We tasted these three whites & three reds last week at out Pig+Fig tasting:
1. Don Giovanni Wines Riesling GoldLabel Seneca Lake (13.87%; RS: 2.75%) NV: Med.dark gld color; some earthy bit oxidative/aged/pungent some floral/R/mango bit metallic slightly reductive/ozone/acrid bit stony/chalky rather old German R quite complex/savory nose; soft bit oxidative/old German R pungent slightly off-dry some pineapple/mango/R slight tangy/metallic quite exotic/complex flavor; very long/lingering finish that mirrors flavor; a very exotic/savory/saline expression of R a bit like an old German R.
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2. Don Giovanni Wines Riesling RedStripe Seneca Lake (13.76%; RS: 2.75%; + few cherries additions ; www.SilverSpringsWinery.com) V&B by SilverSpringsWnry/Mattituck/NY NV: Med. watermelon/cranberry/rose color; bit earthy/dusty quite cherry some floral/mango/R slight oxidative very interesting/exotic savory complex nose; bit soft rather cherry/dusty/earthy bit off-dry some floral/mango/R/pineapple slight oxidative very exotic flavor; very long/lingering savory finish that mimics flavor; a bit like an old German R w/ a very exotic touch of cherries; quite an interesting expression of R.
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3. Don Giovanni Wines Red Riesling Exodus Seneca Lake (13.99%; ; RS: 2.35%; Frmtd w/ skins of a red grape; First Red Reisling in USA) NV: Rather cranberry/rose color; some earthy/dusty some floral/mango/R bit herbal some spicy/cranberry/appley rather complex/exotic nose; lightly tart/tangy some cranberry/floral/spicy slightly off-dry slight tangy/metallic rather savory/saline rather exotic/complex flavor w/ slight tannic bite; very long/lingering finish that mimics flavor; only a slight resemblance to R; a quite exotic/interesting savory rose that reminds a bit of Piemonte Brachetto; my favorite of these 6 wines because of its exotic character.
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4. Don Giovanni Wines Tri-Dition RedStripe NYState (13.88%; CabFranc+CabSauv/Merlot/Malbec/PetiteVerdot + hidden white grape; 50 btls) NV: Dark color w/ slight bricking; slight oxidative/cedary/pencilly some earthy/herbal/CabFranc bit old Bdx quite interesting fairly complex nose; bit soft rather earthy/dusty/loamy some old Bdx bit herbal/loamy/CabFranc slightly rustic rather interesting flavor w/ modest raspey tannins; very long finish that mirrors flavor; speaks of CabFranc and resembles more Loire CabFranc than anything else in the US; atypical of he NY CabFrancs I've tried.
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5. Don Giovanni Wines Tri-Dition White Stripe Zion Family Blend NYState (13.87%; Malbec+ CabSauv/Merlot/PetitVerdot/CabFranc)
NV: Med.dark color w/ slight bricking; rather earthy/dusty some herbal/Malbec bit old Bdx some cedary/pencilly bit complex nose; bit soft somewhat smoother/more balanced more youthful bit rustic somewhat herbal/Malbecearthy/loamy flavor w/ modest gentle tannins; very long finish that mirrors the flavor; my slight favorite of the reds; the difference between these two reds is pretty subtle; both resemble an older Languedoc Cab w/ their earthy/herbal character.
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6. Don Giovanni Wines CabSauv NewYorkState (13.92%; 7.5% Merlot/CabFranc) NV: Dark color; quite herbal/bit vegetal rather earthy/loamy some Bdx-like/herbal light toasty/oak more classic NYState Cab nose; very tart rather austere somewhat herbal/CS/bit vegetal slight ripe/blackcurranty bit Bdx-like slight oak bit complex flavor w/ modest grippy/coarse tannin; long bit rough/herbal finish that reflects flavor; resembles more the herbal/cold-climate NY reds that I'm familiar with; another interesting red.
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More loiserfrick from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. DonGiovanni/SilverSprings is the up-State NY wnry of John Zuccarino. I met John on several of the wine boards we both participated in some 15-20 yrs ago. His posts were sometimes a bit abrasive and would often piss some folks off & rub them the wrong way, but I used to follow everything he said and felt, by & large, they were pretty thoughtful & thought-provoking posts. But he dropped off posting on the wine boards some yrs ago & I'd kinda lost track of John.
Then, a bit over a month ago, a Facebook Messenger message dropped into my incommings from John asking me if I'd like to taste some of his recent wines. I, of course, jumped at the chance. I don't get much of a chance to taste NYState wines. Most importantly, he has the only planting (that I'm aware of) of the Red version of Riesling in the USofA. That very much intrigued me. I'd never heard of a Red version of Riesling, but apparently there are some who believe the Red version preceeded the much more common white version. There are some details of the German experience w/ Red Riesling:
https://www.hessen-tourismus.de/en/insp ... d-riesling
John's winemaking rather intrigues me. They are all labeled as non-vintage, so I assume he's doing some blending from year to year. But they were all pretty atypical of the NYState wines which I've had over the yrs. And not in a bad way. John is clearly marching to the beat of his own drummer.
I liked the three Rieslings a bit more than the reds. They all three had a savory/slight oxidative (in a good way) character the showed hints of old German Reislings. They were not at all like most of the NYS Rieslings that I've tried that show a distinct stony minerality to them.
As for Red Riesling, I haven't a clue as to what that grape is like. I think John, in his attempt to make the best possible wine he can, probably obscurs the character with his winemaking. I guess I would like to see it made as a direct-to-press white more like a PinotGris Ramato in order to figure out if it's a grape to become excited about. May not be the best wine you could make...but it'd give you more of an idea of its character and what it can deliver.
The reds were a bit more of what I was expecting from those wines. They all three showed a lot of the herbal/earthy character I often find in NYS reds. The blending seems to give them a slight old Bdx character, a bit of an old Languedoc red character. Actually, the reds made an excellent accompainment to Laura's Carne Adovado Special that night.
So.....quite an interesting bunch of wines. To really appreciate them, I think you have to toss your expectations for NYS wines out the door and take them for what they're worth on their own merits. Which is always good advice for trying wines.
So...thank you John for sharing your efforts with us. The wines were generally well-received by my folks. They certainly expanded my horizons. I need to visit you sometime as I've never ventured into UpState NY.
Tom