Back to Roanoke Vineyards

Our first visit to Roanoke Vineyards on the North Fork of Long Island was during Taste Camp 2009 last May when we tasted with owner/vineyard manager Richard Pisacano. (on the first visit post there is a video of Richard giving a good history of Roanoke) We had a fantastic time and used our visit to Long Island in October to revisit them and taste through the rest of their portfolio. We met up with Adam Ehmer aka @oldgrimy and he tasted us through about 7 wines including a few unreleased wines, in decanters labeled with masking tape. The experience was also paired with a nice cheeseboard and baguette. I don’t remember what cheeses they were, but the complimented the wines nicely – and helped keep the palate from getting fatigued.

….on to the wines!

2008 Rose (cab sauv, cab franc, merlot, 25% Chardonnay): lot of strawberry and watermelon on the nose with similar palate including hints of fresh hay and raspberry. Full body and crisp.

2008 Chardonnay (84% in stainless, 16% oak aged blended in): very tropical in nature, very fruity almost “sweet”. Bit of citrus in the mid-palate with hay and mineral notes leading to a clean finish.

2007 Marco Tulio (50% Cab Sauv, 50% Cab Franc, splash of Merlot – 12 months in oak): bright fruit leading off with black currant and boysenberry both on the nose and palate. Great layers of tobacco, leather and hazelnut with interesting touch of lavender towards the finish. Full bodied with rich leathery tannins.

2006 Gabby’s Cabernet Franc (92% cab franc, 8% merlot – 20 months in 50% new French oak): dark ripe fruit flavors, blackberry, black currant and baking spices dominating the nose. Similar fruit on the palate, but more red fruit coming through predominately raspberry with notes of cooked greens. Full body.

2006 “Blend One” (80% Cab Sauv, didn’t write down the rest of the blend): black fruit and earthiness on the nose. Leather, blackberry, mocha and coffee bean on the palate with an crazy note of mint chutney at the finish. Lovely flavor profile but felt a bit light/thin in the mid – palate.

2006 Cabernet Sauvignon (88% Cab Sauv, 9% Cab Franc, 3% Merlot): the aromatics greet you with black cherry, and boysenberry with dark chocolate interlaced. Full bodied palate with blackberry, eucalyptus and cardamom. Still young – think it will drink better down the road – huge tannins.

2007 Cabernet Franc (94% cab franc, 6% merlot): old world style, with red cherry, red currant and hints of earthy barnyard notes on the nose. More red currant on the palate with bing cherry, red clay and spice box flavors continuing through the finish. Still a baby (wasn’t released at time of sample) with huge tannins and great acid backbone – age worthy Cabernet Franc.

After tasting, Adam poured us a glass of our choice (cab franc for me) and took us on a tour of the vineyard. Sampling a few grapes here and there we walked up and down the vines, dodging the always startling blast from the bird deterring air cannons. It was the last tasting of our 2^nd day in Long Island and a great finish to the day to say the least. I hope to get some of the ‘07 Cabernet Franc before it runs out now that it is released but I did bring home some of my other favorites including the Gabby’s Cab Franc and the Marco Tulio. Both are resting nicely down in the cellar – I’ll try to hold on to them as long as possible, it’ll will be fun to see these guys age.

My first tasting of a Roanoke wine was at the first Wine Bloggers Conference (WBC) in October ‘08 at an after hours tasting of New York wines provided by Lenn Thompson of The New York Cork Report. After meeting Adam he let me know that I was quoted on their release flyer for the ‘06 Cabernet Franc, the wine that I had tasted at the WBC.

Here’s what I thought of it –

Having only had one or two unmemorable New York wines (before) I was excited to get the opportunity to taste a good sampling from the state. Being from Virginia where Cabernet Franc does extremely well I was most eager to see how New York compared. I have to say that I was impressed with the unhampered expression of the varietal. (The winemakers) aren’t trying to make a Cabernet Sauvignon from Cabernet Franc. The one that stuck out in my radar the most was 2006 Roanoke Vineyards Cabernet Franc from Long Island. Nice bright red fruit aromas on the nose laced with a touch of wet earth followed by raspberry-cherry and the tell tale raw green pepper flavors.

