Trip to the Finger Lakes, August 2023

Now on to the following weekend. My wife D and I drove up to other D’s house in upstate New York which I last visited in 2017. G and H were already there, having taken the train from New York City a couple of days earlier.

D shared many amazing bottles from his cellar with us as can be seen from the photos.

He also introduced me to Zaya 16 year old rum, which it turns out I can get in the local booze store at a very advantageous price, hurrah!

My wife isn't really into wine, so on the Saturday she and I went for a hike on the Finger Lakes trail, starting at Sugar Hill State Forest. We got slightly lost but otherwise it was an enjoyable trail, not too muddy and with the occasional mushroom and some little frogs.

On Saturday evening, we had a wonderful dinner party with the five of us, and D’s friends Bob, David and Charlene. This included a trio of wonderful Californian cabernets from 1973: Beaulieu Vineyard, Freemark Abbey and Sterling Vineyards, followed by a pair of Sauternes from 1983 - Chateau Lafaurie-Peyraguey and Rieussec. The hardship! I don't think my wife had ever seen a dining table laden with so many wine glasses and antique silver cutlery.

On the Sunday, we went out to a few wineries for tastings. Things seem to have changed a lot in the six years since I was there last, and everything seemed more touristy and commercial. Where previously the tastings were around $5 if memory serves, now the standard charge seemed to be $15.

We started off at Domaine LeSeurre, where I particularly enjoyed the semi-dry Riesling from 2020 and had visions of sipping it on our deck. Since our deck is currently under construction, that’s unlikely to happen this year, but I did buy three bottles and have consumed two of them already, so can confirm it’s a lovely wine to drink well-chilled in hot weather, and only 12% alcohol. I was hoping to buy a bottle of their sparkling wine too, but was told that I’d have to join the wine club, which was a little offputting, so that didn’t happen.

Next up was a winery I hadn’t visited before, called Weis. As the name suggests, this is run by somebody from Germany. I really enjoyed this tasting. They had an interesting white called “Heart of the Lake” which is made from a new grape variety called aravelle. There was also a nice light fizz which contained this grape. The pinot noir was light and pretty, and the cabernet franc was also in the lighter style. I seriously thought about joining the wine club, but have since discovered that I can order some of their wines from the booze store here in PA, so may just do that some time!

Then it was on to Ravines. As in 2017, the wines here continue to impress and though they’re perhaps a bit more expensive than the local competition, they are built to last. I absolutely loved the pinot noir which was really interesting and a little wild, and the late harvest vignoles was a must.

We had lunch at the café/pub in Hammondsport and in the afternoon attempted to visit Dr Konstantin Frank, but it turned out that the tasting offerings here were too touristy and/or outdoors for our liking, so in the end we abandoned them and moved on to McGregor. This was nice because we got to sit at a table inside and our flights of wines were brought to us, along with a few nibbles, so we could sit and discuss amongst ourselves more easily without having someone hanging around waiting to pour the next glass. As on my previous visit, the star of the show was the Russian River Red, which has now been renamed Saperavi Grand Reserve. We tasted the 2017 vintage which was quite a tannic monster and needs at least another ten years, I’d say.

Enormous thanks to D for driving us around, having us to stay over the weekend and sharing so many treasures from the cellar. We had a wonderful time!

Swiss Pinot Noir Society dinner, 14th June

On Friday evening, G and I walked over to the Savile Club for another SPNS dinner. ACC was absent this time but we had a special guest, H, so six were present as usual.

Having resisted the temptation to pre-load with a sneaky G&T before leaving home, I was outraged to discover that certain people had been guzzling pink champagne in our absence. However, this fizz from Black Dog Hill provided by P and H quickly made up for it. G summed it up nicely as "extremely pleasant, light quaffing fizz". It was from 2014 so had a little age which suited it well, and this winery is in the South Downs. One often hears about how the south of England is going to be the new Champagne, or possibly is already, but sadly with prices to match. Not this time! There seems to be a discrepancy between how much P told us it cost and how much it is on their website (£28.95) but all I will say is they definitely found a good deal.

G must have been hungry as we quickly moved upstairs and had a bottle of the club's Pernand-Vergelesses while waiting for our starters, which was from Jean-Jacques Girard and a good example of the genre. Then it was on to this Ovens Farm Rose 2018, also provided by P and H. This had a fruity nose and was a very enjoyable easy-drinking summer wine, prompting visions of lying in a hammock etc. It came as quite a surprise to discover that this winery is in Lincolnshire, close to where P and H live. Another win for English wines!

Moving on to the reds, G had brought along this Chateau Ksara Annaya 1946 Vin D'Antique, from Lebanon, knowing that T is quite a fan of their rose wines. This was interesting! It was a dark brown colour and there were some doubts about it initially, but then we reframed it and found it reminded most of us of a fortified wine - dry oloroso or marsala. Hints of eucalyptus were detected, and T thought that something about it could still be found in the modern wines.

