2020 Reviewed Wines

Very attractive cherry and raspberry fruit with touches of citrus zest and spice. Simultaneously ripe, delicate and elegant, the fine tannins building steadily at the long, moderately dry finish. Just beginning to open up.

The 2020 Pinot Noir Reserve Nutt Road Vineyard was aged for 11 months in 14% new French oak and comes in at 13.1% alcohol. I’d say this is the best and safest bet of the winery’s Pinot submissions in this report. It has the most firmness on the finish and projects the extra concentration to soak up the better structure, even while remaining light and elegant. This small-production Pinot shows great if you appreciate finesse, as this adds just enough to what its siblings produce. The finish is long, dry and serious. This can use another year or two to evolve and acquire complexity. It should do well thereafter.

Clove, dried-sage and cardamon aromas, plus red-berry notes. Quite firmly structured with good density in the core, this needs some time to open up. Long, moderately dry finish with delicate candied-orange and earthy notes.

A fragrant and enticing pinot noir that shows how Finger Lakes can also make attractive, lighter wines from this grape that can stand next to similar wines from Burgundy. Silky finish with delicate red-berry sweetness that pulls you back for more.

You could mistake this for a good barrel-fermented chardonnay, thanks to the fine, toasty and candied-citrus aromas. Medium to full body with moderate acidity. Long, textural finish with enough freshness and a touch of chalky character. A 100% pinot noir that was vinified as a white wine, partly in used oak casks and partly in stainless steel.

What a joyful wine traditional-method sparkling riesling is. Stacks of sliced pear and lemon blossom aromas, plus a touch of garden herbs, make this lively and light-footed wine very easy to enjoy. The balance of fruit, crisp acidity and fine mousse is spot on. Juicy front palate, but properly dry at the surprisingly long finish.

Complex, youthful nose with a wide spectrum of delicate yellow-fruit aromas that range from lemon to fresh pineapple, but the more striking thing about it is the intense, chalky minerality. Long, very clean and harmoniously dry finish

So much ripe citrus, plus a slew of yellow peach. Wonderful balance of ripe fruit, medium body and lively, citrusy acidity. Good depth and a subtle, earthy quality at the long finish. Made from vineyards on Seneca Lake.

The 2020 Dry Riesling comes in with eight grams of residual sugar and 8.1 grams of total acidity, plus 11.1% alcohol. A beautiful wine, this feels full in the mouth but also perfectly balanced between acidity and sugar. As Dry Rieslings go, it is not particularly stern or steely, but it has perfectly integrated acidity. It tastes great and seems classic in both flavors and aromas. As it airs out, the acidity shows off a little more, justifying its name. I liked it more and more. It should age well, perhaps better than indicated. It’s a beauty that still has room to improve.

Very crisp and vibrant with plenty of ripe apple, lemon and grapefruit, but also notes of fresh herbs and candied angelica. Healthy structure that enables it carry the fresh acidity at the long, crisp finish.

The 2020 Riesling, meant to be an off-dry version, comes in with 19 grams of sugar, 11.1% alcohol and 8.1 grams of total acidity. The fruit here is sourced from Seneca Lake (Seneca East is on the east side, and Nutt Road Vineyard is on the west side). This handles its sugar perfectly, the acidity easily cutting through and taking over. The sugar does its job, though, making this just a little friendlier. It shows dry enough to still pass for a regular table wine, and on the finish, there is plenty of tension and lift to the fruit. At a very reasonable price point, this delivers classic flavors and aromatics in a tightly wound package that seems serious and focused