(and amazing dinner) at their apartment.
The theme was Abe Shoener, who is doing some
pretty awesome things on both coasts.
On the west coast he has The Scholium Project
(the website is a wealth of info on their winemaking-
highly recommend reading through it)
and half of the wines in the Red Hook Winery on the east.
We started our tasting with
"Naucratis" from Scholium and
Clone 95 from Red Hook, both 2009
Naucratis is a Verdelho and Clone 95 is a
Chardonnay. Surprisingly, I preferred the
Chard! It was reminiscent of a lovely white
Burgundy. 36 months on neutral oak gave it
some pretty floral notes but also some petrol,
and because the grapes are from Long Island
you still get those typical stony notes on the back.
The Naucratis just kind of fell flat for me,
I wanted more from the nose, and more acidity
on the palate. It was, however, a good pairing
with sharp cheese.
The net 2 wines were Scholium's The Prince in His Caves,
and the unphotographed Red Hook Gristina Chard.
The Prince and the Gristina are both skin fermented.
The nose on the Prince made me shout (with joy).
Semi-typical Sauv Blanc nose but with a little more
Yuzu, herbs, and light funkiness. I don't really wear perfume
but if I did I'd want the scent to be something like this.
On the palate it had great acidity and a fuller body, I really
loved this wine. As for the Gristina the nose was more of
apricots and herbs, there was definitely a little menthol
hiding somewhere in there. Very refreshing and balanced.
Now for the reds, we tasted the Red Hook Rebirth from
the Sea-which, I should note was named before Sandy struck.
If you don't know Red Hook was basically destroyed because of
Sandy. They recently opened their doors again, the husband and
I are planning a trip out there soon.) Brico Babelico from Scholium
and Groth's 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon. The Brico clocked in
at 17.14% alcohol. It is a Barolo style Petite Sirah, and good
gracious it is packing heat, and smells of pancakes. (read: maple
syrup) It was a little too big for me, I felt like I couldn't really enjoy it
and you'd think that it might just need food but I actually think that
food made it worse. The Red Hook wine was a
Bordeaux blend (Merlot, Cab Sauv, Cab Franc) and this one
I kind of liked but the presence of vanilla always kind of halts
my taste buds. Sometimes I feel like it hides the varietals under
a cloak of oaky spice- but if I had to choose
oak for my wine I'd take French or Slovenian.
The Groth had a little bit more age to it, being a 2005.
It still had some of the toasty notes, but it also had some
really nice tart cherry flavors as well. It was pretty mellow,
and I'm sure with a few more years on it, it would be
even more enjoyable.
The winner for me, was Red Hook's Clone 95 Chardonnay.
with The Prince in His Caves running a very close second,
I am a sucker for petrol-y, caramel flavors in my Chard-
and this delivered.
An extra thank you to P & J, for being such amazing hosts!
I also wanted to post a photo of the adorable Meester
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