We then had two more conventional reds, both pinot noirs. T brought along a 2016 from Louis Guntrum which was relatively light, juicy, fruity and vibrant. It was perhaps not the most serious wine I've ever tasted, but was a pleasure to drink. Thank god it wasn't like the German reds we had a few years ago which I wrote about here.

D had brought along this 2016 pinot from Brys Estate which is in Michigan. I don't think I've ever had a wine from Michigan before so this was a new experience! It was fuller-bodied than the German wine, fruity, elegant and smooth, with a hint of spice. We all enjoyed it and I suspect it would age quite well if D has any more.

My contribution was also from the USA, this Ravines Late Harvest Vignoles 2013 from the Finger Lakes. We tried this at the winery a couple of years ago and I immediately thought of T who is a big fan of sauternes. It was an absolutely beautiful colour and had that lovely thick gooey texture. It was concentrated, marmaladey and had a great finish. D described it as apricot nectar. Judging from their website, it still seems to be available, so maybe more can be obtained in due course if anyone is going that way soon...

As the Ravines was only a half bottle, and we fancied cheese as well as dessert, G ordered a half of Smith Woodhouse 1980 from the club wine list. This also went down well, with baked plums, black cherry and liquorice all present and correct. G, who is becoming quite a port expert these days, felt it could have done with a longer decant, but somehow we coped.

Thanks everyone for another very enjoyable and educational evening!

Recent drinking roundup!

Apparently I haven't done one of these for a while, so as we hurtle towards winter it's time to get caught up and get rid of the mountain of empty bottles in the corner.

G and I drank this half of Alfred Gratien 1999 champagne back in July but it seems I never reported on it. "No harm in that" reported G, quoting my Irish grandmother, quite accurately in this case. It was fully mature, with notes of brioche and toast. G said it was almost custardy and it reminded me of a croissant. It didn't have many bubbles left and we felt it was at the end of its drinking life but it was refreshing on a hot summer Sunday. That seems a long time ago. I actually just discovered a lingering half of the 2000 on my wine rack this afternoon, so that needs to be put out of its misery in the near future!

Between August and October, we guzzled several wines from the Finger Lakes which D has been so kindly transporting back for us. This Red Newt Riesling 2013 from Lahoma Vineyards was lovely. Pale in colour, it had a Mosel style nose but was richer and spicier on the palate, with a burst of lime and G thought a hint of quince on the finish. It was beautifully made and had great balance, with a refreshing core of acidity. It's currently retailing on their website at $24.50 - compare and contrast with the 2012 Sawmill Creek Riesling for sale at Hedonism for £35.10. We wistfully imagined living nearby and being able to buy it by the case.

As an aside, I saw several red newts last time I went backpacking in Pennsylvania!

Another Finger Lakes white we tried recently was the White Springs Dry Riesling 2015 from Ravines. Regular readers will know we absolutely loved this winery. This wine was also pale in colour and had a nose of lime or possibly lime blossom. It was light, elegant and clean, dry but ripe. G said he felt a better person just for drinking it. It was definitely drinking now but we know they make wines for the long haul so it's possible it might get even better in time.

On to the reds - this Ryan William Pinot Noir 2012 amused me by stating it was 12.4% alcohol on the label. It was a dark colour and reminded us of the Cote de Nuits with notes of black cherry and black forest gateau. It was very easy to drink and even had something of a peacock's tail. G thinks it cost $27 which was excellent value.

A few weeks ago we had this Thirsty Owl Pinot Noir 2016, a name which always brings a smile to my face. This was apparently 12.2% alcohol and cost $17 according to G. He also remembered that the winery was founded in 2002 so the vines are young. It was really classic lightweight pinot, pretty but not particularly serious - a vin de soif. We served it lightly chilled, which worked very well, and we thought it was drinking nicely now but would last another year or so. G used the word "unforced" and we agreed it had an honesty about it, reflecting its terroir and climate, not buggered about. It actually reminded us slightly of Giboulot's wines, which is praise indeed. A virtually perfect Tuesday night wine, and again, one that we'd buy by the case if we lived nearer.

I had a trio of wines from the Wine Society recently too, just to see what's going on there. I failed to take a photo of the Cote Roannaise Perdiziere 2016 from Domaine Serol which was a gamay and came in at 12%. It was a little disappointing, to be honest. It lacked any interesting feral notes, nor was it one of those light, pretty gamays. At £16.50 it wasn't particularly great value and I won't be rushing back. I've just realised I actually tried the 2011 back in 2012 when it cost £7.95, and wasn't particularly impressed with it then either! Memo to self: read own blog before ordering wines...

This Naoussa 2016 was much more my cup of tea. It's from Greece and made from the xinomavro grape which is a new one on me, but was described as being like a cross between pinot noir and nebbiolo. It reminded me of a decent bourgogne rouge and at £10.50 it certainly hit the spot.

I cracked this "La Belle Romaine" from Chateau Merande last night. This is a Vin de Savoie made from a grape called mondeuse. It was fine but didn't wow me. It's only 12% alcohol, but at £17 a pop I'd rather be drinking that lovely Coteaux Bourguignon from Romain Chapuis.

