The April 27 edition of the Wine Advocate includes David Schildknecht’s review, “Long Island Wine: No Longer a Long Shot.” He names our 2007 vintage ”the new benchmark,” unseating 2005. And he gives highest marks to our region’s merlot.

Mr. Schildknecht’s tasting reveals a region, “the quality of [whose] best wines…is impressive—and steadily improving.” Indeed, of the 50 Long Island wines he rates, none receives a score lower than 89. And of the top five—all rated 92—four are varietal merlots.

Mr. Schildknecht writes that “the region’s most prominent and obvious successes have been with reds from the Bordelaise grape varieties-with which it is possible here to achieve wines of more tender and forward fruit than that of classic Bordeaux, yet with lower alcohol and slighter frame than characterize New World regions like California.” He adds that, “among the Bordelaise black grapes, Merlot and Cabernet Franc remain manifestly Long Island’s most successful.”

The article is posted online (see links to individual articles on the edition’s main page), but access requires a Wine Advocate subscription. If you’re a fan of Long Island wine, and particularly Long Island merlot, you might consider rewarding the magazine’s good taste and subscribe! Thanks to David Schildknecht for the kind words.

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