Red Tail Ridge Blaufrankisch Finger Lakes 2021

92 points James Suckling
Very bright violet nose with delicate savory and peppery notes. Medium-bodied and crisp with healthy tannins for the challenging red wine vintage, this is very clean and only moderately dry at the finish. Just 11.7% alcohol, but this doesnt lack anything. Drink or hold

Located in the heart of New York’s Finger Lakes region on the western shore of Seneca Lake, Red Tail Ridge Winery is owned and operated by husband and wife Mike Schnelle and Nancy Irelan. As a former executive in charge of viticulture and oenology R&D at a large winery, Nancy strongly believes in sustainability. Not only is the 35 acre vineyard farmed in a sustainable manner it is also the first LEED gold-certified winery in New York. Everything at Red Tail Ridge reflects Nancy and Mike’s attention to detail – the winery that they built from scratch to their limited production, premium single varietal wines.

The bulk of Red Tail Ridge’s production is Riesling, but Nancy and Mike have also planted several clones of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir alongside small experimental plots of Blaufrankisch, Dornfelder and Teroldego. Mike and Nancy’s early efforts were duly noted by the press – they won several Gold and Silver medals, Wine Business Monthly named Red Tail Ridge one of its Hot Small Brands of 2008 and Eric Asimov the wine critic of The New York Times has lauded them for their efforts.