Long Island Wine's VS. The World... Who was the winner? You will be surpriced
Paumanok Vineyards, North Fork, Long Island, New York
Tasted February 13, 2005 by jamiekutch with 2,235 views
Introduction
Well this was some time in the making and finally last night 25 fellow wine lovers gathered at Paumanok to battle it out. The rules were simple, bring the best wines you can, and lets go head to head. Long Island Wines VS. California & Bordeaux. We kept the wines double blind and it was all coordinated by Jim Hamilton who did a wonderful job. Most knew that Charles would be reaching for the 95 vintage from LI along with the 93 as both were excellent. Fellow board-members went after 95 & 96 California wines and 90 & 98 Bordeaux as the competition. The players were:
Charles and Ursula Massoud (Our Wonderful Host's)
Eric Fry and Louisa Hargrave
Les and Gwenn Howard
Kareem Massoud
Ray and Fran Ormand
Jim Hamilton
Dan and Jane Myers
Paul and Sandy Jaouen
James Jr and Marie Boudereau
Jamie Kutch and Kristen Green
Peter and Mary Hirdt
Jim Gallagher
Jeff and Nora Filippi
William and Sheila Natbony
Flight 1 - Lenz Sparkling Wines (2 notes)
We started off on the right foot with 2 different vintages of Lenz Sparkling wines and some local "Mystic" Oysters. There were two women shucking for us and I couldn't get enough. From the mouth of the Mystic river they were caught the prior morning and boy were they fresh. The wines paired wonderfully with the oysters as did the shrimp that was being passed around. We socialzed for about 40 minutes and Eric Fry gave us some background on his wonderful wines he made.
White - Sparkling
1996 Lenz Pinot Noir
USA, New York, Long Island, North Fork
70% Pinot Noir, & 30% Chardonnay this sparkling wine from the North Fork of Long Island was bottled in 1997 and disgorged in 2004. It was a nice intro into what the evening was about to hold. With its grapefruit like aromas and medium bite, I found it to be a delight on the front palate with good quality fruit and a bone drying finish. With Eric Fry, the winemaker doing the pouring, it was easy to see that the LI winemakers take their work very seriously. His passion for Sparkling wine was immediately evident. Well done.
White - Sparkling
1991 Lenz Pinot Noir
USA, New York, Long Island, North Fork
I missed the blend on this Sparkling wine (as I was propped up against the Oyster Station) but the wine was made in 91' bottled in 92' and disgorged in 2004. I found this to have nice aging qualities like breadbox aromas and yeast flavors. The palate was dryer than the 96' with less fruit evident but was harmonious when tasted along with the local oysters.
Flight 2 - Merlot Flight (6 notes)
For the first flight we all sat down and began to get serious. Local Long Island duck was served and it was magnificent. A true testimony to how much LI has to offer they were raised just up the street Charles mentioned. The wines began to be passed around and were numbered 1-6. All were tasted for about 40 minutes and we voted on paper our favorite to our least favorite. The outcome's of all the flights below are in order of the groups favorite wine to their least favorite. One note I would like to point out is of the 10 Long Island red wines that competed against the 10 California and Bordeaux wines there was never a time that the LI wines didn't hold up to or where blown out by the non-LI wines. I was amazed at how well they stood the test and I on a few occasions I even enjoyed the LI wine more then the others present. As a note, the 1995 Paumanok Cabernet was mixed up into this flight accidentally.
Red
1996 Beringer Vineyards Merlot Bancroft Ranch
USA, California, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain
Opaque purple in color this was easily pinned as a California wine. With all its gorgeous featured it stood out amongst the rest. Showing concentration, richness, extract, and succulent dark fruit this viscous wine holds it all together in a balanced and proportionate way. Easily the best finish of the flight. There are still copious amounts of tannin and this is a wine I would like to revisit in 5 years.
Red
1996 Pahlmeyer Merlot
USA, California, Napa Valley
Red with a slight hue of coffee colored black, I read that this wine was bottled unfined and unfiltered and I thought it was starting to show its age. It possessed some funk on the nose and some scorched fruit aromas - I almost questioned weather this wine could have seen some heat in its lifetime. Black licorice, smoked wood, and bitter chocolate. It left my palate with its bitter tannins and slightly drying finish. I pegged this wine for a Long Island wine and was shocked when unveiled. Could it have been a slightly flawed bottle, or was the Paumanok merlot clearly a better wine?
Red
1999 Paloma Merlot
USA, California, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District
I picked this blind amongst the reds, as it possessed an opaque purple hue that looks like it would glow under a black light. It's big beastly almost Aussie style was clearly out of place amongst it's childish siblings. This is a freak show Merlot with gobs of big fat black fruit and sticky tar like qualities. The tannins are sweet and the oak is bold. It grabs you by the shirt and holds you on the 15+ finish.