We've started drinking this St George gin from California which was a gift from G's fan club in Grand Rapids and it has been going down very well in a G&T, with more floral notes than your average. The style reminds us a little of Plymouth which is always my go-to gin, so that works for me!

Finally, a couple of disappointments. G brought a bottle of Gevrey-Chembertin 1er cru Craipillot, 2001, Gerard Seguin round the other night. It had an amazing nose of liquorice, leather and earthiness, but when we came to taste it we found it rather tertiary (G's word) - it dried out on the palate and had a chewy finish. In the end we agreed we weren't actually enjoying it, and it went down the sink. The same thing sadly happened to two bottles of Combe D'Eve from Giboulot on Wednesday which broke my heart a little. Possibly being in the wardrobe over the hot summer didn't do it any favours. Must do better at maintaining stock rotation in future! Fortunately I have just got some wines out of storage so I'm looking forward to trying those soon.

Trip to Finger Lakes part I - Ravines Wine Cellars

G and I are back from our visit to the Finger Lakes, and we had an absolutely amazing time. We stayed with D who lives in the middle of nowhere with no internet or mobile phone signal, just lots of woods, peace and quiet. I can see why he likes it there so much.

We arrived on Tuesday evening and the next day, we drove out to the Finger Lakes for what turned out to be the first of three days of intensive wine tasting. Heaven! On our first day, we visited Keuka Lake and our first stop was Ravines Wine Cellars, which is run by Morten and Lisa Hallgren, who are friends of D. We were treated to a tour of the winery by Morten. This was on 20th Sept and they were in the middle of the harvest so it was very kind of him to make the time.

The winery was very impressive with its state of the art equipment and enormous stainless steel tanks, and we discovered that Morten had been to the wine school in Montpellier and spent a year at Cos d'Estournel. He's all about making wines for the long term.

Then we were treated to a tasting of eight wines and I can honestly say they were all excellent. The Finger Lakes are perhaps known best for their rieslings and we tried three of these.

The 2015 dry riesling had a lovely floral, limey nose and was zingy with good acidity, elegant and serious, with a great finish. I thought it would go very well with oily fish and at just 12.5% nothing to frighten the horses. The 2015 from the White Springs vineyard was richer, with peach and citrus and was very special, with a finish which lasted for minutes.

Then we got to try a 2007 riesling, which was very Germanic on the nose. Apparently 2007 was a warm vintage and this was close to its peak at 10 yars. It had a wonderful line of acidity down the middle, a great backbone, and showed that these wines are built to last.

Next up was a barrel-fermented chardonnay 2015 and Morten explained to us that he has a special technique with this, and 15% of the grapes went through a dehydration process. For me this had nuttiness and notes of toasted bread, almost brioche.

Then we moved on to cabernet franc. Morten told us they are trying to make the Finger Lakes synonymous with cabernet franc and put the area on the map. Apparently it's overtaken pinot noir as the leading red in the area, possibly because it's more forgiving. More on that later... The 2015 was certainly a great example of the genre, dark purple with lovely juicy fruit. G said it was crying out for goat's cheese, while Morten mentioned a charcuterie plate. It was lively and croquant now but could easily be put away for 5 years. I see Morten actually said it could be put away for 10 years!

After that, we had a cabernet blend from 2005. We subsequently found out that many wineries in the area make a blend like this and it's usually called "Meritage", some weird invented name which I'd never come across before. The example at Ravines was made from 50% cabernet franc, 30% cabernet sauvignon and 20% merlot. My notes read that it smelled divine and G said it was "wholly successful" as a claret substitute. It had a cedary thing going on, lovely fruit and elegance. Morten said that they couldn't pursue the newer, more luscious style in the Finger Lakes and he's not interested in competing with Chile or Australia. Not arguing with that. This wine still seemed very young, and I reckon you could keep it another 10 or maybe 20 years.

Next we had another chardonnay, from 2014, which was unoaked. This was from the Argetsinger vineyard. It had a gentle florality on the nose and I detected apricots and stone fruit on the palate. Again it had an amazing finish. It struck me as being a gastronomic wine and we brought a bottle back which we had at lunch on Sunday, when its elegance really struck me again and it reminded us of an Auxey-Duresses. It went brilliantly with smoked salmon and was generally very classy indeed.

Finally, we tried this 2013 late harvest vignoles. This is a botrytised wine and they only make it when the conditions are right. It had a lovely nose of apricot jam and an amazing gooey, velvety texture. It had great acidity to balance the sweetness and again the finish was extraordinary. "Good god" said G. Morten told us that their chef was enjoying himself making things to go with it. I wanted some blue cheese right there and then. If I tell you that we bought two halves to bring back with us, that gives some indication of how fabulous this wine was.

This was a really impressive tasting and enormous thanks to Morten for taking time off to show us the range. I just wish we could get them in the UK...