My father and uncle don't need flags on their graves to memorialize the sacrifice they made in their over 4 years of service to this country during WWII and I am quite sure they didn't miss having one placed above them while residing in the deep, dark earth. They gave to this country in yet another war-to-end-all-wars and never received a 'thank you' or even ever took advantage of the new GI benefits offered. Truly, they belonged to the 'Greatest Generation' and I fall short of measuring up to the standards they had. Instead of empty platitudes, I am quite sure the greatest gift would have been that war was never an issue, something never to sprout up from the minds and hearts of men. But alas, human nature fails, constantly. What better way to start Memorial Day weekend than by celebrating the blood of the earth, wine itself (by Jove!) to represent the spilt blood of the generations upon the Earth? And what better than to have a fellow traveler to do this with?
And so, Steve came up for another visit to points north. I'll get to the Finger Lakes wineries we visited later, first, I'd like to go over the wines we had with our meal of potatoes, salt cod, and littlenecks. Of course other things too, but it was mainly a simple affair, but with good wines.
For starters, Steve brought an Aubry, Champagne, Brut, premier cru, NV, disgourged April 2006 that was all appleskin and apple pomice that filled out and became a little more complex with air. Drinking very nicely now. Next up, we popped a Emidio Pepe, Trebbiano d'Abruzzo, 2001 (no. 3675 in the GREEN bottle, not to be confused with the BROWN bottlings from different importers--no idea if this matters, but the insides of the wine even looked different!) which was a bronzed gold color, had a muted nose and flavor of lemon and dragon fruit water wash, very light, diaphanous textured. This was beautiful on night one, but quickly lost it's charm subsequent nights, turning to a hop-filled ale by the 3rd night. The Christian Moreau, Chablis 'les Clos', 2004 couldn't have been more different. This was a wine that transformed with time, during the evening and even later, at first revealing a fresh spearmint-minty thyme-marjoram nose that morphed into butter, soft yellow fruits, and finishing with air into a soft mushroom pillow. I really liked this, during the night and the next few nights (yes, it really lasted that long). Very beautiful, and better with air and time. Lastly, we need our reds, and had one in a Chateau Musar, Bekaa Valley, 1995. This was firing on all cylinders this night, with a beautiful nose of cardamom pods and rose water. A lovely melange of cherry fruit and sweet fruits, incense, very clean, intoxicating flavor, impeccable balance. Perhaps a tad, and only a tad, volatility, but here, in Serge Hochar's hands, it adds a greater dimension. Great stuff and I award it an "A" for being such a good sport.
...earlier in the day, some winery visits, only the highlights and 'Just the Facts, Ma'am':
Red Tail Ridge
I've never been to this winery before, but have heard good things about what these transplanted Californians are doing and wanted to check them out. Trying the chardonnay (2011), riesling (2009), pinot noir(2010) it left me wanting. They are good and well made, but nothing to make me stand up and rip my shirt off. However, their work with bringing some weird-shit varieties to NYS shows promise. I enjoyed their Dornfelder, Balufrankisch, and Teroldego and think these have potential(2009). They make several sparklers which they didn't taste, but I'll probably try the sparkling teroldego one of these days.
Anthony Road
I have a slight bias to this winery and have pretty much liked what they have done since the first year I tasted here. They are doing good things and making good wines, particularly in their 'Martini-Reinhardt Selection' wines, which show the potential and promise of Finger Lakes winemaking and are truly wines you would want to cellar beyond briefly. I was most taken with the Dry Rose of Cabernet Franc (2011), quite dry and reminiscent of Baudry's rose. The cabernet franc/lemberger blend (2010) showed more varietaly cabernet than lemberger, but a good mix and a 1-2 year ager. I wasn't as impressed with this year's (2009?) high-end dry riesling Tierce; it just seemed a little too austere without friendliness. I was, however, quite taken with the two upper-end rieslings the 2009 Art Series [RS 1.6%, 11.5% alc.] and the 2009 Martini-Reinhardt Riesling [RS 5.7%, 8.9% alc.].
Hermann J. Weimer
I usually like this wineries offerings, particularly it's rieslings, but today they were not tasting higher-end wines and I wasn't too enthralled with the ones they did have. Perhaps the best for me was the 2010 Late Harvest Riesling [4.5% RS], very much along the apricot fruit spectrum of flavors.
Ravines
On Kueka Lake, another perennial favorite of mine, there is good, knowledgeable winemaking going on here. Favorites were the 2010 Sauvignon Blanc from local grapes(!), at only 12% alcohol a wonder, the 2010 Cabernet Franc in a light vein and the 2008 Meritage, a very well-balanced lighter red that can go for 3-4 years.
McGregor Vineyard
Also on Keuka Lake, this place has always done things their own way, and I respect that, but then, I never find myself buying their wines either. The view from their high atop the hill vineyard is picture perfect, they sit you down, give you some cheese and bread, and you never feel rushed tasting their wines. Very relaxing place to visit. With 30 wines to choose from, it can be hard to decide or focus on what their specialty may be, but with some of the only Sereksiya and Saperavi blends out there in the entire country, you know you want to try them. I like what they are trying to do with these varieties, but wish they would dial the oak back a bit, because they do have interesting material underneath.