Matthew Saunds

The Riesling that I had was from a single vineyard on Keuka lake. The wine it’s self at first look….looks as clear as water. On the nose the aromas are very subtle. No Tasting note really jumped out at me. But you poke your noise close enough and you smell the Minerality / peach and the elder flower notes. Not the lemon/lime zest as other NY Riesling’s as I’ve had before. 

 

On the pallet the wine tastes so pure and clean. I had to do a double take and make sure alcohol was in this. This wine is quite deceptive.  It tastes nothing like your traditional New York State Rieslings and taste more like a Loire Valley Sancerre or Chablis. The wine has this over abundance salinity/saltiness to it. The best way I can describe it is as if you’re on the beach and tasting oysters. The flavour profile is abundantly similar. I am having visions of myself on a beach with some oysters and this bottle of wine going hand in hand.

 

The finish is very clean and pure … Short and abrupt but it’s definitely noticeable. I would say a medium finish.  This isn’t the type of wine that is going to die on your mid palate it’s going to have some carry to it by not anything that’s going to make you pucker your lips or have you suck on the inside of your check. 

This is definitely a type of wine that you can have on a nice summer day whether you want to do food or not but this would pair perfectly with pre-dinner meals or lobster/ salmon and seafood dishes would defiantly compliment this wine to a tee. 

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Dr. Konstantin Frank

I had the opportunity to visit one of the premier wineries the Finger Lakes region has to offer. Dr. Konstantin Frank who was a pioneer in the New York wine growing scene and led the movement for New York wines to be recognized on a nation level. The legacy he left is unparalleled. 

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Matthew Saunds

This Cab Franc at its core gives off a medium bodied feel-on the pallet. Poured into a proper wine glass you can see the bright red color immediately. This isn’t going to be a wine that blows you away in terms of high alcohol or very robust style wine. This Cab Franc is more of a “subtle sipper” meaning that you really have to put your nose very faintly within the glass to really encompass the entire wine through aromas that would consist of cherries and a lot of berry flavors….also some undertones of black cherries as well.

On the pallet The wine is very elegant and very smooth, notes of cedar and mohgonaery go to your pallet where you can taste the cherries and the berry flavor and definitely on the back end you get a sense of some old oak probably no more than six months aged to really impart some light tannin and to get the flavors coming through

This wine isn’t necessarily fruit driven. You would think this wine has the right balance to it because you get an equal portion of the first concentration of fruit on the pallet and you have the acidity that drives the flavor but not too much in a way where it’s high acid and on the finish you get a little bit of a soft tanin feel on the back half of your pallet.

My final conclusion with this wine is that it is medium bodied in every sense of the word where you don’t get that overwhelming fruit on the plate. It has enough weight to it for the flavors to carry through the back half of your pallet and leave a really soft but noticeable finish.
Food wise I would think that this could go good with tacos, sausage and peppers / meat lovers style pizza.

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Ravines Wine Cellars Cabernet Franc 2015

Ravines Wine Cellars can be found in the wine region of the Finger Lakes in upstate New York. A small but distinctive winery crafting elegant and expressive wines using Old World practices.

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Matthew Saunds

On The nose you really get this very overly ripe banana pineapple honeydew the effervescence really comes through on the nose.

On the pallet you have the vivaciousness of the bubbles that are very aggressive and very persistent on the pallet. They coat your pallet as you take every sip. Once this champagne really gets to breath it really is something special. It opens up and the flavours are just overwhelming with a lot of the lemony citrus full body ness of the Chardonnay which is hard to ignore.

On the finish it couldn’t be any more smoother as the bubbles subside on your pallet it gives way to a finish that is not only long but the flavours reverberating on the inside of your cheek.

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Fourny & Fils brut Blanc de Blanc Magnum Premier Cru

This is a champagne that I’ve had a few times and I really think it’s extremely underrated. This champagne comes from a small producer. It isn’t one you’re going to see every day in your average wine or liquor store… Not that it’s going to run you a lot of money but it’s one of great quality to price ratio.

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Matthew Saunds

That place is called Red Hook Winery located in Red Hook Brooklyn. Tucked away from what would seem like the world around it.  The Nearest trains being about a 30 min walk away…If you’re looking for a day trip the most effective way to get there is by ferry or bike. It might even seem like a whole different world being isolated along the buttermilk Chanel. With amazing views of the Statue of Liberty and great a wine.

The Cab Franc, I really feel encompasses what a New York state wine is all about.

Delicious, exquisite, inviting, succulent and luscious.

This is a lighter-bodied, Loire-style Cabernet Franc with lovely floral and faint herbal notes.
Bright and fresh, it’s fruity but not jammy with nice savoury notes around the edges.
It was made with 20 percent whole clusters, which adds a bit of complexity and woodsy spice even though the wine only spent 10 months in oak barrels before being bottled.

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Red Hook Winery
Cabernet Franc

Nestled away within the concrete jungle you will find one of the few urban wineries and the only winery that strictly focuses on highlighting the great wines that New York State has to offer. A small yet effective and efficient winery focusing on keeping New York wines on the map.

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Matthew Saunds

The Pinot Noir grapes are picked by hand relatively early in the harvest season making it the base wine with grapes that are just barely ripe and with a low alcohol content so the Pinot Meuiner can be added giving this champagne a 50/50 blend. 3 years of fermentation on the lees with 6 grams per liter making this extra dry style of traditional method champagne.

Rich and smoky on first impression, full bodied yet a harmonious Champagne. Overall, with sleek acidity and some mineral underpinning married to flavors of strawberry, cherry , toast, mandarin orange peel and raspberries . Offers a lasting, vibrant finish.

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Sparkling Pointe Méthode Champenoise

I think that if you were to ask people where would you find sparkling wine on Long Island majority of them wouldn’t know where to begin. To say there are many producers that make traditional method sparking wine is few and far between/nonexistent but there’s a hidden gem amongst the dozens of wineries. All the way out on the Northern fork in the smallest of towns of Long Island called South hold NY.
Here You will stumble upon Sparkling Pointe where their primary focus is solely on making the best expression of sparkling wine in the traditional method that New York has to offer.

 

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