A Barrel Tasting with Eric Fry, Winemaker at Lenz Winery

I have to admit I was intrigued at the prospect of visiting the inner sanctum of a winery... its cellar. Here on the North Fork of Long Island, New York at the Lenz Winery it is a dark, damp and mysterious place packed with French oak barrels. Our first taste is the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon which is 93% Cab and 7% Petit Verdot. Eric climbs up behind a huge barrel and returns with a wine thief full of the Cab. There are lots of fruits, raspberry, cherry and blueberry and Eric says "they were picked late, November 15, and on the vine so long they were begging for picking. We fermented really cold to get rid of the tannins, so that now there's a fruity and light structure". They will be adding Petit Verdot and Merlot (both fermented separately) to the Cab later to help fill up the tannin structure. These wines won't be on the market for another 4 to 5 years, they're really good now, which means they can only get better.