A Second Chance - Ryan William Vineyard

They say you don't get a second chance to make a first impression but this may be an exception to that old adage.  We know that our first tasting room experience can't be changed, but we decided to give them another try.  So, with our FLX newbie friends in tow, we headed down the long driveway to the tasting room.  I have to say that this tasting was very different from the first.  It was really pleasant and the impression that it made on our traveling companions was very positive.  Note:  there are no public restrooms so tinkle before you get there!

On to the wines!

The tasting started with the 2013 Gruner Veltliner, one of the only wines that pairs with asparagus - yes, really.  It's minerally with hints of lemon.  Nicely balanced with a crisp finish.

2011 Dry Riesling - Typical of the east side of Seneca Lake, it showed mineral and wet slate on the nose.  It has a hint of sweetness up front that dries out on the finish thanks to the beautiful acidity.  1.2% RS.  Lovely.

2012 Chardonnay - Done half in French oak, half in stainless steel, it's bright and quite nice.

2010 Cabernet Franc - Much more integrated than when we first tried it about a year ago.  The tannins are still really firm but the fruit is starting to show through.  Warm spices on the finish.  It definitely needs a couple of years of bottle age.  I'm still finding that it drinks kind of hot but I'm optimistic.

2012 Merlot - A very young wine; very firm tannins with some dark fruit showing up for the party.

2010 Late Harvest Riesling - This is totally honey and dried apricots but with enough acidity for balance.  Not cloying; just dessert.+

In real estate, they say location, location, location.  I'm not sure that it's all that different with wine.  All of these wines really showcase the unique terrior of the east side of Seneca Lake.  I find the distinct minerality and acidity of this region to be right up my alley.  They are limited production at just under 1000 cases so check them out before they sell out.  Ryan William stays on my watch list, for sure!

Mystery on the Lake

The property across the street from our very favorite B&B has always been somewhat of a mystery.  For a long time, nothing ever happened over there.  But a few years ago, the once quiet property came to life.  Cars were entering and exiting; there was vineyard work being done; and we started to hear rumors of a new winery.  

All of that hustle and bustle became Ryan William - a small farm winery located on the eastern shore of Seneca Lake in Hector, NY.  The area is known as the "Banana Belt" - a unique micro-climate created by a combination of the deep lake water and the sloping hillsides - an ideal spot for grapes.

  

The vineyards extend from the road to the shoreline

They recently opened and we decided to check it out.  We scooped up a friend and headed down the long driveway to the tasting room.  It is a humble but comfortable space and our tasting room host was welcoming and pleasant.    

Clouds floating up the lake in the early morning

The tasting lineup was solid.  It started with the 2011 Riesling.  It was mineral and wet slate on the nose, nice acidity, and a hint of honey on the finish.  1.2% RS.

2012 Chardonnay - 50% barrel fermented, 50% stainless, no malolactic fermentation.  I'm not a big Chard fan but this one was quite nice.

2010 Pinot Noir - The fruit is from 3 year old vines.  This is a very young wine that would definitely show better with decanting.  It still needs to integrate a bit but there was some nice smoke and tobacco on the nose, with earth and cherry on the palate, and firm tannins that softened with time in the glass.  I'm very excited about this one; with some bottle age, this looks like it will be the "men's club"-type of Pinot that I love.

2010 Cabernet Franc - I would have poured this before the Pinot.  It's lighter bodied and fruitier and the Pinot just crushed it.  My partner-in-crime liked this one more than I did - for me, it was a little hot.

They were also pouring two dessert wines.  The 2010 Select Late Harvest Riesling - Sugar cane but oddly enough, not cloying at 18% RS; and the 2010 Bunch Select Late Harvest Riesling - Tropical fruit and peaches, also 18% RS.

Even after our visit, some mystery remains.  Despite our best efforts to chat them up we were unable to find out much about the winery, the winemaker, or the history of the property.  We asked friends in the area and scoured the internet but we still know little about Ryan William Winery.  I did reach out to them for some more information but they declined my request at this time.  All I can tell you is that we will keep trying and plan to stop in the next time we are in the area.

A Pleasant Surprise

It's drink-it or dump-it (or give-it-to Dad) time here on the ranch.  We have been trying to reorganize the cellar and pull out bottles that, for whatever reason, we seem to have developed a bias against.  


Today's gamble:  Thirsty Owl 2005 Chancellor.  This poor bottle has two strikes against it from the start - it's Chancellor and it's from Thirsty Owl.  


As you may recall, we have a strange relationship with Thirsty Owl  The Owl and the One-eyed Cat so it should come as no surprise that we would have some preconceived notion that this one was a dog.  It sat on the "drink now" rack for several years with a sticky note on it that read "decant".  We brought the bottle in on several occasions, saw the decant note, and quickly banished it back to the garage.  Today was the day.  I put my big girl pants on and it was time to open this puppy.  


For those unfamiliar with Chancellor, it's a cold-hardy, highly productive, French hybrid, native to France, and once used to produce quality reds and rosés.   It has virtually disappeared from its homeland after being the most planted hybrid.  It is now being grown in the cooler regions of the eastern U.S. and in Canada.  Some say yippee but we say usually say, "why"?


