
So I was out near Lake Keuka just days before the Finger
Lakes Wine Festival. Along with friends Bryan Van Dusen and Rich Srsich, I
decided to make a run to Keuka Lake Vineyards. Keuka Lake had had a run of odd
circumstances, some absolutely juxtaposed. From tragic stories to supreme
accomplishments. Owner Mel Kaufman had experienced a run on wine makers, had
lost a vineyard worker to a terrible vineyard accident, and won one of the most
coveted awards in the state – their Leon Millott had been named Best Red Wine
in New York state, over the Merlots and Cab Francs of Long Island and the
Pinots and Cab Franc of the Hudson Valley and the Finger Lakes. To say it was
an upset was an understatement. Several
wine writers in the state didn’t even know what Leon Millot was, let alone know
that Mel’s vineyard produced one. But in fact, Keuka Lake’s Leon Millot had
been one of those collector’s wines at the winery for the previous half dozen
years.
Keuka Lake Vineyards is nestled on the slopes above the
southern end of Keuka Lake and are an eclectic mix of young vinifera and old
hybrid plantings. They range in age from three year old plantings of Cabernet
Franc and Vignoles to more than 50 year old Leon Millot and Delaware vines. They
work hard to control the quality of their fruit.
Like many makers of fine wines in the region, Keuka
Vineyards attributes their fruit’s superiority to the depth and size of the
Finger Lakes themselves. The summer heat retained by the lakes lengthens the
growing season and acts to moderate the extreme cold temperatures of the
vineyards in the winter. Come spring, the now frigid waters moderate the
warming air temperatures, delaying bud break and lowering the risk of damage by
frost.
“It is the interaction of our temperate climate with the
soil and topography of the land surrounding Keuka Lake that gives our vineyard
sites their unique terroir. The special glacial till (mixture of glacially laid
rocks, sand, silt, and clay) deposited on the lower slopes above Keuka Lake
provide for the water drainage that is essential for vine balance and health.
The slopes themselves allow crucial cold air drainage during the winter and
maximize sun exposure over the growing season. All these factors work together
to provide the unique mineral and spicy characteristics of our Keuka Lake Rieslings
of which KLV is duly proud,” their website proclaims.
According to their website, “New York State wine pioneer
Charles Fournier recognized the quality of our vineyard land over 50 years ago
when he chose what he thought were the best sites on Keuka Lake for his
experimental trial on a series of unknown varieties. Our Leon Millot vineyard
on the east side of the lake survives today from these early plantings.”
The one constant at Keuka Lake Vineyards is owner Melvin
Goldman. Mel has a profound respect for farming and a passion for wine. Unlike
many vineyardists in the Finger Lakes, Mel does not have a family history of
grape growing. Only decades ago, he was firmly established in his career of
agricultural and industrial innovation for developing countries. While on a
visit to Cornell University with their son, then a high school senior, that Mel
and his wife, Dorothee, fell in love with the region. Mel decided to act on his
longtime desire to run a farm. He and Dorothee eventually purchased their
vineyard, part of the old Taylor wine family estate.
Like many others, Mel felt that the region’s Riesling
varietal wines were of superior quality. To confirm his suspicions, Mel hosted
a blind tasting for his wine-savvy friends in Washington DC, “When the group
raved about the Rieslings, even preferring them over the Alsatian wines, I knew
Riesling was the right grape for this area.”
In 1997, he took early retirement and was finally able to
move to the Finger Lakes and officially start Keuka Lake Vineyards. Mel’s first
plantings were Riesling and Pinot Noir vines, “I planted my favorite red, Pinot
Noir, based on information from Cornell on the similarities between the
temperature profiles over the growing season in Burgundy and the Finger Lakes -
I didn’t realize then how fickle Pinot Noir is to grow.”
By the fall of 2005, the first vintage was made for the
winery under the skilled guidance of Morten Hallgren, winemaker and owner of
Ravines Wine Cellars. This began a string of excellent winemakers who have
careened through Mel’s doors. Four created excellent wines in nine years. Staci
Nugent, who continues on as Keuka Lakes consulting winemaker, was the longest
serving of the winemakers. Other winemakers include Ian Barry (late of Swedish
Hill, and now with Villa Bellangelo Vineyards and his own soon to open winery)
and now Barry Family Cellars.
Staci Nugent is both a degreed winemaker and an area native.
After attending Cornell, she then moved to California to attend graduate school
for genetics. It was around that time she decided on a complete career change.
