These are great folks. The wife and husband team of Nancy Irelan, the winemaker, and Mike Schnelle, the viticulturist, have turned out a consistent line of high quality wines ever since they opened in 2005.
Nancy makes so really wonderful red wines - fruit forward, soft and approachable, and perfect for lighter meats. And you can't make great wines without great grapes.
Red Tail Ridge Blaufrankisch RTR Estate Vineyard Finger Lakes 2022 was the perfect choice. Firstly, because they call it Blaufrankisch (not the clumsy L word). The estate grapes were destemmed and placed in open air vessels for fermentation. It then went through full malolactic fermentation. The resulting wine is an incredible medium bodied wine. Not too heavy for white wine drinkers, yet big and bold enough for serious red wine drinkers.
The result is a deep garnet red, with lovely notes of cherries, cranberry, plum, black pepper, and wafting notes of blackberry. Earthy and spicy on the palate, those fruits come through along with hints of mocha. The finish has that touch of black tea and black pepper, the cherry and plum come through at the end again. Well balanced and complex. The wine lasts a long time on the palate. An incredible wine that pairs beautifully with pork, chicken, or turkey! Its a red wine everyone will savor. It was perfect.
Absolutely love this wine. Terrific stuff from Nancy and Mike. You must try Red Tail Ridge.