Wine Recommendation
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Wine Recommendation

Waters Crest Winery 2004 Cabernet Franc Private Reserve  (North Fork of Long Island)

Waters Crest Winery

2004 Cabernet Franc Private Reserve
(North Fork of Long Island)



Much of home winemaker-turned-pro Jim Waters’ early commercial success was based on the delicious, well-priced whites — his Riesling and Gewurztraminer in particular. Many of Waters’ latest red release, however, have matched — and even surpassed — those early offerings. His limited-production, sometimes-hard-to-get reds are worth seeking out in his storefront tasting room tucked in an industrial park. Even previous vintages of Waters’ Cabernet Franc Private Reserve impressed with their rich fruit and cocoa flavours. But the 2004 release seems to take it to another level.

Waters Crest Winery 2004 Cabernet Franc Private Reserve ($35) is a ripe, spicy wine that should develop even further in coming months (and years). Made with 100 percent free-run juice and aged for 14 months in new French oak, the blackberry nose is complex with layers of black pepper, violets, smoked meat and dusty dark cocoa. Medium bodied, concentrated and a little meaty, the palate offers loads of black fruit and spice as well. Lightly tripping tannins provide just the right structure.

Reviewed September 5, 2007 by Lenn Thompson.

The Wine

Winery: Waters Crest Winery
Vintage: 2004
Wine: Cabernet Franc Private Reserve
Appellation: North Fork of Long Island
Grape: Cabernet Franc
Price: 750ml $35.99

Review Date: 9/5/2007

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.