“While on a winery tour in the Edna Valley, I met a
winemaker that had a science background very similar to my own. I was already
working weekends at a winery in Gilroy but hadn't realized how strongly I
wanted to do more.” Staci entered the wine program at the University of
California at Davis and received her Master’s degree in Viticulture and
Enology. She followed with hands-on winemaking experience by working
consecutive harvests at a series of highly regarded wineries across the globe:
Ornellaia in Italy, Hardy’s Tintara Winery in South Australia, and Williams
Selyem in Sonoma, California.
Prior to joining Keuka Lake Vineyards in 2008, Staci was
winemaker at Lamoreaux Landing Wine Cellars. “I enjoy getting my hands dirty
and being part of the entire process. We have good quality grapes and a wonderful
group of people… KLV is pretty special.”
Today, the winemaker is Moss Bittner.
But the one constant is always been the driving force of
Mel.
Mel and the winery suffered a serious setback in April of
2012. “Daniel Martin, a member of the vineyard crew at Keuka Lake Vineyards,
died in an accident on Monday. The 51-year old was pinned underneath a tractor,
which he had been operating on the hill of the property,” wrote noted New York
wine writer Lenn Thompson.
“He will be greatly missed,” KLV owner Mel Goldman told
Thompson in an email. “It is deeply shocking. I knew him quite well.”
According to Thompson, “Martin had worked for KLV for the
past ten years, and was familiar with the vagaries of the property. Keuka Lake
Vineyards is perched on some of the steepest vineyard sites in the region; it’s
the kind of terrain that is helpful in growing high-quality fruit, but can be
dangerous for workers. It’s unclear what the exact circumstances were when
Martin’s tractor overturned. Goldman said that Martin had been working alone
and had just finished spraying. He was returning down a hill and apparently
lost control of the vehicle at that point; police say he was found on the edge
of a driveway. Emergency responders arrived within minutes of the accident but
could not revive Martin.”
Now, onto the main reason we are here…KLV’s excellent wines.
Mel was exceedingly gracious in his tour of the vineyards, and eager to pour
his wines. It was an exciting endeavor. In their wonderfully appointed
tastingroom Mel led us through their wines. He was incredibly animated when
talking about his wines, like a kid in a candy store, first pouring one wine,
then another.
Let me say this first, without equivocation – the first four
Rieslings were among the best quality Rieslings I have tasted anywhere in the
Finger Lakes. They were superb! I had always known KLV for their Leon Millot,
which among the best red wines produced in the state. But I was unaware of
their ability to mold such incredible Rieslings! Indeed, KLV produces
incredible whites all the way around.
2011 Estate Dry Riesling – This delicate white wine is blended
from three estate vineyards. Huge peach and honey on the nose!!! Nice strong
spiciness as promised comes through. An elegant, light white wine with great
flavor and great acidity. Green apples come though too. Nice minerality. Complex
and well balanced. Wine Spectator 89 pts. Extremely well deserved. Fantastic
wine!!!
2011 Dry Riesling, Goldman Vineyard – Big notes of pear and green
tea come across as promised. A beautiful light floral nose is balanced by an
austere minerality and a crisp, dry finish. Spectator 91 points. Fantastic!
2011 Falling Man Vineyard – Again, like the estate, the
Falling Man has huge notes of peach and honey and apricot and other floral
notes. Great spiciness. Wine Spectator 90 points. A tremendous zippy finish
makes this lip-smacking good!!!
Wonderful!!!!
2012 Falling Man Vineyard – This had just been bottled when
we came through. Licorice and honeyblossom come through in a big way!!! Huge
tropical fruits too! Nice green apple across the palate. And a lovely, strong
grapefruit-y ending. Very nicely balanced, and a refreshing ending. Wonderful as
well!
2010 Semi-Dry Riesling – Great notes of nectarine, orange
blossom, peach, and toher tropical notes. Lots of lovely green apple and
leachy. Zippy acidity balances nicely with the hint of sweetness in this wine.
Incredibly well balanced!! Lovely!
2012 Gently Dry Vignoles - Bright Meyers lemons, tropical
fruits, with hints of anise and baked apple make this an elegant, delicious
white wine. A nice, grapefruity finish. Perfect for oysters and shellfish. A
very nice surprise. Lovely!
Turkey Run Vignoles 2011 – Turkey Run vineyard is so named
for the turkeys who ate all the grapes. The wine was made by a Hungarian
intern. Classic vignoles nose, with a great zippy ending. 16% alcohol, but you
don’t smell it or taste it. A big white wine. Fantastic!
