Many of you have already seen it (and emailed me about it) but being in meetings all afternoon kept my eyes from Eric Asimov's story about some Long Island wines he tasted recently at the American Hotel in Sag Harbor.
Let's just say that I think he's much more on target with this story than the last time he wrote about Long Island wines.
It's nice to see a respected wine writer like Eric say good things about these "older" vintages. Along with the contention that LI wines are too expensive, lack of cellar worthiness is the other complain I often hear and read about -- sometimes even from people inside the industry.
Looking at the wines tasted, I'm sad to report that I've only tasted on of them, Wolffer's 1994 chardonnay (and I happen to have a magnum of the wine myself). Sounds like I should drink it soon. Maybe I'll take it to California with me later this month.
Regardless of the fact that I haven't tasted the others, I'm in no way surprised by those particular wines. The winemakers involved are among the most respected locally and they are still making many of the best wines. Most of my other favorites haven't been around long enough to offer up wines from the 1995 vintage.
Just like in another other region, there's a lot of plonk being produced here. But there are age-worthy, dare I say world-class, wines as well.
Vintage and producer matters definitely matters though.
Hopefully Eric will follow up this story with something on this blog The Pour. He tends to go deeper into topics and tell readers more.
In March my folks were up from Florida and we had dinner at the Jamesport Country Kitchen. During a lengthy and relaxed meal, we ordered three bottles of older, local wines. The last was the 1995 Bedell Merlot that Asimov had from double magnum. Well, ours was a "normal" bottle, so I guess it had aged "properly" to be consumed at this point. (Interesting that his experience says it needs more time - due to the bottle format, of course.)
Let me tell you that this wine was the pinnacle moment of our weekend as my folks decided that Long Island wines are, in fact, worthy of attention. I didn't take notes that night, but I did head over to Bedell the following Friday to see if they had any of this vintage laying around. Sure enough, they did and I bought the two bottles they would allow me to buy (this was technically from their Library, so they had to be frugal.)
Now, granted, this was their basic Merlot - but it was from 1995, so I expected to "pay" for this privilege. The price? At the restaurant, $65. From the Vineyard, $50. As much as I enjoyed the Wolffer Premier Cru, at $125/bottle, the Bedell is a much better value. (But do try the Premier Cru if you get the chance, believe me!)
Bottom line? Many Long Island Merlots and Bordeaux-style blends are comparable to the Bordeaux themselves. But only a few have the depth, complexity and elegance of their cousins across the pond. The 1995 Bedell Merlot is one of them.
Posted by: Jared S. | June 08, 2006 at 06:12 PM