As you can tell, I’ve been a fan of their wines since my first tasting and couple that with a first class tasting room experience, I will definitely return the next time I am in Long Island.

Thanks to Adam for the great time – hope to visit again soon.

Cheers!

Tuesday Quick Sip – 2007 Nautique “Esprit de Rouge”

Nautique is a second label of Peconic Bay winery on the North Fork of Long Island, a little more value oriented brand meant for every day consumption. Currently they make a “Esprit de Rouge” and an “Esprit de Blanc”, and we picked up both during our visit to Long Island back in October.

2007 Nautique “Esprit de Rouge”

Wine Information -

Region: North Fork, Long Island

Grapes: 95% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Cabernet Franc

Oak Program: Info not available, although based on the taste I was assume neutral or 2^nd/3^rd use barrels for a short time

Price: $16

My Tasting Notes -

Nose: cherry, raspberry, cola

Taste: black cherry, vanilla, licorice

Mouthfeel: medium body, with velvety but structured tannins

Finish: medium in length and fruity

Nice everyday wine that is ready to drink young, and went great with our pizza. Nothing too complex about the wine, but I believe that is how it was “built” and what it was meant to be. Lots and lots of cherry, with hints of cola and licorice to balance out the fruitiness. This wine has a decent distribution on the East Coast so if you live in NY, NJ, and CT – you should be able to find it.

Cheers!

Happy New Year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I hope you all have a safe and happy New Years Eve, enjoyed with family and friends and of course some great Champagne!

Review of the 2007 Finca La Linda Bonarda

Finca La Linda is a second label for Luigi Bosca, who’s Malbecs I have had in the past and quite enjoyed. I was sent some wines from the La Linda label for review and the Bonarda is the first one I tried. I think I have only had one other 100% Barnarda in the past so I don’t have much of a reference point, although I have had dozens of wines in which the grape was part of the blend. The wine had excellent structure – good acidity and tannins – but the flavor profile just wasn’t for me.

Wine Information –

Region: Mendoza, Argentina (Lujan de Cuyo)

Grapes: 100% Bonarda

Oak Program: 6 months in American Oak

Alcohol: 14% ABV

Price: $10-$11

My Tasting Notes –

Nose: raisin, plum, cooked fruit, portish

Taste: portish, cooked, bit of mocha and blackberry towards the finish

Mouthfeel: full body, peppery – leathery tannins

Finish: decent length although the lingering cooked fruit wasn’t too enjoyable

Definitely some interesting flavor notes, but the dominance of cooked fruit and weak port flavors just wasn’t appealing to me – at least in a table wine. I was hoping that the La Linda line would be not to far off from Luigi Bosca, but so far it is. Maybe the Malbec will be better!

Cheers!

Quick Sip on a Wednesday with the 2006 Elizabeth Spencer Cabernet Sauvignon

2006 Elizabeth Spencer Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

Wine Information -

Appellation: Napa Valley

Sub-Appellations: St. Helena, Howell Mountain, Yountville, Oakville, Rutherford, and Mt. Veeder

Grapes: 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc

Cooperage: 20 months in 100% French Oak

Price: $32

My Tasting Notes –

Nose: boysenberry, black currant jam, roasted meat, brown sugar and suede

Taste: blackberry, sweet cedar, eucalyptus, mocha, black currant

Mouthfeel: full body, leathery to dusty tannins, just a bit spicy

Finish: long and tight – black currant flavors dominating the finish

The Cab was very good and I have enjoyed almost all of the Elizabeth Spencer wines I’ve tasted. The 2006 Napa Cab is still young though it is does taste good now. The structure just needs a little more time to balance out, as it is still a little rough around the edges.

Cheers!

A little Sparkling to brighten your Monday.

Recently I had a chance to taste through some great Champagne’s and sparklers from around the world. It’s that time of year that Champagnes will (hopefully) start to fly off the shelf, so I thought I would write about a few of my favorites. I always find these tastings the “hardest” because for me, discerning one really good sparkler from another is usually a fine line. To me I think the biggest difference isn’t with flavor or aroma but texture and weight (mouthfeel), the ones that I tend to like better are fuller bodied with nice tight bubbles. I also got to join the likes of Jay-Z and sip on the “famous” Ace of Spades.

