Wine & Spirits - Winter 2017 - 47

Ravines
While Finger Lakes riesling remains their specialty, the Hallgren's work with
pinot noir and cabernet franc is garnering attention as well.

New Reds: While Ravines has earned its reputation for riesling, (as
well as an especially nervy, Chablis-like chardonnay-check out the
2015), Hallgren has also become adept at making reds, bottling a
Bordeaux-inspired blend, a pinot noir and a cabernet franc-one of
the top Finger Lakes reds we tasted this year. Made from the lighter,
fruitier lots that didn't go into the Bordeaux blend, the 2015 Franc is
a shyly floral red with scents of violets and smoke, thyme and mulberry, a joy to chill down and drink.
White Springs: The 2015 vintage was Hallgren's fifth
at White Springs, the facility and vineyard he purchased in 2010 on the north end of Seneca Lake
near Geneva. This 59-acre property is planted
on the classic Finger Lakes loam series called
honeoye, over limestone. Hallgren believes
the limestone gives their white wines,
both chardonnay and riesling, a distinctive mineral tone, edgy and firm. In 2015,
a relatively uneventful growing season was
brought to a sudden end when, on October
Morten Hallgren
17, a cold snap took temperatures down to
17˚F, and he was obliged to pick. As a result,
the 2015 White Springs is perhaps even more
edgy than most years, with a thrilling, mouthwatering lemon-lime flavor and a pronounced, salty tanginess. It's a vintage with the mineral underpinnings to age
beautifully. -P.J.C.

DETAILS & TOP WINES

Red Car
Red Car seeks out the vineyards at the end of the road, making vibrant wines
from some of the coolest sites on the far Sonoma Coast.
From Bali to Barrel Room: A kid from a small Arkansas farming town
moves to LA after college, does well for himself in the film business,
then, while devouring wine books on a vacation in Bali, decides he
wants to make wine. A potential business partner at first turns him
down, then changes his mind thanks to a timely fortune cookie. It's
an unlikely story, but that's how Carroll Kemp found himself running Red Car. Supported by investors like Mark Estrin of LA's Wine
House (who passed away in 2005) and Estrin's friend Richard Crowell (Kemp's current business partner), Kemp has become a confident,
noninterventionist winemaker, and lately his wines have reached new
heights of elegance and finesse.
Sea Change: Early on, Kemp made big, strapping syrah from the Central Coast. In 2003, he paid a visit to Flowers, in the hills of western
Sonoma, and was blown away by the remote vineyards perched on
ridges amid towering conifers. A year later, the partners purchased
a Sonoma Coast estate (on Kings Ridge Road, not far from Hirsch)
and began focusing on coastal Sonoma. Run-ins with wines like the
Geoffroy Coteaux Champenois made Kemp rethink his emphasis on weight and impact, and the team increasingly began leasing
vineyards rather than buying fruit, so they could farm to emphasize finesse. Kemp also quit adding anything during vinification and
aging other than SO2. This effort has culminated in wines like the
2014 Doc's Ranch Pinot Noir, from an edgy, wind-blasted site at the
end of Fitzpatrick Lane west of Freestone. It's mouthwatering and
hyper-aromatic, suffused with scents of white sage and lavender.
Unicorn Chardonnay: Red Car is farming several small blocks of coolclimate chardonnay, and Kemp has taken a shine to that fruit, too. If
you like edgy, savory chardonnay that crackles with acidity, check out
Red Car's 2014s. The 2014 Hagan Chardonnay is especially thrilling.
From a young parcel of the Old Wente selection planted
on the coastal end of Taylor Lane (just south of Doc's
Ranch), it was harvested on the knife-edge of ripeness
and aged in neutral oak. It's wonderfully lacy and floral,
with a sunny burst of yellow raspberry flavor. -L.S.

Founded: 2000 * Winemaker: Morten Hallgren * Viticulturists: Bryson Cochran, Doug Davies * Owners: Morten &
Lisa Hallgren * Acres owned: 130 * Annual production:
22,000 cases * Estate grown: 90% * Location: Geneva,
NY * Website: ravineswine.com

DETAILS & TOP WINES

93 2015 Finger Lakes Dry White Springs Vineyard
Riesling $23 (8/17)
91 2015 Finger Lakes Cabernet Franc $22 (8/17)
90 2015 Finger Lakes Chardonnay $20 (8/17)

94 2013 Bennett Valley Vivio Vineyard
Syrah $50 (10/17)
94 2014 Sonoma Coast Hagan Vineyard
Chardonnay $58 (10/17)
93 2014 Sonoma Coast Doc's Ranch
Vineyard Pinot Noir $68 (10/17)

N EW Y ORK
F INGER L AKES
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Founded: 2002 * Winemaker: Carroll Kemp * Viticulturist:
Greg Adams * Owner: Richard Crowell, lead investor * Acres
owned: 43 * Production: 10,000 cases * Estate grown:
100% * Location: Sebastopol, CA * Website: redcarwine.com

S ONOMA
C OUNTY
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WINE & SPIRITS

BUYING GUIDE 2018

TOP 100 WINERIES 2017

Land Baron: Since moving to New York's Finger Lakes in 1999, Denmark-born Morten Hallgren and his wife, Lisa, have been slowly putting together a largely riesling-focused empire, expanding to vineyard sites on Keuka Lake and on the east side of Seneca Lake, as well
as another 20 acres in Geneva, where they farm White Springs, now
their home vineyard. "With the welcome exception of the Argetsinger Vineyard, says Hallgren, "we will be fully estate grown by next
year." With some 130 acres planted, their vineyards represent one of
the largest vinifera estates in the region.

http://www.ravineswine.com http://www.redcarwine.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - Winter 2017