While I was at the Wine Bloggers conference this year I did a little Finger Lakes Red Wine speed tasting. It is kind of like speed dating but with wine. The winemaker comes to the table with his/her bottle, pours us a taste and in 3 minutes has to tell us about the wine and answer our questions. Here are some that stood out for me that I think will warm you up this fall.
Herman Wiemer 2012 Cabernet Franc Magdalena Vineyard. The grapes for this wine were picked the last week in October and the wine was aged for 15 months in half oak and half steel. The wine had an awesome bouquet of dark berry fruit and black berry. The palate was nicely balanced with dark berry fruit and nice tannins. My remark on this wine was excellent! Wine retails for $25.
Wagner Vineyards 2011 Reserve Pinot Noir This wine is a very special wine. It's only made during exceptional vintages. The last time this wine was made was 2007. It's aged in French oak for 12 months. The wine had a nice nose and palate of cherries and black raspberries with a hint of oak. There are only 297 cases of this wine. It retails for $24.99
Ventosa Vineyards 2001 Cabernet Franc Estate grown and aged in 100% French Oak this Cabernet Franc had soft tannins, flavors of black cherry with a hint of caramel and a nice smooth pepper finish. You know how I love that pepper finish. This wine retails for $26.95
Swedish Hill 2012 Cabernet Franc Lemberger This is a blend of 60% Cabernet Franc and 40% Lemberger. It was aged in new French and American oak. There was some nice violet on the palete with mixed berries. There was some nice pepper in the front as well on the finish. The finish lingers then quickly dissipates. This wine retails for $16.99
Cuddle up this fall with a nice bottle of Finger Lakes Cabernet Franc.