Red
1995 Paumanok Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Vintage
USA, New York, Long Island, North Fork
This was a big surprises to me as I didn't peg it for a LI wine and ranked it in front of the Pahlmeyer Merlot from California. With it's big style but toned down mouth feel, it represented some qualities I look for in a wine. Still possessing an abundance of fruit and subtle tannins it easily went 12 rounds without a knockout tonight. Showing balance and harmony on the palate the only flaw was its rather brief finish. A knock out effort, this was one of the wines of the evening that changed my perception on Long Island wine.
Red
1995 Lenz Cabernet Sauvignon
USA, New York, Long Island, North Fork
This Cabernet was accidentaly snuck into our Merlot line-up. It was ruby red in color and had a nice cherry red fruit nose. The palate was thin and the wine went downhill in a hurry. The backbone and structure to this wine was non apparent and my thoughts were that it was from Long Island.
Red
1995 Bedell Merlot Reserve
USA, New York, Long Island, North Fork
This wine was slightly passed its prime and was begining to show it's age. With it's underbrush and earthy notes I pegged it for a Long Island wine. It was light to thin on the palate and offered an unbalanced finish.
Flight 3 - Cabernet Flight (6 notes)
I personally was really looking forward to this flight. The Insignia was easily my wine of the night and showed beautifully. The other 3 Long Island wines also showed wonderfully. They crushed the competition (Montelena & Pichon Baron). Some said the Montelena needed more time in the decanter and others thought the Baron was flawed, I don't know for sure but I do know that the LI wines were clearly able to hang out with the IN crowd and gained my respect. As a note, the 1995 Lenz Merlot was mixed up into this flight accidentally. These wines were consumed with Veal which was a perfect match for the Cabernet wines.
Red
1995 Joseph Phelps Insignia
USA, California, Napa Valley
Before this wine even reached my lips I knew we had a winner. Dark luscious red in color, the nose gave off hints of bubble gum and bright red fruit nuances. The palate was magnificent and this was easily picked as a California Cabernet. The copious fruit held up in the glass easily over the 30 minute flight and I couldn't keep my hands off it... Easily my wine of the flight and a wonderful wine experience.
Red
1995 Paumanok Cabernet Sauvignon Tuthills Lane Vineyard
USA, New York, Long Island, North Fork
Well ill be damned... This wine beat out both the 95' Montelena and 90' Pichon Baron when the scores where in. I found the nose to be slightly muted. The wine showed very strong on the palate and the finish was dreamy with tannins still in place to hold this wine for several more years to come. An outstanding accomplishment and one of the better wine of the evening. I would have liked more time to coax the nose to pop a little further. Parker scored this wine in January of 2000 and gave it an 89 Points. He noted that there were only 69 cases of this juice produced. I was glad to have experienced a bottle.
Red
1993 Bedell Cabernet Sauvignon
USA, New York, Long Island, North Fork
This wine easily fooled me of its age being served from Magnum with its cassis like flavors and strong gripped flavors and finish. I pinned it as a Long Island wine for the fact that the other wines had riper fruit and this had some small sour notes. Others felt like it was a strong contender and voted it ahead of the 85' Montelena and 90' Baron.
Red
1995 Lenz Merlot Estate Selection
USA, New York, Long Island, North Fork
I had little notes on this wine as it was misplaced in this flight. In my note I wrote thin and very easy drinker. When revealed it was a merlot in a flight of Cabernets. It was a shame for me this didn't have a chance to strut its stuff in the last flight as I think it was overwhelmed amongst it big brethren grape Cabernet. Still others voted and put this LI wine in front of the 95 Montelena and 90 Pichon Baron..
Red
1995 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon The Montelena Estate
USA, California, Napa Valley
Upon entry with this wine I was thrilled as it smelled and tasted like a true champion. Amazingly within 5 minutes it was like someone slammed the door and closed all that wonderful fruit and aromas in my face. This was shut down or in some sorta hypnotic trance as there was little more than a jagged edged sword on the palate. It became totally disjointed and it was pushed aside. Innitially I thought this and the 1st wine of the flight were easily the 2 California Cabernets, when it shut down I has some doubt's. In any event I picked this as my second favorite even if a glimpse into its future only lasted 2 minutes. Here are those 2 minutes.. Full body, powerhouse body builder the color was dark purple. Tannins were sweet and intergrated and it had a sweet inner-core of ripe fruit flavors. Wait, Wait - it's gone... :(
Red
1990 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
I am not sure what the deal was with this wine but I have BRAWNEY in big letters in my notes. I am not sure if this bottle was flawed (others thought that might be the case) but something was wrong. Paul mentioned a slight vegetal element to it and it placed dead last. For me I didn't think it was a LI wine but certainly didn't enjoy my time with it. The fruit was dull and the palate put you to sleep like math class in 5th grade. This placed dead last in the Cabernet flight.
