Proprietor Lisa Donneson was kind enough to send along a bottle of her 2007 Bouké Red made on the North Fork of Long Island, $21, 13% abv. Now, it's no secret that I'm fond of claret-style red blends, and I marvel at the winemaker's art of combining different grapes. This one is 35% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Syrah, and 5% Petit Verdot. Call it a Bordeaux vacation with a weekend trip to Rhone. The nose is a pleasant blend of stewed fruit, blueberries, and raisins. Touches of black cherry linger afterwards. The wine follows through on the berry flavors with a tart cranberry mouthfeel and a bit of vegetation presumably from the Cabernet Franc. Medium tannins, warm and pleasing finish. It's well put together, and I can't wait to see what other fascinating wines emerge from Bouké in the future.
After taking my notes on the wine, I had the opportunity to pour it for a group of friends and family at a BBQ hosted by my brother. He had marinated six racks of ribs, injected them with apple juice, and slow cooked them over Jack Daniels coals for several hours. Not only did six more people from the Mid-South get to try a New York wine for the first time, but they all loved it and the strength of the grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot were able to stand up to the flavorful smoked meat. Is it the perfect pairing? Not necessarily--I would recommend lamb chops or beef short ribs--but the combination definitely worked.
Check out this wine if you get the opportunity. The website has a list of retail locations in the NYC area as well as contact info for further distribution.
5 comments:
A New York red worthy of note? Really? I'll give a shot, but I continue to be skeptical. I've found some great Riesling and Ice Wine but red anything is hard to imagine.
Brad,
Don't just take my word for it, there's an entire blog devoted to New York wines, and you'll see many interesting reds reviewed there.
I've been reading a lot about New York wines but cannot seem to find any out here. Maybe on one of my visits south I can find some.
Samantha,
NY wines are sometimes hard to find outside of New England... there are interesting icewines out of the Finger Lakes region in the west as well as the more traditional wines of Long Island. Thanks of course to our nation's Byzantine web of interstate laws when it comes to wine, it's hard to get wines from certain states.
For instance, Tennessee does not allow for wine shipments to individuals, and no Virginia wines are sold in my area. However, I can happily pick up a Tasmanian wine from a pretty remote part of the world without any problem.
Dude....who you tellin'? Don't even get me started on shipping restrictions! I have to face our online store everyday and then send out emails telling people their state wont allow us to ship to them, really annoying for them and a lost sale for us...lose, lose.
Post a Comment