The New York Cork Report 2010 Wines of the Year: The Finalists

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor

After tasting, re-tasting and re-re-tasting dozens of wines over the last few weeks, today we're happy to announce the finalists in our "New York Cork Report 2010 Wines of the Year" program.

Each wine was hand-picked by the wine editor for each respective region -- Evan Dawson (Finger Lakes), Bryan Calandrelli (Niagara) and myself (Long Island and Hudson River Region) -- and will be tasted by the NYCR team in mid-January to determine the winners.

Finger Lakes Sparkling

• Heart & Hands Wine Company 2009 Brut Rose
• Lamoreaux Landing 2006 Blanc de Blanc

Finger Lakes Riesling

• Atwater Estate Vineyards 2009 Dry Riesling
• Damiani Wine Cellars 2009 Riesling
• Hermann J. Wiemer 2009 Late Harvest Riesling
• Hermann J. Wiemer 2008 Magdalena Vineyard Riesling
• Lamoreaux Landing 2009 Dry Riesling

Finger Lakes Other White

• Bloomer Creek Vineyards 2008 Gewurztraminer
• Keuka Spring Vineyards 2009 Vignoles
• Hermann J. Wiemer 2008 Gewurztraminer
• Red Newt 2008 Curry Creek Vineyard Gewurztraminer
• Rooster Hill 2009 Gewurztraminer

Finger Lakes Red

• Heart & Hands Wine Company 2008 Barrel Reserve Pinot Noir
• Hermann J. Wiemer 2008 Reserve Cabernet Franc
• Ravines Wine Cellars 2007 Meritage
• Shaw Vineyard     2005 Cabernet Franc
• Tierce 2007 Red

Finger Lakes Desert/Ice

• Sheldrake Point 2008 Riesling Ice
• Standing Stone Vineyards 2008 Riesling Ice

Hudson Valley White

• Hudson-Chatham Winery 2009 Empire Reserve White
• Millbrook Winery 2008 Block Two West Chardonnay
• White Cliff Winery 2009 Riesling

Hudson Valley Red

• Hudson-Chatham Winery 2009 Baco Noir Reserve
• Millbrook Winery 2008 Block Five East Pinot Noir
• Oak Summit Vineyard 2008 Pinot Noir

Long Island Sparkling

• Lenz Winery 1996 Cuvee RD
• Lenz Winery 2004 Cuvee
• Lieb Family Cellars 2007 Blanc de Blancs

Long Island White

• Channing Daughters Winery 2008 Meditazione
• Channing Daughters Winery 2008 Vino Bianco
• Paumanok Vineyards 2009 Chenin Blanc
• Paumanok Vineyards 2009 Sauvignon Blanc
• Shinn Estate Vineyards 2009 First Fruit Sauvignon Blanc

Long Island Merlot

• Grapes of Roth 2004 Merlot
• Osprey's Dominion Vineyards 2007 Reserve Merlot
• Paumanok Vineyard 2007 Tuthill's Lane Merlot
• Shinn Estate Vineyards 2007 Nine Barrels Reserve Merlot
• Wolffer Estate 2005 "Lambardo" Merlot

Long Island Other Red

• Bedell Cellars 2007 Musee
• Macari Vineyards 2007 Bergen Road
• Roanoke Vineyards 2007 Blend One
• Roanoke Vineyards 2007 Gabby's Cabernet Franc
• Shinn Estate Vineyards 2007 Wild Boar Doe

Long Island Dessert

• Paumanok Vineyards 2009 Late Harvest Riesling
• Waters Crest Winery 2009 Night Watch
• Wolffer Estate Vineyards 2008 "Diosa" Late Harvest Chardonnay

Niagara White

• Arrowhead Spring Vineyards 2009 Pinot Gris
• Arrowhead Spring Vineyards 2008 Reserve Chardonnay
• Eveningside Vineyards 2009 Estate Unoaked Chardonnay
• Eveningside Vineyards 2009 Sauvignon Blanc
• Leonard Oakes Estate 2009 Chardonnay

Niagara Red

• Arrowhead Spring Vineyards 2008 Estate Malbec
• Arrowhead Spring Vineyards 2008 Estate Reserve Cabernet Franc
• Arrowhead Spring Vineyards 2008 Estate Syrah
• Freedom Run Winery 2008 Estate Meritage
• Freedom Run Winery 2008 Estate Reserve Cabernet Franc

 

Comments

[peter]

Awesome.

[Gwen]

I am curious why, in the LI merlot category, there are a number of different vintages - '04, '05, '07s? and how does one take that into account when judging?

[Lenn Thompson]

Gwen: To be eligible for the 2010 edition of this tasting, a wine must be released during the 2010 calendar year. As you well know, different wineries are at different places in their stock, thus the different vintages.

I don't think it has much bearing on the judging at all. Yes, these wines will be in different stages of development, but the same would be true even if they were all from 2007. Some wines are made for the long haul, others are not.

We look forward to tasting Les' first wines at Raphael in 2011!

[Brian]

Impressive lineup of wines. I've had several of the wines and can't wait to see how they fare in the final tasting. In fact, the 2007 Shinn Estate Nine Barrels made my list of top wines in 2010. Cheers!

[Jay]

Nice choices, need any help in tasting for the finals????

[1winedude]

It's lists like this that get me jonesin' for some NY wine in my glass...!

[Ryan Love]

When I tasted the Wiemer 2008 gewurtztraminer, I thought it was the best FLX gewurtztraminer I had tasted. I didn't get a chance to taste the others you nominated, which I am now very much regretting.
I was also interested to see that Wiemer's 2009 Late Harvest Riesling (which I have not tasted) was nominated over the 2008 (which was a darn impressive wine). I definitely need to get my hands on that one.
Looking forward to the results.

[Lenn Thompson]

Ryan: I REALLY like that 08 Late Harvest (have a few bottles hidden away for longer-term aging) but that wine was released during the 2009 calendar year.

To be eligible for the 2010 program, a wine must be released during the 2010 year. It's really that simple.

Hope you and yours are enjoying a great holiday season.

[Ryan Love]

Lenn,

My mistake on the 08 Late Harvest. I didn't realize Wiemer had released it so early.
I really like your decision to separate the riesling from the rest of the Finger Lakes whites, by the way. It's nice to see the gewurtztraminer getting some attention, not to mention a vignoles. Wineries tend to market vignoles as a cheap wine, but some of it can be quite good.
Holiday wishes to your family as well.

[Lenn Thompson]

Ryan: We knew we had to separate out riesling almost immediately last year when we started the Finger Lakes white flight. There was an outstanding gewurztraminer in that flight (Red Newt) and it was like comparing apples to oranges within a flight of rieslings.

And I agree on vignoles 200%. I wish that more wineries would TREAT it as more than a cheap sweet wine, because in the right hands, they can really be delicious wines.

[Steve]

Lenn- it seems like the Gabby Cab Franc is kind of in the wrong category against the blends. Why not a Long Island Cab Franc category or am I making this more complicated. Was it considered?