Flight 4 - Blend flight #1 (4 notes)
I knew the Pavie (which I brought) was coming up in either this flight or the next and expected it to be possible the wine of the night. After I tasted all 4 wines in this flight I thought to myself, it must not be here. Boy was I wrong. The results were astounding with both Long Island wines stomping on the competition. These wines were consumed with some wonderful cheeses.
Red
2001 Paumanok Assemblage
USA, New York, Long Island, North Fork
Stop the Press bat man - Read all about it - 01 Paumanok blend beats 98 Pavie and 95 Ducru in a blind tasting.. Is it true you ask? Yes it is. This wine had its guns blazing tonight and took down all the competition in this flight. Easily accessible fruit and open for business this wine drank lovely. With some sweeter tannin’s than the other LI wines from the mid 90's it had some dark fruit and lovely chocolate tones. I wouldn't have believed it unless I was there. Great job Charles and thanks..
Red
1995 Paumanok Assemblage
USA, New York, Long Island, North Fork
Bright red this wine had some strong tannins and oak under its skin. The bitter tannins told me that this was probably another Long Island wine. This wine was rather one dimesional and uninspiring. Unfortunatly I never found out the blend that this wine was.
Red
1995 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
The lead pencil pointed me to think Bordeaux. This wine offered up meat leather, come tabacco and not much in the way of fruit. I think it needed a lot more air and as for the fruit I found myself waiting for a trains to arrive in the station and I couldn't even hear the whistle. To me this was a let down.
Red
1998 Château Pavie
France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
Dark broodingly red. Tannic Beast is all I kept saying to myself. What a tannic beast.. This wine was sporting little more than some barely legal fruit under its thick skin of tannin. Parker writes this is a 50 year old wine and I think he is dead on and this should be opened in 2050. I asked Manlin how long to decant this wine and he said no more than 30 minutes, well I handed Jim my bottle and hadn't realized that he decanted it and it was open for almost 3 plus hours. I am not sure if it tightened up or what the deal was but to me this wine was too difficult to get a read on. With its thick tannic shell I was confused as I have read many times how much people have loved this wine and how ready to go it really is. I scratched my head and humbly moved on.
Flight 5 - Blend flight #2 (4 notes)
This flight was done a little too quickly for me as it was getting late in the evening. They were consumed with local homemade Biscotti and homemade Cheese Cake.
Red
1999 Viader
USA, California, Napa Valley
Dark ruby red a whiff from the nose of this wine sent me soaring. Lush is the proper word for the palate. This one takes you for a long slow seductive ride. Sweet fruit it jumps around on the palate and one can make out the vanilla and oak under tones. A wonderful wine that showed it all tonight and I was glad I had a front row seat..
Red
1996 Dominus Estate Napanook Vineyard
USA, California, Napa Valley
This wine boasted and flaunted its alcohol and power in a subtle way. With its kirsch liquor flavors and ripe succulent fruit flavors it memorized me for some time and I figured it was a Bordeaux. The tannins were nicely embedded and fruit was happy. A nice wine but my palate was showing fatigue at this point for any more.
Red
1993 Paumanok Assemblage
USA, New York, Long Island, North Fork
Served from Magnum this wine was like the little train who could. It kept on pursuing its west coast brethren. Flight after flight these wines hung in and sometimes ever out-performed. This wine possessed some cherry fruit, roast beef, earth tones and was packed with tannins to keep its best days still to come.
Red
2000 Paumanok Assemblage
USA, New York, Long Island, North Fork
This wine's lost some focus from me as the night was long and the wines were plentiful. I recall the balance not being as strong as the other wines in the flight and the fruit to be slightly disappointing.
Flight 6 - Desserts (4 notes)
As if we didn't have enough 4 dessert wines were popped.
White - Sweet/Dessert
2002 Paumanok Late Harvest Riesling
USA, New York, Long Island, North Fork
Vibrant fruit this was served blind and I knew immediately from the nose it was Riesling. Ohh how I love this grape. Thick and mouth coating one only needed a sip to satisfy. Honey and candied exotic fruit this was a delight to a delightful evening.
Closing
Chales, I would personally like to thank you for a truly wonderful experience. You and Ursula were absolutly perfect hosts and it was truly a memorable event. You can call me your friend.
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