Best of 2011... Most Surprising Wines

This week, we are recapping some of our favorite things from the year...


We tried a lot of different wine this year, and there were some that really surprised us.

The most surprising glass of red wine had to be the Shinn Estates Claret at Henry Public. Little did we know that Long Island is so suited to French style wines.

Beyond our normal Rieslings, we found some interesting wines in the Finger Lakes, including some wonderful sparkling Riesling from Dr Frank, made in the Champagne style.

One of our earliest reviews was a striking rosé from Domaine Spiropoulos that taught us that not all rose is boxed Zinfandel.

QUICK REVIEW

Two New York Wines from Henry Public

US, New York, Long Island, Shinn Estate Vineyards, Claret “Bourdeaux Blend” 2008 
++ // Earthy // Leather, Earth, Green Pepper // Jammy, Earthy // Medium



 
 



US, New York, Finger Lakes, Fox Run Vineyards, Lemberger, 2008 
+ // Spicy // Grass, Plum, Spice // Pepper // Light

Did you know? . . . about Claret

Claret is a red wine, made in the Bordeaux style. It's simply British speak for "Bourdeaux" wine, which means wine produced from a blend of various grapes from the Bourdeaux region of France. "Claret" derives from an old French style of darker rosé, popular with the English, and has been available in England since the Middle Ages.

In the US, "Claret" is now used in a generic way to describe a red wine made in the Bordeaux style, most often from the "old world" varietals of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc. Although other grapes are used in the Bourdeaux region, here, they are the most common for Bordeaux-style wine.