WTN: Shinn Estate Vineyards 2006 First Fruit (North Fork)

Chardonnay, shmarddonay.

Yes, chardonnay is the white wine that dominates the Long Island wine scene. It's the most planted and, obviously, most made. That's because despite trends away from it, it's still the most sold white wine in the market.

Yes, I like--and sometimes love--local chardonnay. The acid balance can be stellar in these parts.

But, so far this spring, the wines I've been digging most have been local sauvignon blancs.

There have already been several 2006 sauvignons that I've enjoyed and Shinn Estate Vineyards’ 2006 First Fruit ($23) which is primarily sauvignon blanc, with just a squirt (4%) Semillon, fits right in.

Right out of the bottle, the nose is a little taut and doesn’t offer much, but with a little coaxing, bright, fresh aromas of juicy pear citrus and sweet basil emerge.

Medium bodied and flavorful, the pear flavors are lip-smackingly delicious, with subtle ruby red grapefruit and terrific acidity. The herbal character of the grape is here, particularly on a surprisingly long minty-lime finish, but it’s not aggressive or overbearing.

Impeccable balance is on display here. Local seafood prays for this wine when it goes to sleep at night.

Comments

[nerd]

it's funny, the tasting room guy at Roanoke told me that the marine climate and soil (but specifically the soil) of the east end of long island is most similar to Graves, in Bordeaux. he then surmised that this is why cabernet franc and merlot are so important to long island... This may or may not be true (Cab Sauv. doesn't seem to work as well on LI), but what he didn't mention is that white wine is really important to Graves, specifically Sauvignon Blanc and Semillion. This seems to be what Shinn is doing here, a white Bordeaux. Big ups to them because it's delicious. I find the nose to be pineappley, where jamesport's nose is grassier.

And to take a more irrational technical analysis point of view, the pointy, presqu'ile, geographies of bordeaux, long island and New Zealand are similar. maybe sauvingon likes to be planted near oceans, on salty sandy soil, strung out on skinny penninsulas.

[Brooklynguy]

This was my favorite Sauvignon Blanc at the recent Brooklyn Uncorked tasting. I think Shinn is knocking it out of the park with basically every wine they make, from their "red" totheir higher priced reserve wines.

[Jeff]

I tried this one out at Shinn on Saturday - and loved it. At first, it was so "different" that I couldn't decide, but after sitting with it for a few minutes, I was definitely digging it.