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Wine Recommendation
Waters Crest Winery
2004 Merlot Reserve(North Fork of Long Island)
Home winemaker-turned-winery owner Jim Waters is well regarded on the North Fork for his small batches of hand-crafted wines. Still, I've always thought that the reds at Waters Crest Winery didn't quite stand up to his his dry, aromatic Riesling and Gewurztraminer in particular. Sure, Waters has always done nice things with a richer, cocoa-tinged cabernet franc and serviceable, if simple, merlots. But the whites made his tiny Cutchogue tasting room a must-stop destination—and with good reason.
Waters' 2004 reds, seem to hint that he's hitting his professional winemaking stride. The Waters Crest Winery 2004 Merlot Private Reserve in particular stands out. By far the best Merlot to come out of the winery, black raspberry, black plum, black cherry, smoky oak, vanilla, brown spice intermingle on a nose that fills the room given an hour in your glass. Though still quite young (the tannins are slightly astringent now) this full-flavored Merlot is driven by blackberry and black cherry flavors that are ripe, but not jammy with a faint chocolate-mint note on a lengthy finish. Patience will be rewarded here and I expect it to improve over the next several years in bottle. Every time I get sick of local Merlot, a wine like this jumps up and re-demands my attention.
Reviewed August 1, 2007 by Lenn Thompson.
Other reviewed wines from Waters Crest Winery
 2004 Cabernet Franc Private Reserve (North Fork of Long Island)Lenn Thompson 9/5/2007 |
The Wine
Winery: Waters Crest Winery |
The Reviewer
Lenn Thompson
Lenn Thompson writes about New York wines for Dan's Papers, |