The Finger Lakes AVA lies five hours north of New York city, to the south of Lake Ontario & the Canadian border. The region sits on the extremity of many a wine convention:- this is seriously cool climate production made possible only by the tempering effect of the lakes and Vinifera only arrived here in the 1950s and still has to prove its worth to many farmers more used to selling hybrids to the tourist markets. Amongst the wineries and winemakers pushing to advance the region and craft wines of quality and distinction to match the best sites' potential is local Ben Riccardi.
Ben brings the sensibilities of a young gun who has worked in Sonoma, New Zealand and France along with Big Apple attitude from time honing his skills at Manhattan's City Winery. Using fruit from both Seneca and Cayuga Lakes - there are 11 Lakes in total with four considered the best for winemaking and these two with their own AVAs - Ben makes low-intervention, wild-yeast wines that revel in freshness and lower alcohol. We love the lightness of touch he brings to his Chardonnays (both unoaked and with some large barrel influence), Riesling and Cab Franc. The hybrids that can often lead the region astray- along with being freezing in the winter there can be considerable pressure on vines during hot and humid summers - are focussed and original.
Osmote Cabernet Franc Seneca Lake 2021
11.5% abv
Lightly extracted with a combination of red fruits and subtle herbs. The whole cluster fermentation brings generosity to the mid palate in a wine that is light and lithe with medium tannins and full Finger Lakes acidity.
Seneca lake is 38 mile long with shores around 445ft above sea level. This is the deepest lake in New York with average depth of 291ft and a max depth of 618ft or 173ft below sea level at its nadir. The lake does not freeze in the winter.
Wagner Farms Yellow Dog Vineyard- Sloped planting at about 8% on Lansing gravelly silt loam which is formed of glacial till and is both well drained and fertile.
Sawmill Creek Vineyard- Hillside planting on east side of Seneca Lake with slopes as steep as 20%. Vineyard altitude ranges from 490-820ft above sea level. Vines planted north south on deep, gravelly loam soils. Vines planted in the 1990s, to Clone 214, which originated in the Loire.
Nutt Road Vineyard- farmed by the Martini family and planted in 2003 this is a gently sloping vineyard on Honeoye loam soils with eastern exposure for morning sun.
Sawmill Creek fruit and Nutt Road fruit were cofermented as whole clusters. Yellow Dog vineyard was destemmed without crushing and fermented in open top fermenters. Both lots fermented with indigenous yeasts and were each about 18 days on skins. Tanks were drained and pressed using a basket press and immediately barreled to finish primary and secondary fermentation by nature in 400L barrels. All Barrels are French oak with 25% new. Wine was racked in early spring then prepared for bottling to limit the oak aging and preserve the fruit in this light vintage.
Bottled July 15, 2022.
280 cases produced.
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2021 | Cabernet Franc | Duty Paid | Finger Lakes | New York | North America | Osmote | Red | Still | USA | Wine- Reference #:
- 19380
- Strength
- 11.5 ABV
- Bottles per Case
- 6 bottles
- Grapes
- Cabernet Franc
- Organic
- No
- Biodynamic
- No
- Vegan
- Yes
- Vegetarian
- Yes
- Sparkling
- No