Here is a sampling of what we got to taste…

NV Ruinart Brut Blanc de Blanc ($77) – extremely bubbly, very tight bubbles, medium body, interesting rose and pear flavor combination, light bread basket aromas

NV Gloria Ferrer Va de Vi Cuvee ($19) – full body, medium to small bubble size, lots of fruit with apple core and lemon rind predominating with fondant flavor on the back of the palate

NV Nicolas Feuillatte ($34.75) – med/full body, loads of tight bubbles, rich yeasty “breadiness”, apple, pear and citrus.

NV Armand Brignac Brut Gold (Ace of Spades) ($325) – very interesting flavor of ginger, creamed corn and apple pie. For me it was a little to light on the mouthfeel, but had nice tight pin prick bubbles.

NV Perrier Jouet Grand Brut ($50) – excellent structure, loads of very small bubbles, rich mid-palate, med/full body, flavors of sourdough, hay, Asian Pear, and grape must

We tasted about 22 sparklers in total but these were my favorites of the evening.

Cheers!

Another winning Cabernet Franc from the North Fork

On a slightly chilly rainy October day in Cutchogue, New York Megan and I made our way into the tasting room at Peconic Bay Winery. This was our first visit to the winery and we were shown a great time by Pascal Zugmeyer, Hospitality Director and Jim Silver, General Manager. We tasted through the entire lineup of Peconic wines, including their new more value based line Nautique. On the day I felt the 2007 Cabernet Franc ($22) was the winning wine for me with a very close second being the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon (75% Cab, 25% Merlot). On a non wine related note, the bathrooms at Peconic have the coolest hand dryers I have ever seen, the Dyson Airblade, very energy efficient and dries your hands in like 2 seconds.

A couple of nights ago I broke open the 2007 Cabernet Franc for dinner, and again it did not disappoint. Here’s what I thought…

nose: red currant, roast beef, brussel sprouts, brown sugar

taste: fennel, raspberry, red currant, cherry and oak

mouthfeel: medium to full body – a bit spicy, good acid and young yet approachable tannins

finish: fairly long – leaving red fruit and green veggies on the palate

As you can see from the notes, lots of green veggies and meaty, earthy herb notes on the nose and palate of this wine. Don’t let that discourage you as it is not “green” in anyway. Very well put together and excitingly zippy with it’s bright acidity. There was something slightly off on the palate for me that I couldn’t identify, but wasn’t strong enough to affect the overall perception.

Look for future notes on the Cabernet Sauvignon, although it may be a while since it needs a bit of time in the cellar.

Cheers!



Exploring Super Tuscans with the 2006 Aia Vecchia Lagone

Whether you call them a Super Tuscan or an IGT blend, rich red blends from Tuscany provide everything from great values to high priced cult legends. The 2006 Aia Vecchia Lagone falls into the value category at $18 and is a blend of mostly Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon with 5% Cabernet Franc.

So what is a “Super Tuscan?”

Originally Super Tuscan’s were declassified Chiantis because they failed to follow the DOC (and then DOCG) requirements for grape blends and aging. Many winemakers at the time (1970’s) felt that Chianti wines were becoming too watered down and not showing the true class and structure that the region could provide. This philosophy brought in new non typical grapes into the blends such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc to provide increased structure and complexity. Although many of the wines were still of superior quality, not following the rules brought these wines down to Vini da Tavola status or basic table wine. In 1992 to give some status and classification to these wine the Indicazione Geografica Tipica (IGT) was formed. Although still not carrying the same status as DOC or DOCG wines, it was better than being called table wine. Funny enough current DOCG rules for Chianti and the sub regions of Chianti allow for up to 15% of these grapes that 30 years ago were not allowed.

My tasting notes for the 2006 Aia Vecchia Lagone

Nose: fig newton, leather, black currant, sun-dried tomatoes
Taste: black currant, fig, pie dough, black cherry, prune, crayon
Mouthfeel: full bodied but tight, strong leathery tannins
Finish: long with lots of depth and flavor

A very delicious wine, but kind of all over the place. It is still a young wine in many ways and needs some time to pull itself together at which time it will definitely shine. That being said it tastes great now and will delight most non-discriminating drinkers early, but given another year or two I feel it’ll show much better.

