Good to the Last Drop: 2007 Standing Stone Vineyards Pinot Noir

Posted by Neil Brody Miller on December 19, 2009

Standing Stone Vineyards was one of the first Finger Lakes wineries I got excited about when I moved to Central New York.  At the time, I knew nothing about the winery’s history and had no reason to suspect that the winery would consistently impress me as producing some of the Finger Lake region’s best wines.  As soon as I tasted the 2006 Standing Stone Gewurztraminer, however, I knew I had encountered a world-class wine that compared favorably with the classic Alsatian Gewurztraminers I had enjoyed for the past 20 years.  That first impression was soon reinforced by tasting Standing Stone’s Riesling and Cabernet Franc, and most recently by their 2007 Pinot Noir.

As much as I love Finger Lakes Rieslings, I secretly have hoped that the region’s viticulturalists and winemakers would figure out how to produce Pinot Noirs that rival the best wines from Oregon and California, and would pin their hopes for producing a great red wine on Pinot Noir, rather than on Cabernet Franc.  Admittedly, this is based on personal preference.  I am learning to like Finger Lakes Cabernet Franc, especially since attending the Cab Franc tasting held this past summer at the New York Wine and Culinary Center, which clearly confirmed that several Finger Lakes winemakers – Paul Brock of Lamoreaux Landing, Rob and Kate Thomas of Shalestone Vineyards, Lou Damiani of Damiani Cellars, and Morten Hallgren of Ravines, among others – are producing delicious Cab Francs.  Nevertheless, I may never love this varietal.

Not so with Pinot Noir.  Two of my fondest memories from when I first began collecting fine wines are of uncorking the 1985 Saintsbury Carneros after several years of cellaring, which was a revelation, and of enjoying my first Oregon Pinot Noir, the 1985 Ponzi.  I became very excited, accordingly, when Evan Dawson of the New York Cork Report and other regional wine writers began favorably reviewing Finger Lakes Pinot Noirs.  The problem, I soon discovered, is that almost none of these wines are available in Syracuse-area wine shops, even in shops that otherwise carry a good selection of Finger Lakes wines.  It was a big deal, accordingly, when Allison Record, co-owner of The Savvy Wine Cellar, offered me a bottle of the 2007 Standing Stone Pinot Noir she had received as a sample, enough of a big deal that I didn’t want to drink the wine by myself.  Luckily, it wasn’t hard to convince a friend and fellow wine lover, Stephany Hess, to join me for the tasting.

Stephany, with her husband Tim, who unfortunately had to work that evening, had enjoyed other wines from Standing Stone, so we were expecting good things, even though neither of us had ever tasted a Finger Lakes Pinot Noir.  From the first sniff and sip, however, we both were blown away by this wine, which offered classic aromas of New World Pinot Noir: ripe cherry fruit and cola with some spicy notes that reminded me of sarsaparilla, but with none of the earthy, mushroomy aromas I associate with a good Burgundy.  The flavors of ripe, as well as tart, cherry and red berries carried over to the palate, and were complimented by hints of pepper, cinnamon, and cigarbox.  Both the aroma and flavors were varietally correct and compared favorably with a well-made Oregon Pinot Noir from a good vintage.  What really knocked us out was the wine’s supple, velvety tannins, unctuous texture, and medium-to-full body, which reminded me of nothing so much as umami, the uniquely satisfying mouthfeel associated with rich, savory foods.  To put it simply, the mouthfeel of this wine made us both smile.

I liked this wine so much that I took the remainder of the bottle home with me, an inexcusably selfish act that I justified, at least to my own satisfaction, by claiming that I wanted to taste the wine again the next day.  As it turns out, the wine did in fact taste better on the second day, the tannins were even softer, the acidity seemed better balanced with the fruit, and the wine displayed a longer finish and a broader range of red fruit flavors and spice.

Priced around $25.00, this wine is well worth seeking out, and compares favorably with a good Oregon Pinot Noir in the $30.00 to $35.00 price range, which makes it a relative bargain.  I especially liked the fact that this wine exhibited pure, varietally correct New World Pinot Noir flavors and aromas, without the overly extracted fruit I find in many lower-priced California Pinot Noirs that have been adulterated (legally), with Petite Sirah or Syrah.  Anyone interested in Finger Lakes Pinot Noirs should look for wines from the 2007 vintage while they are still available, as 2007 is widely considered the best vintage for red wines of the past 10 years.  The 2007 Standing Stone Pinot Noir clearly reflects the strength of the vintage, and indicates that dedicated Finger Lakes winemakers can produce world-class Pinot Noir, which makes me very hopeful about the future of Pinot Noir in the Finger Lakes.