Winemaker Notes
Blend: 55% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Noir, 5% Pinot Meunier.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This is a smartly made traditional method fizz from one of the Finger Lakes' most respected producers. Lovely layers of aromas, from gilled apple and honeyed pear to florals and white spice open on the rich, toasty nose. Lively bubbles and racy acidity leap from the glass at first sip. There's tangy fruit, textural interest and excellent length. It is, frankly, delicious.
Editors' Choice -
Decanter
A wonderful wine from one of New York's keystone producers and one of the true talents of American sparkling wine year after year. Three years in tirage make for a wine of richness, with both breadth and depth of flavour. Aromas of beeswax, Jonagold apples and cut pear lead into a delicate palate that balances with yeasty complexity. Flavours of lemon and almond cremes, baked pear and just a hint of shortbread.
Representing the topmost expression of a Champagne house, a vintage Champagne is one made from the produce of a single, superior harvest year. Vintage Champagnes account for a mere 5% of total Champagne production and are produced about three times in a decade. Champagne is typically made as a blend of multiple years in order to preserve the house style; these will have non-vintage, or simply, NV on the label. The term, "vintage," as it applies to all wine, simply means a single harvest year.
As the most historic wine-producing region in New York state, winemaking in the Finger Lakes area dates back to the 1820s and today as a region, accounts for 90% of the state’s total wine production.
Its narrow and deep lakes created by the movement of Ice Age glaciers create an environment similar to the classic Riesling-loving regions of Europe, namely Germany and Austria. The Finger Lakes retain summer heat that incidentally warms up cold winter air, making it fall down from the lakes’ steep slopes. When spring comes, the lakes, already cooled by cold winter weather, stave off vine budding until the danger of frost has subsided. The main lakes of the zone, that is those big enough to moderate the climate in this way, are the focal points of prime vineyard areas. They include Canandaigua, Keuka, Seneca and Cayuga.
While Riesling has fueled most of the region’s success, today Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc enjoy some attention.