Wine Recommendation
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Wine Recommendation

Wine:Osprey's Dominion Vineyards 2002 Merlot  (North Fork of Long Island)

Osprey's Dominion Vineyards

2002 Merlot
(North Fork of Long Island)



Sometimes I get completely and utterly sick of tasting Merlot. It's the most-planted grape on Long Island and every winery makes at least one varietal bottling – and often more than that.

And, despite growing conditions that are excellently suited to the grape, there is a lot of mediocre-to-bad Merlot being produced. It's sad really, because when grown in the right way and treated the right way in the winery, Merlot leads to this regions most consistently delicious wines, even if the best wines will cost you at least $30 and up to $125.

That's why Osprey's Dominion Vineyards 2002 Merlot stood out from a dozen local bottles during a recent tasting. It offers classic black plum aromas that mingle with blackberry preserves, sweet cedar, smoke and vanilla. At first the nose seems a little on the fruity side, but the palate shows impeccable balance with rich chocolate, dark fruit flavors accented by tobacco and a clean minty note towards the finish. The medium tannins provide nice, but not overly aggressive, grip and structure. Give it another year or two in bottled and this $20 wine is really going to round out, I think.

Reviewed June 13, 2007 by Lenn Thompson.

The Wine

Winery: Osprey's Dominion Vineyards
Vintage: 2002
Wine: Merlot
Appellation: North Fork of Long Island
Grape: Merlot
Price: 750ml $20.00

Review Date: 6/13/2007

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.