Ravines Wine Cellars 2007 Pinot Noir

By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief

Pinot noir in the Finger Lakes? Absolutely, but if you're interested in high-quality stuff, make sure you know a little bit about the winery you're buying it from.

The best Finger Lakes pinot noirs are made by wineries that are, of course, buying or growing fruit in the best places along the lakes, but there is one other key factor -- crop load, the amount of grapes ripened and harvested per acre.

Some wineries harvest 4 or more tons of pinot per acre, which is possible and can work in the best years (2007 comes to mind). But, the top pinot noir-making wineries -- the wineries that can be counted on for consistent quality in this cool climate region -- typically max out at around 2 tons per acre. 

Ravines Wine Cellars is one such winery that pays by the acre rather than by tonnage. That means winemaker Morten Hallgren can give his growers more stringent direction when it comes to dropping fruit.

The nose on this Ravines Wine Cellars 2007 Pinot Noir ($23) is toasty and earthy (think dried leaves and herbs) with baking spice sprinkled over red cherries and cherry compote.

The cherries are a bit brighter and prominent on the palate, where they are overlaid with toasty spice, plums and more earthiness. Silky and medium bodied, this wine finishes with a cherry pie flavor that lingers nicely.

Producer: Ravins Wine Cellars
AVA: Finger Lakes
ABV: 12.5%
Price: $23*
Rating:  (3 out of 5 | Recommended)

(Ratings Guide)

Comments

[Kathy Troidle, Ghent NY]

Love Ravines Pinor Noir! Going to get me some more when we go to NY Wine Camp next weekend. Thanks for reminding me how yummy it is!

[@nectarwine]

What is the distribution reach of NY wines like this one? Do you know if they ship to WA state. I can check their web site, but thought I would ask. I would love to try wines from NY, MI, and others this year!

Josh

[Evan Dawson]

Solid review. Interestingly, I get less sage in the '07 than the '05, and I love that fresh garden smell. Perhaps it will surface with time in the '07; might in fact be a secondary characteristic. Perhaps Morten will jump into the comments here to say more about it.

I find that in Finger Lakes pinot, the over-cropped examples will show a one-note strawberry character. Very simple and thin. Wines like this show more of a cherry, spicebox, garden herb character. Much more layered and interesting. Their '05 is a wow wine, and this is nicely done as well.

[Lenn Thompson]

Evan,

I remember the 05 being a bit more complex than this, definitely. This is still a top-tier pinot for the region. Time will tell how it ages.

Heart & Hands is another obvious member of that top tier...who else do you put up there?

[Evan Dawson]

It's a short list. The '07 and '08 Wiemer are definitely right there. Damiani is doing very cool stuff, and it seems to show better with a few years (based on the '05). In other words, wines from good growers and careful yields. I know it's a broken record, but it's true.

[Jeff Houck]

Add Hosmer to your short list of finger lakes Pinot producers. They have made excellant Pinot Noir for a number of years.

[jim]

I think its important to note that $23 is a very fair price for top flight pinot noir, too.

[Lenn Thompson]

Jeff: Hosmer is a good addition. They don't get the attention they deserve.

Jim: You're absolutely right. It's tough to find tasty pinot in this price range.

[Ryan Love]

Beyond the ones already listed, Shalestone reliably produces quality pinot. Dr. Frank's '05 is quite good. I like their '07 too, but I would give the edge to the '05.
Generally speaking, I thought the 2005 pinots stronger than the 2007 in the Finger Lakes. I wonder if that's just me.

[Evan Dawson]

Ryan -

It's not just you. It's interesting to note that 2007 was potentially the best vintage ever in the Finger Lakes for Cabernet Franc, Lemberger, and whatever else bigger red varieties you can name. But Pinot is a different identity, and I've already heard from the devoted Pinot producers (Ravines and Heart & Hands, as examples) that they believe the 2008 vintage was better suited for Pinot. And of course 2005 was stellar as well. It's more delicate and it wouldn't surprise me at all if, while '07 is a benchmark for most Finger Lakes reds, '08 is the Pinot benchmark. We'll see.

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