2008 Indaba Chenin Blanc – Western Cape, South Africa

Pear and melon on the nose. On the palate, melon, peach, pear, and white pepper. It balances a round mouth-feel with bright refreshing acids. This has an excellent quality-to-price ratio. Pair it with a hot summer day and a bowl full of balls of honeydew and cantaloupe melon.

2005 Bedell Cellars B3: Bedell Blanc de Blanc – North Fork

Though it’s a bit more expensive than most of the others, this wine is richer and beefier, with fragrant notes of almond croissants, toasted wheat bread with lemon marmalade, orange blossoms, hazelnut, and honeydew. It’s complex, slightly earthy, and well integrated, with lively bubbles and a puckering acidity.

2006 Lamoreaux Landing Blanc de Blanc – Finger Lakes

This wine was a favorite; it’s a joy to drink. Lemon yogurt on the nose, and the flavor followed through: a flute of this wine is like a scoop of puckering lemon sorbet and a slice of cheesecake all in one. It’s focused and fresh, with lively small bubbles and prominent tartness. There’s a hint of rich pear and a delicate wisp of toasty vanilla—this wine spent three years en tirage. Pair it with a lobster roll or fragrant shrimp pad thai.

2002 Glenora Cellars Brut – Finger Lakes

With Golden Delicious apples and honey on the nose, this blend of 54% Pinot Noir and 46% Chardonnay is food-friendly but not extremely complex. The flavor is a little musky, with notes of apples, radicchio, a squeeze of lemon, and a delicate nuttiness. The bubbles are a bit bigger than others sampled, making this wine a bit less elegant than other options at this price.

2006 Wölffer Estate Noblesse Oblige Rosé – The Hamptons, Long Island

This sparkling rosé, a blend of 54% Pinot Noir and 46% Chardonnay, is tart and elegant. It pours a light peach orange, just barely pigmented. There’s a hint of biscuits, cream, red berries, and lemon zest on the nose. It’s a delicate wine with a mineral backbone and dry notes of peach tea, but still some rich, yeasty brioche flavors—with a dollop of lemon-rosehip marmalade on top. Buoyant mousse and tart acidity, hints of unripe strawberries, green apples, and fennel, make this refreshing wine a winner with food. Try pairing it with lobster rolls or crab quiche. The finish is long, silky, and lingering.

2004 Lenz Cuvée – North Fork

This svelte sparkler from the North Fork is 100% Pinot Noir, with a bready nose, hints of baking peaches, and golden delicious apples. It has very delicate bubbles and lots of minerality—seashells all over the palate. This is a zippy wine, with lime zest and lots of acidity to balance the creamy notes of marzipan and hazelnut. That bit of toasted nuts is just a whisper, though: this wine is mostly fruit and light, a juicy bite of bosc pear and a squeeze of lime. The only hesitation is a hint of bitter pear peel and grass at the finish. Serious, refreshing wine, perfect to serve with steamed clams piled on pasta.

1999 Chateau Frank Prestige Cuvée Brut – Finger Lakes

This blend of 50% Chardonnay, 45% Pinot Noir, and 5% Pinot Meunier is the kind of wine you want to bathe in, with a rich scent of baked cinnamon apples and brioche. It’s fragrant and a little decadent, soft and cleanly integrated, with delicate acidity that supports but doesn’t stick out. Caramelized challah french toast as well as a whisper of pineapple and honey. Pair it with shrimp dumplings or salmon sushi. Lovely and rounded in the mouth.

2006 Hermann J. Wiemer Cuvée Brut – Finger Lakes

Though there’s a hint of strawberry-vanilla saltwater taffy on the nose, this is a seriously dry wine, with loads of minerals, Earl Grey tea and thyme, as well as a hint of Clementine (pith included). This wine is crystalline and restrained, with delicate raspberry notes and the tiniest bubbles.

2008 Olson Ogden Persuasion – North Coast, California

Very fruit-forward with mixed black and red fruit, mulberry and sweet cherry, with leathery tannins and a little black pepper. It is smooth, slightly sweet, a little young, and one-dimensional. There are no changes from attack to mid-palate and the finish drops off quickly.

2008 Olson Ogden Pinot Noir, Manchester Ridge Vineyard – Mendocino

Gorgeous translucent ruby color with clear edges, pure Pinot noir, with no tell-tale purple edges hinting at Syrah in the mix. When first opened it is a full plate of heavily smoked meat, like slow-smoked pork with a perfect pink ring. After a couple of hours of decanting, though, the red fruit comes through with nuances of tiny wild strawberries, Michigan cherries, and some cranberries. It is all shot through with a healthy dose of smoke (more mesquite than hickory), and a bit of the aforementioned BBQ pork, but far milder than when first opened. The finish is long. This is very good wine and a terrific bargain. Good luck finding it, though. Only 155 cases were made.

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