2019 Element “The Element” Equilibrium Wine Farm
$75.00 / 750ml
95 Cases Produced
“The Element” is a wine that has been a long time in the making…We began conceptualizing this wine at the very beginning…in 2010, with the inaugural release of Red Table Wine…a non-varietally specific bottling that we felt captured the essence of vintage and place, rather than varietal. And we have been chasing this idea ever since, building on the philosophy, and changing the name a few times along the way.
2019 was one of the few “normal” years of the last decade, without extremes. We had a nice, healthy crop, a bit of rain, some nice warm weather and plenty of sun, all in beautiful balance, and this wine represents that well.
Christopher’s Journal: Harvested entirely from Equilibrium Wine Farm, this wine is the first such example of “The Element” coming from our farm. 57.6% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Cabernet Franc, 8.4% Merlot and 8% each Pinot Noir and Syrah. Elegant aromas of black and red cherries, herbs, and wet rock dominate the aromas, with dried flowers and a touch of balsamic lifting the nose. The palate is fresh and bright, with crunchy structure, and elegant tannins.
Also available in Large Formats:
$180 / 1.5 L Magnum
$370 / 3 L Jeroboam
Cabernet Franc
A grape most traditionally associated with the Loire Valley (Chinon, etc.), it has seen only a moderate amount of attention outside of France. While there are some notable examples of great Cabernet Franc being made round the globe, they are limited. It seems as though the Finger Lakes may be a stronghold for Cab Franc in the new world.
A bit lighter than it’s much more popular offspring Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc excels without the ripeness that Cabernet Sauvignon so often seems to need. Add that to its thick skins and loose clusters that allow airflow and we have a grape that seems made to excel in our cooler, moist climate. To seal the deal, it is very cold tolerant.
We believe Cabernet Franc will be the iconic red grape of the Finger Lakes before long.
Syrah
Syrah is synonymous with the northern Rhone, though it has exploded the world over. But Syrah has gotten confused. Vintners and consumers alike are under the impression that Syrah is a hot climate grape. Often, they call the Northern Rhone a hot climate region. We too were under this misconception for a long time. This could not be farther from the truth. The best part (Cote Rotie) of the northern Rhone is warmish, but cooled by the constant cold Mistral blowing south from Switzerland, and as California producers are now focusing more and more on their own cool climates. Some of California’s great examples of Syrah are being grown in areas directly in the cooling influence of the Pacific.
So, we thought, why not in New York? We found an acre of Syrah that was about ten years old, and immediately snapped it up. While still controversial here in the Finger Lakes, Syrah ripens beautifully. Its thick skins allow it to hang late into the fall for flavor development. The one downside is its sensitivity to extreme cold, meaning that Syrah, like Chardonnay and Pinot, require protected microclimates.
Our Syrah is a bit of a rarity, but truly shows the potential of cool climate Syrah production, and it has been very exciting to see more and more interest in the grape here in the Finger Lakes.
