Month: January 2023

Cabernet Franc on Long Island

Published on by Bruno DonaggioLeave a comment

Cabernet Franc is a vtis vinifera black grape that is an important part of the blend of Bordeaux wines. It’s also the primary grape of the Loire wines of Chinon and Bourgueil. The grape is the parent grape of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon and was brought into France from the Basque region of Spain.

Out at the east end of Long Island wine country because of the growing conditions there, at one time it was touted as the grape that would put the Long Island AVA on the map.

It never dethroned Merlot as the primary red grape of the region but since it was widely planted, most wineries bottle it on its own or uses the grape in whatever Bordeaux Blend red wine they produce.

One Sunday afternoon I took a drive out to the east end wine country for a visit and sampled a few Cabernet Franc.

One Women Winery

5195 Old North Road, Southold

The one woman is Claudia Purita, the owner and wine maker at this certified sustainable winery. All the wines are from estate grown fruit. The tasting “shack” can barely hold a handful of people (a new tasting room is under renovation) but on nice days there is a patio out front to sit at.

2017 Cabernet Franc

Opaque medium brick, white pepper and crushed red fruit on the nose with bright red cherry fruit and black pepper and gun metal notes on the firm finish with silky tannins.

Roanoke Vineyards Tasting Room

165 Love Lane, Mattituck

The tasting room at the vineyard is for members only but the public is welcome to their satellite tasting room in Mattituck. It’s on Love Lane which is the shortest access between the two wine roads. A two block long business district with shops and a train station. There’s a nice deli across the street and next door to a cheese shop that serves fondue.

2020 Cabernet Franc

Clear medium red, sweet candy apple and some damp earth on the nose with silky, red leather fruit on the firm but balanced finish.

Clovis Point Winery

1935 Main Road, Jamesport

Named after the prehistoric projectile points found on the property, they have 10 acers under vine and the wines are estate grown.

2019 Cabernet Franc

Opaque black with a purple rim, big nose of toast and dark chocolate with bright black cherry and tobacco notes on the fruit ending with a good grip.

Wine Shop Wine Class

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New York Vintners is a wine shop in lower Manhattan. For many years in addition to selling wine, they would host wine classes and wine dinners on a variety of wine topics.

The tastings were small, sit-down affairs and they were usually a lot of fun, unfortunately they stopped having those tastings a few years ago and the pandemic didn’t help matters.

They recently moved into a new shop at 63 Barclay Street right up the block from Eataly downtown and began hosting wine tastings and classes last December.

I signed up for the “Wines of the Southern Hemisphere” class on a Sunday afternoon in December. The new wine store is dark and chic and when I arrived for the class, I was given a glass of Prosecco (not southern hemisphere but close enough). It was an intimate event with me and two others and the in-house Sommelier presenting the wines. We were served five wines and some nice charcuterie.

The wines served in class:

2017 Klein Constantia Chardonnay (South Africa): Clear medium gold, ripe fruit and earth on the nose, ripe pear notes on the fruit, tight, oaky, dry.

2021 Fabre Montayou Torrontes (Argentina): Clear light gold, peach and spice on the nose, tight stone fruit ending dry and mouth watering.

2015 Casa Silva Carmeniere “Los Lingues Vineyard” (Chile): Opaque black with a purple rim, dusty, peppery, black licorice and tobacco on the nose, concentrated black fruit with oak, gun metal and dried leaf notes on the finish. Some heat.

2020 Fabre Montayou Cabernet Sauvignon (Argentina): Dark black with a purple rim, closed nose of coconut, sage and black cherry, chewy and chunky with dusty black fruit and a crisp finish.

2019 Los Vascos Cabernet Sauvignon (Chile): Opaque dark red with a purple rim, perfume of red bell pepper and floral red fruit, chewy with tobacco notes on the fruit, good grip at the end.

La Tablée NYC 2022

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The La Tablée tasting was held in New York City on November 19 of last year and featured the wines of the Rhone Valley of France.

The term La Tablée denotes the meal celebrating the end of harvest, similar to Burgundy’s La Paulée and not surprisingly, the folks who ran this event also run the New York La Paulée event.

The Rhone is divided into the Northern Rhone and the Southern Rhone. In the north, Syrah is the primary grape used. Those wines are wines that California wine drinkers would love since they tend to be beefy wines with notes of roast meat and bacon on the nose.

In southern Rhone they are legally able to use up to thirteen varietals with Grenache, Mourvèdre, Cinsault and Syrah doing the bulk of the work for the red wines. At this tasting I tried Chateauneuf du Pape that were 100% Grenache.

The tasting was held at City Winery located at 25 11th Avenue at Pier 57 overlooking the East River on the west side of Manhattan. With large picture windows overlooking the river, there was plenty of natural light in the room. The venue didn’t get overcrowded that afternoon but that was probably due to the price of the ticket than the perceived quality of the wines.

Many of the reds poured were from the 2019 vintage which received a very good score from the wine writers.

Some of the highlights:

Southern Rhone

2019 Domaine Giraud Chateauneuf du Pape “Tradition”: Clear light purple, red fruit with some earth on the nose, juicy and spicy with a nice balance.

2019 Domaine Roger Sabon Chateauneuf du Pape “Prestige”: Opaque dark purple, chalk and crusted stone on the nose with juicy black fruit and notes of green herbs, nice balance.

2019 Domaine de Cristia Chateauneuf du Pape “Vieilles Vignes”: Clear medium red, crushed rocks on the nose, juicy, chunky dark chocolate fruit, good balance at the end.

2020 Domaine de la Janasse Chateauneuf du Pape “Chaupin”: Clear medium purple, toasted bread and crushed red fruit on the nose, silky, spice red fruit, great balance.

2019 Domaine du Pegau Chateauneuf du Pape “Cuvee Reservee”: Clear medium red, spicy tar on the nose, silky, tarry and spicy fruit ending with firm tannins.

2012 Domaine du Pegau Chateauneuf du Pape “Cuvee Laurence” ed jeroboam: Clear medium brick, pretty perfume of bacon and earth, silky, earth fruit, balanced with some bitter cherry on the long finish.

2019 Domaine de la Monardiere Vacqueyras “Vieilles Vignes: Opaque medium purple, ripe red fruit on the nose, chewy, silky, ending with firm tannins.

2019 Chateau de Beaucastel Gigondas “Clos des Tourelles”: Clear medium red, cigarette smoke on the nose, juicy red fruit, nice balance.

Northern Rhone

2019 E. Guigal Cote-Rotie “Brune et Blonde”: Clear medium red, gun metal and roast pork on the nose, sweet fruit of milk chocolate ending with a great balance.

2011 Jean Michel Gerin Cote-Rotie “Les Grand Places” en magnum: Cloudy medium red, sweet, minty nose, moderate fruit of leather, drops a bit but drinking nicely.

2019 Jean Michel Gerin Cote-Rotie “La Vialliere”: Clear medium purple, damp earth on the nose, tasty, silky black fruit, geat balance.

2019 Domaine Alain Graillot Crozes-Hermitage ‘La Guiraude”: Opaque medium red, smoky roast meat on the nose with tart, purple fruit.

2020 Cave Julien Cecillon Saint-Joseph “Babylone”: Opaque dark red, red leather on the nose, dark, earthy fruit, great balance.

2020 Cave Yves Cuilleron Saint-Joseph “Serines”: Clear medium purple, toasted notes on the nose with chewy leather notes on the fruit, nice balance.