So, how was the Owl?  It was dark and mysterious; medium bodied, and almost inky in color.  The unapproachable acidity started to really mellow after about six hours of decanting.  Initially, the nose was all Chancellor but with time, it became plum jam and cedar with a little bit of earth.  The wine continued to evolve throughout the evening.  As the tannins softened, a lot of nice dark fruit and hints of coffee came through on the palate.  The finish was earth and mushroom, with menthol and a hint of sweet vanilla.

It was a very confusing wine but I now understand why we bought it.  It's not a wine that I particularly loved but I also didn't hate it; it was fascinating.  Could it have gone longer?  The way it evolved over the tasting period tells me yes.  

The take-away?  If you can get it and you have 12 hours to decant, go for it.  It will be nothing less than a really interesting tasting experience!

Is Change Always Bad?

We seem to be creatures of habit - more so than I ever would have imagined.  I find that even in our wine travels, we tend to settle into a routine and only occasionally do we stray.  I guess I shouldn't be too surprised about that.  If you ask my Partner-in-Crime, he will tell you that change is bad.  At times I have to agree and change on the wine trails has not always been good to us.

We were enjoying the drive to Billsboro on a beautiful Finger Lakes morning and, having completely zoned out, drove past their driveway.  While turning around, we saw a sign for a winery that was new to us, Lacey Magruder.  Change is bad, so we turned around and went to Billsboro but with Lacey Magruder on our minds.  After spending some time with the good people of Billsboro, we decided to live dangerously and try something new.  Off we went to Lacey Magruder!

Named for the grandparents of the owners, Lacey Magruder sits high on a hill in a beautifully restored 1830 post-and-beam barn.  The decor is eclectic and, from the deck, the view of Seneca Lake is impressive.  We had the pleasure of spending some time with Jim and Ruth Hundertmark, the husband and wife team that made their dream a reality.  Originally from Maryland but loving the Finger Lakes, Jim took a wine making course from Jim Law, winemaker extraordinaire of Linden Vineyards in Virginia, and they sold their home in Maryland and took the plunge.

They had just opened for what will be their first full season and Jim is currently offering six wines on the tasting menu - three whites, three reds.  The first is their 2009 Lot No. 1 Cuvee, an interesting blend of Muscat, Gewurztraminer, Chardonnay, and Riesling.  I was kind of intrigued with this one.  Nice floral notes on the nose, crisp and clean on the palate with hints of grapefruit.  It's bright and minerally and a really nice surprise.  Not being a huge Chardonnay fan, I don't have much in the way of notes, but I can say that the 2009 Vintner's Reserve Chardonnay had a nice mouth feel without being overly oaked.  The last of the whites was the 2009 Barrel Reserve Chardonnay.  This one had a little more oak but the fruit was still predominate.  Nicely balanced with a touch of mineral on the finish.

The red line-up started with the 2009 Proprietary Red.  A Bordeaux blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Franc, it had soft tannins and nice cherry notes.  The 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon showed nice fruit on the nose but is still drinking young.  It's spicy with firm tannins, and  I'd like to try it again in a year.  Finally, we tried the NV Vintner's Red.  Another Bordeaux blend, this one 51% Cab Sauv, it has a little more body than the Proprietary Red but it also has .6 to .8% RS.  Dark fruit characteristics and nicely balanced.

All in all, the wines are pretty solid and we look forward to seeing what they do in the future.

The Sweetheart of the Cellar

My introduction to Gewurztraminer occurred on a trip to San Francisco back in the late 80's.  I was going to a conference and my good friend Patti-Jo asked if I wanted company.  Hell yeah!!  While I had survived this meeting a couple of times before, the thought of having some relief from a week with 10,000 dietitians was awesome!

The time we had for sightseeing was limited to a couple of days before and after the conference and a few hours during the week.  We made a list of the must-see's and crammed as much as we could into the time we had.  There was Lombard Street, Fisherman's Warf, Muir Woods, the bobcat, the naked guy in Golden Gate Park, and of course, a day trip to wine country.  We visited Sebastiani Vineyards and Buena Vista Winery in Sonoma before heading up into Napa.  I think the only stops we made there were   Mondavi, just to smell the roses (quite literally), and a convenience store in Healdsburg before  heading back to the city and the dreaded dietitians.  Despite the few stops, we each brought home a case - a story my dad still loves to tell!

Twenty-five years later, I still vividly remember two of the wines we tasted.  Both from Sebastiani, the first was a Cherryblock Cabernet Sauvignon, now their flagship wine, the one that they feel best expresses their terrior; the second was a Gewurztraminer they called "Kellerschatz".  From German, it translates to "cellar treasure" but they referred to it as the "sweetheart of the cellar".  

Which brings me to this:  I have a love-hate relationship with Gewurztraminer.  It's floral and it's spicy and if those two components are not in the right proportion for me, I can't handle it but, when it's right, it's like Bloomer Creek 2008 Tanzen Dame Second Harvest Vintner's Select Gewurztraminer.

