The Winery Lenz
The Winemaker Thomas Spotteck
The Wine 2019 Malbec, 13% abv
The Price $45
The Grapes 100% malbec
Don’t cry for us, Argentina — Long Island’s version of the South American red darling is in a class by itself.
True enough, the South American country is synonymous with malbec. Somewhere around 75% of the world’s supply of the juicy red delight comes from there, despite its French origins. Indeed, it doesn’t get the same attention on Long Island as, say, merlot or cabernet franc, the red darlings of the region. But you know what? It should.
“I am sure our members hear me say this about a lot of our wines; however, this wine has become one of my babies, a little pet project. A labor of love, for sure,” says Lenz winemaker Thomas Spotteck. “Like most traditional Bordeaux varietals grown across the North Fork, malbec thrives here in its own unique way. The fruit sets nicely year after year and provides us with a deep, rich purple juice that has very unique violet floral aromas and a definitive red tropical fruit character. I’ve dubbed it ‘Adult Hi-C’!”
But don’t let Spotteck’s lightheartedness fool you; he’s as careful and methodical as can be with this gorgeous, small-production (only 100 cases are made) red. Handpicked and hand sorted, Spotteck does something a little unusual here, choosing to ferment the crushed, cold-macerated juice in small, open-top new oak wine barrels, and then gravity feeding to the bottling line.
“The early oak integration helps to start building the structure of the wine earlier in the process, creating longer, silkier tannin profiles,” he says. “This juice has never been beaten through a pump or filter, only gently moved, minimally, from vessel to vessel.”
What’s in your glass Spotteck is a malbec maestro, teasing out the wine’s intrinsic, vibrant raspberry and plum fruit notes, along with hypnotic aromas of lavender and flowering mint. It’s zingy on the tongue, medium bodied and juicy as all get-out, but with a saturating presence that lingers and shows you this wine’s got staying power.
Pairs with “Duck confit with a berry sauce,” says Spotteck, but at home, he’s got the secret weapon: “My wife makes this duck with a blackberry-soy reduction drizzled over that crispy, crispy duck skin, all served over coconut rice with sautéed spinach. Mmm!”
To hold or not to hold “This is very drinkable now; we have held it back for four years in
the bottle,” Spotteck says. “However, if you hold on to it
for 15 years, I do not imagine it will disappoint!”
