Ah, Leidenfrost. Although founded in 1990, Leidenfrost is no newcomer to the FLX wine scene. Located on the southeastern shore of Seneca Lake, the Leidenfrost family has grown grapes and produced wine in Hector, NY since 1947. This is not a stop we always make when we are in the region as we seem to have a strange relationship with the wines. Planning is not one of our sterling qualities and we've found that you have to plan ahead for some of these gems. Having said that, I must share our first experience with them.
About five or six years ago, we were traveling through the region with friends from California. To add to our wine tasting experience, they had the idea to do a quasi-horizontal Pinot Noir tasting. They brought two bottles with them - one from Oregon and one from California - to try along side of a FLX Pinot. We had dinner at Stonecat and the restaurant staff suggested a Leidenfrost Pinot to battle it out with the others. We ordered our meals, and with twelve wine glasses on the table, we began.
As expected, all of the wines evolved in the glass over time but could a FLX wine really hold up to the west coast big boys? Let me tell you - the Leidenfrost showed beautifully compared to the others. I'd be lying to say that I remember which one was my favorite (crap - I'd be lying to say that I remember the other two wines) but we were so impressed with the Leidenfrost, we were there the next day for a tasting and to pick up a couple of bottles.
Over the years, we have found that the wines can be kind of tough to drink; sometimes they seem unapproachable because they take forever to open up. We asked John Leidenfrost about that one day and he attributed it to the fact that the wine doesn't see any air. From this, we learned to be patient and hold John's wines and when we do open them, we decant, decant, decant!
Time has been this wine's friend. This Leidenfrost 2004 Cab Franc went into the decanter late in the morning and wasn't poured for about five hours. It's bursting with cherry and has silky tannins - it's like a chocolate-covered cherry. Too bad we don't have more and...it was gone before dinner hit the table.
Pinot Noir is said to be the toughest grape to grow. But the effort done by the winemakers is well worth the constant care for it. Because of its rich fruit components, it is best paired with dishes that have creamy sauces and spicy seasonings. You may also pair it with chocolates, cheese (of course), pok, poultry, lamb, beef, fish, and bacon. Yes, bacon. B)
ReplyDeleteCorey Glenn