Cheers!

Tuesday Quick Sip – 2006 Mongeard-Mugneret Savigny–les–Beaune 1er Cru Les Narbantons

2006 Mongeard-Mugneret Savigny–les–Beaune 1er Cru Les Narbantons

Wine Information:

Country: France

Region: Burgundy

Appellation: Savigny-les-Beaune

Vineyard: Les Narbantons

Cooperage: 35% in new French Oak

Grapes: 100% Pinot Noir

Price: $48

My Tasting Notes:

Nose: mushroom, slight barnyard, raspberry

Taste: black cherry, red clay, leather and black pepper (taste not spicy), wet forest

Mouthfeel: silky and balanced with great acidity and young leathery tannins

Finish: long with dark fruit and slight earthy notes

Beautiful wine, that is drinking well now but shows that it still has a lot of life left in it. Not inexpensive by any means, but definitely a great value for a Premier Cru red Burgundy.

Cheers!

“Killing it” with 2004 MonteMaggiore Paolo’s Vineyard Syrah

2004 MonteMaggiore Paolo’s Vineyard Syrah

About this time last year I visited and wrote about MonteMaggiore Vineyards in the Dry Creek Valley of Sonoma County. When I have wines from California (or elsewhere) that I know I can’t get easily, it makes it hard to drink it. Well, I had two wines left from MonteMaggiore, one being their 2004 Paolo’s Vineyard Syrah, which I opened last night.

After I pulled the cork I noticed a good 1/8^th of an inch of sediment on the end of it, so I made sure to run it through the little mesh screen as it went into the decanter.

Check out the details:

Varietal Blend: 95% Syrah, 5% Cabernet

Appellation: Dry Creek Valley

Average Sugar at Harvest: 27.0° Brix

Alcohol: 4.7%

Cooperage: 70% French, 30% American

Percentage New Oak: 48%

Cases Produced: 400

This wine was just jumping out of the glass, I believe my tweet about it last night was precisely that “the ‘04 MonteMaggiore Syrah is killing it!” Well it kept killing it with rich, layered, Syrah goodness leaving me both happy and sad, realizing with each sip I was closer to the end of my last bottle of this wine.

My Tasting Notes:

Nose: blackberry, bacon, black currant

Taste: cassis, black currant, cinnamon, cedar black pepper and “suede”

Mouthfeel: full body, rich, leathery tannins that are starting to settle down, but still going strong

Finish: long

If you have a bottle of this, or can find a bottle, it is drinking great right now and I highly recommend it!

Cheers!

Weekend Palate Wrap Up

For Monday I think I will start a new series in which I review everything I drank, tasted, sipped from Friday through Sunday and where I had it. Friday’s will be padded because of the tasting at The Wine Cellar.

At the Wine Cellar

J Cuvee 20 Brut Sparkling – yeasty sourdough bread, apple, pear and citrus, crisp with pretty tight bubbles, medium bodied – very nice

2007 Helfrich Pinot Gris Vin D’Alsace – melon, almond and a hint of petrol with a hint of lemon zest towards the finish and a touch of sweetness.

2006 Schloss Reinhartshausen Old Vine Riesling – petrol and slate laced with light fruit notes of apricot, peach and Asian pear.

2007 Carmel Road Pinot Noir Monterey – plum and cherry up front on the nose with a mixture of cedar, plum and raspberry on the palate. Medium to full bodied.

2006 J Lohr Fog’s Reach Vineyard Pinot Noir Arroyo Seco – beautiful aromas of cola, raspberry, dried cherries and mint. Full bodied palate filled with cedar, vanilla and more dark fruit flavors of black cherry, boysenberry and cola again on the finish.

At Tandoori Tikka and Kebab Indian Restaurant

2008 Covey Run Riesling – fairly simple effort, apple and apricot notes with a hint of petrol. Medium bodied with a good off dry sweetness that was perfect for the spicy Indian food.

At Home

2008 Valley of the Moon Unoaked Chardonnay – aromas of apple, pear and slight hints of tropical fruit. Light and fairly simple medium bodied palate of apple and honeydew melon, crisp and clean finish.

