Lenz Winery Comparative Blind Tasting

On Saturday, March 11 I'll be heading to The Lenz Winery for a sure-to-be-interesting blind tasting event hosted by owner Peter Carroll and winemaker Eric Fry. We will be tasting four Lenz wines blind against premium wines from France.

I'm looking forward to the event, which (unfortunately for many of you) is invite only to members of their wine club and the press. I've always enjoyed most of the Lenz lineup, but more more excited about the opportunity to taste some of the higher-end Bordeaux in the flights.

1st Flight - 2003 Chardonnays
2003 Lenz White Label Chardonnay ($12)
2003 Jean Louis Chevy, Puligny-Montrachet ($35)

2nd Flight - 2001 Chardonnays
2001 Lenz Silver Label Chardonnay ($15)
2001 Domain Leflaive Clavoillons, Puligny-Montrachet ($80)

3rd Flight - 2000 Cabernet Sauvignons
2000 Lenz Cabernet Sauvignon ($30)
2000 Gruaud-Larose, St. Julien ($115)

4th Flight - 2000 Merlots
2000 Lenz Estate Selection Merlot ($23)
2000 Figeac, St. Emilion ($105)
2000 Le Bon Pasteur, Pomerol ($110)

Comments

[Collin C.]

Invite only?
That is OK...It is too cold up there, even in March. ;)
But with that line-up, I am anxiously waiting to live vicariously through your notes & blog post.
Cheers,
Collin

[Jared S]

Tracy and I attended the "Judgment of Paris" recreation that Acker Merrill sponsored last year. As in 1976, and like this Lenz event, the wines are all relatively young. I think this is instantly a handicap to the French wines. Well, at least the reds.

Don't get me wrong, I'll be the first to tell you that Long Island wines can often rival their French counterparts, and at a fraction of the price. But I do think it is unfair to pit a 2000 Cabernet from Long Island which should be ready to drink against a Bordeaux that should still be in the cellar.

Now, if someone would recreate the Judgment of Paris with the ORIGINAL wines, I'd pay just about anything to attend. And then I'd bet my entry fee that the French wines would win hands down.

[Lenn]

Jared,

I think you're 100% right. It will be an interesting tasting, and I've never had the opportunity to taste any of the French wines included...but I think relative age may make it possible to pick out the LI wines vs. French.

By the way...they ARE recreated the Judgement...both with the same wines and a new batch: http://www.decanter.com/news/80840.html

[Jared S.]

So, how do we get an invite to THAT tasting?!?

I can't wait to see the results.

[Robert W.]

As a lover of Long Island wines, I was intrigued by the last tasting by this producer done a few years ago, which compared their merlots to Petrus. A great marketing tool no doubt, but also an easy target. Unfortunately this reeks of the same type of shameless marketing from this otherwise reliable local producer. Any tasting of this sort - held by the producer, at the producer's location of choice, attended by the owners and winemaker - lends itself to the inevitable "home field advantage" which takes away the potential for real objectivity. Also with 2 wines in a flight, its merely a 50/50 chance one will be preferred over another. Lenz should just be appreciated for what it is and should stop trying to compare itself through these types of rigged PR events.

[Lenn]

Robert,

I tend to agree with you, but the even provides and opportunity to taste high-end wines that I know I can't afford very often (if at all). That's why I'm going first and foremost. I've tasted the Lenz wines and enjoy them.

In a larger sense, I too grow tired of LI wineries always comparing themselves to other regions. I think in it's infancy that made sense from a PR/marketing perspective...but I think it's time to start defining our own style and to push our uniqueness instead of how "similar" we are to other areas.