Coffee Pot Cellars is among my favorite Long Island
wineries. It’s small, and I just like their wines. I haven’t had one I haven’t liked
yet. I tried two last fall and haven’t gotten around to getting them written up.
So apologies to the folks at Coffee Pot.
The first is the 2010 Chardonnay North Fork Of Long Island.
No, my esteemed colleague Lenn Thompson of the New York Cork Report has already
reviewed the wine and liked it. I liked it before I read Lenn’s comments, but I
thought they were worth repeating here…just in case you didn’t believe me. Here’s
a real wine writer…."straightforward, offering yellow apple, lemon zest
and faintly nutty notes... a Chardonnay... that promises to over-deliver for
the price, I think successfully.” – Lenn Thompson, Dan’s Hamptons magazine.
According to Coffee Pot’s website, the wine was “fermented
in neutral older oak barrels with no malolactic fermentation, our Chardonnay
gets its silky texture and balance from sur lies aging. Literally meaning “on
yeast” in French, sur lies aging lends bread dough aromas and body to wine as a
result of the breakdown of yeast cell walls during barrel aging.” That’s pretty
fancy, and impressive stuff.
As promised in their descriptions, I found the “fresh cut apple
and orange zest” came through beautifully. The apple and the citrus ending come
through in the aroma as well as across the palate. A light, beautiful wine with
some spice and some lovely tropical notes as ell. Elegant!
The other was the Coffee Pot 2010 Sauvignon Blanc North Fork.
This is Long Island summer in a bottle! 100% Sauvignon Blanc grapes fermented in
stainless steel tanks with no malolactic fermentation. This is a big, bright,
brilliant Sauvignon Blanc with huge waves of citrus and fresh cut grass. Big
honeydew and melon and lemon zest. A light, fantastic wine! Great with fish,
seafood, even cheese. A great wine to entertain with and impress your friends.
Coffee Pot continues to impress!