Back at the Lenz Winery tasting room Eric Fry proudly speaks of the specialness of our climate and how the grapes are always visible with nice straight open canopies. Being far enough north that he wants all the sunlight he can get (as opposed to California which needs protection), he removes leaves on the vine to expose the grape, getting the added benefit of circulation which helps prevent disease. The grapes' response to that much sun is to produce pigment... lots of pigment, resulting in having very high Resveratrol ratings (good for you and me).
Now out of the cellar and away from the barrels I get to taste the Lenz Old Vines Cabernet Sauvignon 2002 from the bottle. It's light and crisp rather than heavy and sweet, fruit forward with red cherry, red raspberry. Soft and lean, almost like a Pinot Noir, not like California style Cabernet... not heavy, rich and sweet. Eric said that he added some "Old Vines" Merlot to this Cab to inject some black fruit into the flavor profile for more complexity. $40.
1 comment:
Hey Dave,
I tried the 2003 Cab from LENZ this past weekend. My wife and I actually paired it with some good old thin crust pizza. It was really good, though for $15 didn't "wow" me. That's not to say I was disappointed, and I will certainly return for some more, as I am happy to support a North Fork producer. I feel like a different year will be even better, such as a bottle of 2001 Estate Selection. I think I'll try the 2003 Merlot next for comparison.
Cheers!
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