This red blend is quite dark in color. It displays fruit of cassis, tart currants, and some bright wild black rapsberries and cherries. There are dusty cedar notes along with woodiness, fresh and dried herbs and a smoky-graphite finish. The fruit is pure and although it starts out with some oaky notes, those integrate quite well with air.

WINE INFORMATION

Located on the east side of Cayuga Lake, Bright Leaf Vineyard was previously a livestock farm providing good, rich pasture for planting. Owners Mike and Donna Wilson began preparation of the vineyard in 2013 with deep subsoil trenching along each row and drainage tile between each alternating row. Their first ten acres of vines were mechanically planted in spring of 2014 with an additional four acres of vines planted in 2015 and 2016.

Currently Bright Leaf Vineyard owns 14 acres in what is really two vineyards, including an upper and lower field, divided by a quarry of Tully limestone, which runs north-south through the farm. This creates two different soil types:  Aurora loam (uphill from the quarry, with excellent drainage and higher acidity, where the white varietals are planted) and Cazenovia silt (downhill from the quarry, heavier, clay soils, home to the reds).

After traditional fermentation the wine was aged for 28 months in French oak. Winemaker Colleen Lucas joined Bright Leaf in 2018.

Duck, Grilled preparations, Mushrooms, Pizza, Red Meat, Tomato Sauce, Wild Game