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 feshness 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 Chardonnay Seneca Lake 2018
12.1% abv
A fully developed wine with light golden hue. Aromas are complex with ripe orchard fruits and crème brulee notes. There is a clean and bright acid attack indicative of cool climate wine making, but the palate is also delightfully rounded and rich. Finish is long and structured.
Hand harvested, sorted, and whole cluster pressed. Wine is un-inoculated and instead undergoes natural fermentation in 400 and 500L barrels, with some lees stirring. Aged on lees until first racking at 1 month before bottling. Bottled July 21, 2019.
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 in the 1980s to north-south orientation on deep, gravelly loam soils. Dijon clones came from parent material out of Colmar, France. Seneca Lake is 38 miles 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.
470 cases produced and 34 magnums.
- Reference #:
- 13087
- Strength
- 12.1 ABV
- Bottles per Case
- 6 bottles
- Grapes
- Chardonnay
- Organic
- No
- Biodynamic
- No
- Vegan
- Yes
- Vegetarian
- Yes
- Sparkling
- No
