(I haven't posted here in a long time. I haven't posted ANYWHERE in a long time. Have still been drinking wine.)
BOUKÉ, White, North Fork of Long Island, 2008, $17; SHINN ESTATES, Coalescence, North Fork of Long Island, 2009, $14
Two new wine producers from the North Fork of Long Island, two vintages, two white blends. I came across both these companies at a tasting about 18 months ago and vowed to pick up these bottles if ever I saw them; on a recent trip back to Brooklyn (ostensibly part of Long Island) I got my chance.
The Bouké white comes in an alluring label that sets the scene for the wine itself, a stainless steel fermented blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc and just 7% Gewurztraminer. The color is a pale straw yellow; the nose immediately gives away the Gewurztraminer content. It’s amazing how much even a dash of this grape can affect a wine; I’ve tasted a different Long Island producer’s Chardonnay that was transformed by just 1% of the Alsacian grape. There's a tropical fruit flavor thing going on here: pineapple plus tangerine and orange. Some jasmine and quince. Surprisingly low acidity and very light on the palate (only 12.5% alcohol), but the finish is quite delicious with the subtle return of the Gewurztraminer’s full body on the finish. Not desperately complex but very fruit forward and refreshing. A good wine.
The Shinn Estates Coalesence, whose label represents a color-coded chart of the winery’s grape planting, is also stainless steel fermented, this one a blend of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot Blanc, and Riesling. Understandably perhaps, it’s lighter and simpler than the Bouké, with considerably more acidity, almost to the point of bubbliness. The nose offers the pungent green apple of Riesling and some of the sharp green gooseberry/nettle notes of a Sauvignon Blanc. Green and fresh all round, with sharp fruit, its vitality is almost prickly. I didn’t get much by way of Chardonnay on the palate, the way I might well have guessed it formed the basis of the Bouké. Much though I admire Shinn’s philosophy, and even allowing that it’s priced a few dollars cheaper than the Bouké, it is a significant drop in quality. But in a heatwave like this summer, when we’re eating lots of freshly picked green vegetables (at least I am) and reserving the bigger and bolder wines for cooler times, it serves its purpose.