Cafe Catura

Southern Tier India Pale Ale – light amber color, beautiful hop and slight malt aromas, fairly fruity and nice bitterness. Paired well with our vegetarian chili and veggie panini.

At Home

2006 Terlato Pinot Noir – Aromas of sweet campfire, blueberry, Indian spices and vanilla. Flavor profile dominated by plum, fig and tangerine with interesting notes of tamarind, sage cola and cherry.

In green were my favorites.

Cheers!

Trained wine tasters think more about their sips

After reading the story in the Wall Street Journal about “Why wine ratings are badly flawed?” it got me thinking. Not about wine ratings because that part of the article I agree with, wine ratings are subjective, and can generally be inconsistent across various types of “raters”. I’ve always thought it weird that one wine in Spectator can get a “90” and then in Enthusiast receive a “78” or vice versa.

“There is a rich history of scientific research questioning whether wine experts can really make the fine taste distinctions they claim. For example, a 1996 study in the Journal of Experimental Psychology showed that even flavor-trained professionals cannot reliably identify more than three or four components in a mixture, although wine critics regularly report tasting six or more.”

The above comment is the one that got me thinking and one that I disagree with. Personally I know that I can taste more than 3 distinct flavors in any wine. Also, my years working in Sensory Research did many studies with trained panelists in which they identified more than three components in a mixture. I tried to find the study with no avail and was kind of disturbed that the author of the article in the WSJ didn’t put in any reference to the exact article. So, I couldn’t look at that particular study and examine exactly how that experiment was conducted.

In searching for some rebuttal papers I came across a cool article that I remember reading years back in the Journal “NeuroImage”. Using Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) this study showed that trained wine tasters, in this case 7 sommeliers, showed higher brain function when it came to tasting wine versus untrained wine consumers.

“A larger and well-defined cerebral network elicited by wine tasting was identified in sommeliers compared to naïve subjects that included the left insula and adjoining caudal orbitofrontal cortex, the left putamen, the right inferior frontal gyrus (opercular portion), and the inferior portion of the middle frontal gyrus in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) bilaterally.”

“…A final intriguing finding was the consistent activation in sommeliers of the inferior DLPFC. In this region the BOLD signal time-course peaked initially during the taste period and then well after the cue to swallow had been given, suggesting higher cognitive processing modulated by expertise.”

So basically the paper is saying that people trained in wine tasting have a additional cognitive processing that is linking both taste, olfactory and somatosensory sensations together to evaluate the wine. Pretty cool! With all this extra brain functioning going on, I don’t know how someone who is a trained taster could not detect more than three flavors in a wine or a mixture.

If anybody knows the exact journal number that was referenced in this WSJ article let me know, I would love to look at it.

Cheers!

References:

MLODINOW, LEONARD. “A Hint of Hype, A Taste of Illusion.” Wall Street Journal 14 Nov 2009,

Castriota-Scanderbeg, Alessandro, Gisela Hagberg, Antonio Cerasa, and Giorgia Committeri. “The appreciation of wine by sommeliers: a functional magnetic resonance study of sensory integration.” NeuroImage. 25.2 (2005): 570-578.

Tuesday Quick Sip – 2007 Preston Viognier

Megan and I picked this wine up about this time last year on our visit out to Sonoma/Napa, at Preston Vineyards. If you haven’t been, I recommend it, not only for the wine but for the experience. A beautiful place to have lunch as well as pick up some local veggies and eggs, that Preston grows and raise themselves. A very cool experience.

 

2007 Preston Viognier

The Facts:

Appellation: Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma

Soil: Predominately gravel & sand, along creek bed

Grape: 100% Viognier

Barrel Fermentation: 40%

Price: $28

My Tasting Notes:

Nose: apricot, sourdough, apple core, butterscotch

Taste: peach, honeysuckle, brown sugar and green tea

Mouthfeel: Full body, fat but clean

Finish: long with nice tropical fruit notes and lingering tea flavors

Great Viognier, very California in style with it’s big full body and rich viscous layers. Wish I had more of this, and unfortunately it’s a winery exclusive I can’t order anymore.

Cheers!

