Wine Recommendation
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Wine Recommendation

Wine:Waters Crest Winery 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon  (North Fork of Long Island)

Waters Crest Winery

2004 Cabernet Sauvignon
(North Fork of Long Island)



Waters Crest Winery, and its amateur-turned-pro winemaker (and co-owner) Jim Waters puts out some of the most delicious Rieslings and Gewurztraminers on Long Island. The Riesling, in particular, has been a favorite since he opened his doors a few years ago. Yes, those Alsatian-style whites have been the real draws to his tiny tasting room tucked into an industrial plaza in Cutchogue.

But, with his 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon ($55), and other reds from the same vintage, he seems to have turned a corner and is started to further define the style of his red wines. On Long Island, Cabernet Sauvignon often finds itself relegated to backup duty--as a blending grape in Bordeaux-style blends or rose-making fodder--and with good reason. It's notorious for not always ripening completely, and it often results in green, leafy wines when bottled varietally. Not so with this wine, which is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon that was hand harvested in late October and aged for 16 months in new French oak.

Bold and full bodied, blackberries, blueberry jam, vanilla and a faint eucalyptus note combine in a ripe, expressive nose. There is deep extraction here and substantial tannins, but even in its youth the dark fruit and vanilla flavors hint to a great future. The aging potential is big here. Waters Crest is one of the smallest producers around, but the production on this wine takes "small batch" to a whole new level. Only 24 cases were produced.

Reviewed August 2, 2007 by Lenn Thompson.

The Wine

Winery: Waters Crest Winery
Vintage: 2004
Wine: Cabernet Sauvignon
Appellation: North Fork of Long Island
Grape: Cabernet Sauvignon
Price: 750ml $55.00

Review Date: 8/2/2007

The Reviewer

Lenn Thompson

Lenn Thompson writes about New York wines for Dan's Papers,
Long Island Press, Long Island Wine Gazette, Edible East End
and Hamptons.com. Two words describe his taste in wine — balance and nuance. Lenn prefers food-friendly, elegant wines to jammy, over-extracted fruit bombs and heavy-handed oak. When reviewing, Lenn tastes each wine three times — alone right after opening, with food, and again the next day — believing that 90-second reviews are unrealistic and not how the average person enjoys wine.