It is a straw yellow color, with honey notes and the perfect balance of fruit and spice.  Beautifully soft on the palate, this wine is delicate and lovely and everything a Gewurz should be - to me, anyway.  

The Owl and the One-Eyed Cat

You may think you know where this one is going but unless you're thinking about something that includes a tetanus shot and a week of antibiotics, you're way off base.  We're talking cat bite on the day before our planned trip to the FLX.  Aside from the fact that it makes a really cool title, it did not affect our trip - the bite was on my non-wine glass-holding hand so not a problem!

We started out on Cayuga Lake and on a whim, stopped at a winery that we have not visited for several years.  Our last experience included a pleasant man who rhymed all of his wine descriptions.  He did our tasting and was so enthusiastic that I felt kind of guilty that I didn't really enjoy the wines.  He did everything he could to persuade me, including opening new bottles and making up new rhymes but alas, it was to no avail - they were just not to our liking.

But here we were, at Thirsty Owl Wine Company, bellied up to the bar and about to start a tasting.  Little Rhyming Man was gone but apparently replaced by Younger Singing Man.  More about that later, perhaps.

There were seventeen wines on the tasting menu and we were asked to choose five.  It wasn't that difficult, because of the nine whites, seven were listed as semi-sweet or sweet.  I passed on the Chardonnay and started with the 2010 Dry Rielsing.  A pleasant surprise, it had nice acidity with tropical fruit and a crisp, clean finish. 

The reds started with the 2008 Pinot Noir.  It didn't show a lot of fruit, it had firm tannins and a spicy finish.  The toasted oak of the 2008 Syrah jumped out of the glass.  The caramel nose of this medium bodied wine led to a fairly smooth palate, firm tannins and a black pepper finish.

Ok, at this point I expected that I would be ready to jump off a bridge but not yet.....what's next?  The 2008 Meritage.  Velvety mouth-feel with slight black pepper and fruit with soft oak on the finish - nice!  The 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon was drinking really young.  The fruit was trying to emerge but for the most part, it was over powered by oak and spice.  It needs time, for sure.  Finally in this line-up was the 2009 Cab Sauv, Syrah,  Malbec.  (18, 60, 22% respectively)  We have tried this before and have been less than excited - it should be freakin' awesome!  The 2009 blend showed grapefruit and black pepper but had some spit-sucking tannins.

To finish, we were serenaded through a tasting of the 2007 VINTE, a port-style wine from Cab Franc and Chancellor.  We're not huge Chancellor fans but we tasted with an open mind.  At 8% RS, it was soft and silky and not overly fortified.  It retained its wine characteristics and had that dessert-replacement  sweetness.

All in all, we found the wines a bit more approachable than in the past and the absence of the Little Rhyming Man was a relief.  There was, however the issue of Singing Man.  Nonetheless, we grooved our way through the racks, grabbed a Meritage and a VINTE and boogied for the door before our ears started to bleed.  It's not that his singing was bad, it just got old....fast.

Uh-Oh...I'm in love......again

Have I mentioned how much I've come to love Riesling?  And have I mentioned just how fickle I can be? 

Just in case you missed it, I have become a huge believer in Riesling.  It's incredibly food friendly, or so we hear, but let's be honest; the bottle rarely lasts long enough for me to get dinner on the table.  But I don't love every Riesling; I love them dry, with minerality and acidity.  I love the lime and even a hint of petrol.  People talk of terrior all the time, but if there's any wine in which it is so obvious to me, it's in Riesling.  On a really good day, I can tell you on which side of the lake the grapes were grown.  On others.....well, we won't go there.  But...as with everything in life, there needs to be balance to make it all work.

We love Shaw's reds but what about this?  Let me tell you; everything I could ever ask for just came out of this bottle - the Shaw 2007 Dry Riesling.  It has a lovely minerally nose with fresh lemon and peach, followed by honey and peach on the palate and shows mineral and slate on the lingering finish.  It has bright acidity that is beautifully balanced with just a hint of RS.  Even PIC is on board on this one!

I'm sorry previous Riesling love; I'm breaking up with you.

Salute the Newt!

It's been just a week since learning of the tragic death of Deb Whiting and, in honor of her, we opened a bottle of Red Newt Cellars 2008 Viridescens - a blend of 49% Cabernet Sauvignon, 47% Cabernet Franc, and 4%Merlot.  We tasted this wine several times in the tasting room and loved it but it was after having it as part of a flight at dinner at the RN Bistro that we decided to spring for a couple of bottles.

When we tasted it last fall, it was a real spit-sucker.  That's not to say it was unpleasant, it is to say that it was drinking very young and the tannins were very firm.  Having said that, an additional eight months in bottle has done wonderful things for this wine! 

The initial oakiness on the nose blew off quickly and a fruity, almost jammy nose emerged.  Dark and brooding, we got plum, casis, and a hint of tobacco on the palate and a leather, cigar boxy finish.  Kind of like men's club in a bottle but without the smoke.  It was a lovely pairing with our eggplant-zucchini ragout...what was left of it, anyway.  Here's to you, Deb...and the entire Red Newt family.  Cheers!