We spent some time this past weekend entertaining Alexis Pichon of Domaine Christophe Pichon in the Northern Rhône. Decided to drive to the North Fork to introduce him to a couple of local wineries. A quick email to Kareem at Paumanok, who despite a very busy day on Sunday, offered to provide a tour. We stopped first at nearby Macari for an underwhelming tasting.
It was a beautiful day and our crew was joined by another couple including a Frenchman who is a sommelier at a Boston restaurant. It was interesting hearing Alexis compare this operation to his own in Chavanay, which is not of dissimilar size.
After the tour we did a tasting of whites and then just a pair of reds as we ran out of time.
Here were our pairings:
2016 Dry & Semi Dry Rieslings - both very good
2015 Chenin Blanc & Minimalist Chenin - I prefer the brightness of the regular to the more ponderous Minimalist from slightly older vines.
2014 Barrell Fermented Chardonnay/2015 Dry Rosé - VG/good
2013 Grand Vintage Merlot & 2013 Grand Vintage Cabernet Franc - both showed young and well.
I like Paumanok’s reds but it is their talents with a wide range of whites that draws me back - not to mention that they are so warm and hospitable.
My wife and I are headed back for our every other year visit soon. This will be our 3rd visit. How can you not like the QPR wines that Paumanok produces. We enjoy the whites very much. Can’t beat the price.
Negative on LH’s. Had hoped to try '13 Assemblage alongside the single vineyard Petit Verdot. I own the former under screwcap so would have liked a check-in. We had to quit prematurely due to dinner reservation.
We were with the sommelier for the tour but not tasting. Monsieur Pichon was very impressed with the wines. Consistent with the provincial experiences of many French winemakers, he drinks extensively from his own region but not elsewhere. Though he did recently work at a winery in Tasmania for 10 months. He seems to have a very keen palate. His favorite was the semi-dry Riesling.
Quite amazing that their Chenin is so fine and no one else on Long Island even makes it.
Charles told me a story about the Chenin a few years ago. He had originally planned to take it out. Tasting that wine convinced me that LI could do decent wine. I agree it’s so weird that nobody else does it. Seems like that’s exactly what they should be planting.
There is a group in Westchester that calls itself the “Westchester Wine Enthusiasts” that meets every month or two to share wine in the $20 price range. $40 a bottle for a couple, and some people just pay cash and the organizer (the local Episcopal priest) pools the money to buy a few better bottles. The next meeting is May 31 and the theme is New York wines. I am going to bring one of my two remaining 2000 Paumanok Grand Vintage Cabernets that I bought from Charles over 10 years ago. I buried it in the cellar and now it’s time to see what 17 years has done to it.
Have been visiting Charles, Ursula and the boys for years. Charles tells a good story about the intern and the chenin blank. Out of all my wine loving friends on the island we all have paumonk on our cellar and not .much else.from east end.
Try their late harvest resieling for another great surprise.
Opened the 2000 Paumanok Grand Vintage last night. I have owned it since about 2005. It is coming along but still developing and on the upswing, which was quite a surprise. I was worried that perhaps I should have drunk it five years ago, but it is still developing with predominantly very smooth red fruit. I had to pop and pour due to the circumstances of the event, and it needed air to come around, so I would say a 90 minute decant would do it very well. Some cocoa to go with the fruit, excellent balance.
I stopped at Paumanok with my two children (9 months, 2 1/2 years old) and wife while we were in the area for a wedding this last weekend. I will echo the comments on both the pleasant experience, setting, professionalism and passion. I appreciated being able to ask too many questions in my focus on seeking out unique wine experiences. These are very well-made wines that do exhibit balance and restraint. I will say that I wanted just a bit more from the wines but given my children I was unable to explore their more serious wines and instead focused on their white sampler (Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Dry Riesling, Barrel Fermented Chardonnay) plus their Cabernet Franc.
All of the wines were lively and complex on the nose, and delivered a strong performance on the palate, although without the finish that the nose hinted at…yet based on my desire for a unique wine experience I would say that visiting Paumanok checked the box and I would certainly recommend their Chenin Blanc as a great wine to have in the cellar, especially for shellfish or other light fish-based dishes.
I wish I had more time to visit other wineries but focused my time here given my constraints of having children in tow and wanting to maximize my experience.
It’s your luck that I popped one of mine open. I’m shocked to say it was…Fantastic. Lots of upfront fruit, leaner midpalate with a super fresh finish. Nice acidity. None of green plastic pepper that all other LI reds have. Great structure all around.
P.s. maybe it’s just me, but the screwcap version of this wine is better balanced than the cork version.
It’s a pricey wine, but it’s can one of there better wines I’ve had all year. As good as anything I’ve had in the last three years.
Tasted the 14, but like the 13 better. However, the have just released it. Hopefully, I can get some more 13 when we go out later this summer.