Virginia Wineries on Twitter

I comprised a list of Virginia Wineries that are on Twitter, some of which I already followed and others were new ones that I found. After searching on Twitter itself, I went through every wineries website, looking for their Twitter Tag. Surprisingly of the 142 wineries in the state only 17 are on Twitter. There may be more that I missed so if you aren’t on this list and want to be, shoot me an email.

You can link to any of the wineries twitter account by clicking below or you can follow the whole list here.

Winery Name - Twitter Tag

Rappahanock Cellars - @rcellars

Corcoran - @corkysfarm

Philip Carter Winery - @Pcwinery

Keswick Vinyeards - @keswickvineyard

Glen Manor Vineyards - @GlenManor

Veramar Vineyard - @veramarvineyard

James River Winery - @JamesRiverWine

Paradise Springs Winery - @ParadiseSprings

Aspen Dale Winery - @AspendaleWinery

Barboursville Winery - @barboursville

Byrd Cellars - @ByrdCellars

Casanel Vineyards - @Casanel

Cooper Vineyards - @coopervineyards

Fabbioli Wines - @FabbioliWines

Hillsborough Wines – @HillsboroWine

Notaviva Vineyards - @notaviva

Quattro Goomba Winery - @QuattroGoomba

——————————————————–

More added:

Jefferson Vineyards @th_jefferson

Afton Mountain Vineyards @AftonMountain

———————————————————————

…And More

Gadino Cellars @Gadino_Cellars

Sweely Estate Winery @SweelyWinery

Molon Lave @MLVineyards

Delfosse Winery @delfossewinery

Veritas Winery @VeritasWinery

Barrel Oak Winery @BarrelOak

Winery at La Grange @winerylagrange

Kluge Estate @KlugeEstate

Breaux Vineyards @breauxvineyards

Lost Creek Winey @lostcreekwine

As more wineries get on Twitter, I will update the list.

Tasting with Giuseppe Vajra of G.D. Vajra

Today I had the opportunity to meet Giuseppe Vajra from the winery G.D. Vajra in Piedmont, Italy. I have been a fan of Vajra wines for sometime so it was a great experience to meet Giuseppe today. For whatever reason, I find it intoxicating when Italian’s speak of their wines, more so than any other region.

My Tasting Notes:

2008 Langhe Bianco – 100% Riesling – floral with light citrus, and apricot notes. Lucious pear combined with great acidity at the back of the palate. Very Austrian in style of texture but the mid – palate is much “fatter”. Extremely nice!

2007 Langhe Rosso – Dolcetto, Barbera, Nebbiolo blend with 5% Pinot Noir and 2% Freisa – lots of red cherry, cola, red currant, leather notes and spice. Medium bodied with velvety tannins.

2007 Dolcetto D’ Alba – light cherry and raspberry notes with the flavor of actually berries. Red currant and cherry predominate the palate with hints of cola. Full bodied, especially for a Dolcetto – smooth tannins.

2007 Langhe Nebbiolo – leather, blackberry and “rum” on the nose. Palate full of black cherry, leather, dry dirt, hints of eucalyptus and cassis. Full body, with great acidity.

2004 Barolo – tomato leaf, rustic red fruit aromas, leather, boysenberry, blackberry and truffle oil on the palate. Fuzzy tannins and full bodied long finish. Still plenty of life, but approachable now. Beautiful!

2005 Langhe Freisa – menthol, leather and slight barnyard notes with fruit start to appear towards the back of the palate. Dark cherry and black currant predominate with some brambly fruit character and black pepper making an appearance. Lively acidity and full bodied. Excellent wine.

I spoke with Giuseppe on the ‘09 vintage and he said it was a great, but not excellent one. “Definitely couldn’t close your eyes and sleep through this vintage, we had to do some work.” For most of the harvest it was status quo but some rain in September brought about that question of “pick now or later”. They chose to pick later and after the rain passed, had an incredible week of brilliant sunshine and cooler than normal nights. This helped to raise sugar levels and increase ripeness while maintaining great acidity. “It is an extermely hard thing to watch all of your neighbors bring in their fruit, while you wait out the ’storm’.”

If you get a chance to try Vajra wines, I insist that you do – they are quite nice, and fairly priced for the region.

Cheers!