was lunch time. They have a well-curated list of cheeses and “accoutrements,” so we chose the 4 ounce serving of Beemster cheese, a well-aged Gouda from the Netherlands ($16), the smoked trout ($18), and Marcona almonds ($6). The food came out tastefully arranged on trays: a generous serving of cheese, plenty of crackers, a fillet of pink smoked trout, plus a scattering of dried apricots. Nate also brought us a bottle of nice cold water to share.

As we sipped and munched, we admired the beautiful setting, the warm day, and the pleasant patio where we sat and chatted. One topic was whether or not it made sense to grow pinot noir grapes on Long Island, since apparently they don’t do as well as other varietals. That means wine made here from them may be more expensive than it’s worth, which led to a discussion of the issue of price and value. I was thinking about merlot, one of the most prevalent grapes on the North Fork, local wine from which can be priced anywhere from about $11 to $75, or more. What makes one cost more than the other, and is it worth the difference?

*The flight, with plenty of wine for sharing.*

2021 Sparkling Pinot Blanc $58

It always feels very festive to start with a sparkler, so we clinked glasses and sipped. Nice aroma of ripe peaches, lots of fizzy small bubbles, good fruit flavors and not sweet. One friend commented that it was “good for celebratory occasions.” Good beginning!

2022 Pinot Blanc $26

The aroma of this one is similar to the previous wine, but the taste is very light. I think it would be overwhelmed by any strongly flavored food.

*The interior looks similar, but I remember some comfy couches the last time we were there.*

2021 Cabernet Franc $35

We got into a discussion of the various types of oak used for wine barrels—American, French, Hungarian—and I found it interesting to learn that each one has different characteristics, which influences how the wine aged in it tastes. So much to learn about wine-making! In any event, this is a “smooth” easy-to-drink red, with not much tannins. Not much fruit, either.

2020 Merlot $30

Despite what the movie “Sideways” opined, I like merlots, and this one is a fairly typical North Forker, with cherry aroma and flavor, and some light tannins. Very nice.

2020 Meritage $50

“Meritage” means this is a Bordeaux blend, and it is my favorite of the day. Lots of dark plum and mixed berry flavor, some tannins. Yummy.

Extra! We decide, since there are still some munchies, and the day is so fine, to get a bottle of something else, and take home whatever we don’t finish. Nate brings us three little samples and an extra cup, so we can decide. We try the Suhru cabernet franc, the Lieb cab franc, and a syrah (which may be the Suhru shiraz, which is the same grape by a different name). The syrah is just okay—not enough depth for me. But, surprisingly, since our friend and I often have different tastes in wine, we both like the Suhru cab franc, which has a hint of green pepper at the end. We decide that the most important question when choosing a wine is, “Do I like this?” We like it.

Reasons to visit: location off the beaten track, with no limos or buses allowed; beautiful bucolic setting, with a comfy patio and pleasant tasting room; the sparking pinot blanc, the Meritage, and the Suhru cabernet franc; nice selection of cheeses and nibbles.

http://liebcellars.com/

No sitting on the patio today!

Our dear friends had come for a rare visit, and we wanted to do a tasting where we could sit comfortably and chat while we sipped, so we braved the puddles on Oregon Road and headed to Lieb Cellars. Our friends were quite charmed with the room at Lieb, with its comfy couches and living-room-like groupings of seats around coffee tables. We spent a leisurely afternoon tasting and talking, a brief escape from the continuous rain of this February.

The somewhat industrial style of the building makes the warm and welcoming interior a pleasant surprise.

We also enjoyed contemplating the art on the walls, which was for sale. There is a separate room which could be a nice venue for a small party or a large group tasting.

We had the room to ourselves, except for a pair of women who ordered a cheese tray and glasses of wine. Lieb has a very nice list of meats and cheeses one can use to customize a snack board, but we had just had some delicious tomato soup from 8 Hands, and were not hungry. We were, however, happy to sip the water Jessica, the server, brought us in a chilled bottle.

The flight menu offers three options: four whites for $16, four reds for $16, or the Lieb Estate flight of five of their estate wines for $22. Since the first two flights include Bridge Lane wines which we have had at the Bridge Lane tasting room, on the corner of Cox Neck Road, we opted for the Lieb Estate flight, while our friend, who generally prefers reds, ordered the red flight. Our designated driver opted for a glass of non-alcoholic sparkling lemonade, which was served to him in a pretty champagne flute, and which he said was quite good.

Sparkling lemonade!

2017 Sparkling Pinot Blanc $38

Our three whites came all on one round terracotta tray, with clear labels for the order in which to drink them. I wondered how long the sparkler had been open, since it barely bubbled. We had no guidance from the very pleasant server as to the details of each wine, but the website informs me that it is made using the méthode champenoise. We taste and smell green apples, plus something a touch woodsy and funky, with lemon at the end. Pleasant, but not as exciting as a bubbly wine should be.

They give you a fairly generous pour.

2016 Pinot Blanc $24

This is a very, very light white; in fact, my husband describes it as “barely there.” I get lemon and minerals.

2018 Chardonnay $28

Fermented in a combination of steel and neutral oak, this chardonnay has only a touch of butter. It is smooth, with lots of pineapple taste. Not bad at all.

The reds from the estate flight (minus a couple of sips).

2017 Merlot $30

Now we get our three reds, again in a labeled tray, starting with the merlot. This is a fairly typical North Fork merlot, with the expected cherry flavors and aromas, though there is a whiff of chemicals in the smell. It is soft and drinkable. Not at all a challenge.

The red flight.

*Red Blend $20

The Red Blend is part of the red flight, and we sip from our friend’s glass. It is a soft, fruity, very drinkable red, described on the website as a Bordeaux blend. Our friend characterizes it as a “cheese and crackers” wine, and my tasting buddy adds, “You could drink a lot of this before you fell over.” At Bridge Lane you can get this in a box as well as a bottle.

It was nice to have chilled water to cleanse our palates between tastes.

2018 Cabernet Franc $35

We get into a discussion, trying to characterize the aroma of this wine, and settle on something vegetal, though there is some disagreement over whether it is celery and fennel or Brussels sprouts. It is a dry red, with some tannins, dark fruit taste, a touch of nutmeg, and nice acidity. I like it the best of the wines we try.

The array of Lieb Estate wines.

2018 Petit Verdot $45

Sometimes I like petit verdot, and sometimes it just doesn’t knock my socks off. This is the latter. We sniff and get forest floor, mint, and mushrooms. The taste includes blackberries and tobacco, but my husband opines it “lacks gravitas.” Since 2018 was a good year locally, I wonder whether it just needs more time to age. As we discuss our summary impressions, he adds that perhaps the winemaker is too conservative. The winemaker is Russell Hearn, who has his own label of Suhru wines, which we liked better. Perhaps he should bring some of that creativity and risk-taking to these wines, if the owners will let him.

You can just tell from the labels that the Bridge Lane wines are meant to be taken less seriously.

Reasons to visit: comfortable and attractive tasting room off the beaten track; nice menu of cheeses and meats; the Estate Chardonnay, the Red Blend, the Estate Cabernet Franc. Note that they accept reservations, not a bad idea in the busy season, but certainly not needed during the week in the winter!

NoFo Wineaux

Wine notes from Long Island's North Fork

Tag Archives: Sparkling Pinot Blanc

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