2012 Delaware, Vineyard 1950 – The Delaware grape is a
cultivar derived from the grape species Vitis Labrusca or 'Fox Grape' which is
used for the table and wine production. The skin of the Delaware grape when
ripened is pale red almost pinkish in color. It has small fruit clusters with
small berries that do not have the pronounced 'foxiness' of other Labrusca
grapes. It is a commercially viable grape vine which is grown in the North East
and Mid-West of America and is vigorous when grafted onto a phylloxera
resistant root stock. The Delaware grape was probably discovered in Frenchtown,
New Jersey, but was first brought to public notice by George Campbell, of
Delaware, Ohio in the 1850s. Although it is said to be an American variety its
parentage is unknown and is thought to have a significant Vitis Vinifera
component in its background, possibly explaining the susceptibility to fungal
diseases and the requirement for grafting onto phylloxera resistant rootstock
for best growth. T.V. Munson believed it to be a hybrid of labrusca, vinifera,
and "bourquiniana", a class of vines now believed to be hybrids of
Vitis aestivalis. The wine exploded with honeysuckle, melon, apple and pear all
of which came through beautifully. This was a lovely wine that Mel was very
proud to pour and with good reason. I have heard that some people in the past
had made good Delawares, but had not experienced a commercial one to date. This
was a lovely, white wine you could easily serve to the biggest snob with
absolute assurance you’d get nothing but great response from. A wonderful wine,
and a huge surprise. HUGE, floral, fruity nose. Beautiful, dry finish. A wine definitely worth
seeking out!!!!
2011 Cabernet Franc - Very much a Burgundy-styled light Cab
Franc. Bright cherry. This vintage opens with a hint of vanilla and plum. The
complex palate is a mix of wild berries and stone fruit. Nice acidity. White pepper
finish. Lovely!!!
Then we got what we came for!!! Leon Millot. Leon Millot is
among my favorite reds, but it must contain some of the deeper, bigger, more
purple-y version of the grape, to make a truly great version of the varietal.
And Keuka Lake Vineyards makes one of the best versions of it I have ever
tasted.
2011 Leon Millot – A big nose and gulp of tart wild black
raspberries, plum, and cassis. As big and elegant as a Cabernet Sauvignon, but
with much more subtlety. Lots of vanilla and spice. A big, deep red wine, with
lot of fruit, nice but not overly big tannins. Leon Millot is one of my
favorites. This is a blend of the bigger, deeper Leon Millot strains (from the
Boordy line), with a smaller amount of the more Marechal Foche-y Millot, from
one of the most famous vineyards in the Finger Lakes – the Fournier Vineyard. This
is a fantastic wine. Good big and young. But will absolutely age incredibly
well. This is absolutely a staff and Melvin favorite. Mine too!
Leon Millot 2012 – This is a big, blueberry cobbler of a
wine, dark berries, with hints of bread, tomato, leather, and fallen leaves. A
big, huge red wine with soft tannins. Another
big, red winner of a wine!!!
Leon Millot 2009 – This was a big whiff of cassis and
blueberry. A big, jammy red. A hint of tomato. Still very tight. Will
absolutely age for years to come. 5-7 years minimum.
Our tasting was a complete success. And a surprise. I’d only
had a few KLV wines up to this tasting. But with this tasting, I must say, I
now consider KLV to absolutely be one of the better wineries in the Finger
Lakes! Absolutely fantastic. A must find kind of wine. I had always been a big
fan of the Leon Millott, but the Rieslings and other wines were a complete
revelation!!!
Congrats to Moss! And of course...Go there NOW! And tell Mel I said “Hi!”
Special thanks to Brian and Rich for taking photos after my phone died!
Also, here's a link to my previous KLV stories, and to Lenn Thompson's story....
http://eastcoastwineries.blogspot.com/2012/05/keuka-lake-vineyards-leon-millot-2010.html
http://eastcoastwineries.blogspot.com/2012/12/keuka-lake-vineyards-leon-millot-2011.html
NYCR:
http://newyorkcorkreport.com/blog/2012/04/19/keuka-lake-vineyards-worker-killed-in-tractor-accident/
Special thanks to Brian and Rich for taking photos after my phone died!
Also, here's a link to my previous KLV stories, and to Lenn Thompson's story....
http://eastcoastwineries.blogspot.com/2012/05/keuka-lake-vineyards-leon-millot-2010.html
http://eastcoastwineries.blogspot.com/2012/12/keuka-lake-vineyards-leon-millot-2011.html
NYCR:
http://newyorkcorkreport.com/blog/2012/04/19/keuka-lake-vineyards-worker-killed-in-tractor-accident/