WTN: Bdx, Nahe, Finger Lakes

With a friend I was delivering communally bought wine to, the 2006 Ch. Beychevelle (St Julien) from half bottle. Edging towards the modern, a somewhat glossy sheen of oak over an otherwise well balanced wine. Cassis, a little coffee, some St Julien earth. Medium bodied, good finish, fairly solid. B

Betsy was in city for a Sufi universal worship (not near Ground Zero! No radicals! Peace and love!) Sunday while I prepared dinner. She alerted me as she passed Yankee stadium so timing worked easily. Grilled shrimp with tzatziki, roasted vegetables, salad, and the 2009 Donnhoff Riesling QbA. Lovely rendition of the estate bottling this year. Fresh, light, on the sweeter side of off-dry (sorry Tim). Good acidity, full fruit despite an overwhelming sense of lightness, nice length. Apple, citrus, slate. Good finish, quite nice, will get more. Holds up well overnight. B+/B

David heads back to Scotland today, we met his girlfriend's parents for the first time at a little birthday dinner for her at Sweetgrass Grill in Tarrytown. I had excellent pea/edamame soup and a decent burger, along with a glass of the 2009 Red Tail Ridge Rose. Not sure I've had a Finger Lakes rose before, this was pretty good actually. Dry, some body to it, fairly dark for rose. Cherries and cranberries, good acids, brisk bordering on austere, maybe needs a little more on finish, but that's a quibble in a moderately priced rose. A good versatile food wine. B/B-

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency. 

Blimey, "off-dry". That makes two of us who have muttered these two words on the quiet!

Earlier this summer I was kicking around the Finger Lakes and stopped in at Red Tail Ridge for a tasting. They have only been around a few years, but have made some substantial investments - among them a LEED certified production building and interesting vineyards (among the grapes: Teroldego). The winemaker/owner was once a VP for enology (IIRC) at a major west coast winery that begins with a "g" and ends with an "o", but we won't hold that against her.

On that trip I was hoping to find a decent FL rose, but none emerged. I did taste one at Red Tail, but I can't recall if it was the '09. I did pick up their '08 estate Pinot, which is light and fragrant, and one of the first from their own grapes. I suspect the rose you tasted was the result of a sagnee performed to beef up the '09 PN, since we are talking about young vines in a cool vintage. The rieslings and non-oaked chard are also very nice. A place to watch.