Anthony Road is a showcase winery of the Finger Lakes with a wide open tasting room, beautiful garden, and a great view to Lake Seneca. They also have one of the broadest lineups of wine in the region.
During our last visit I became entranced by Lemberger. I believed it to be the up and coming grape of the Finger Lakes region. Time will tell if I'm right, or merely under the spell of a few delicious bottles.
One of the classic grape blending matches is Cabernet Franc and Lemberger. Lemberger, also known as Blaufrankish, is a gentle and savory grape that can take the edge off the sometimes peppery Cab Franc.
In this case, the Lemberger actually has the lion's share (55%) of the blend, with the Cab Franc at 45%. I think I might have reversed the ratio.
The punch of the Cab Franc was a bit muted by the Lemberger. At first the body was a bit mild simple. Of course, I was being blasted in the face by waves of acrid smoke from the fire at the time.
I revisited the wine after about 30 minutes and the white pepper of the Cab Franc and the raspberry notes of the Lemberger were playfully present. One benefit of the blending is that there is no green pepper flavor. To me, that indicates a Cab Franc that isn't quite ready for prime time. While some green pepper is OK, more than a smidge can be a turn-off.
This is a nice value at $18. If you aren't familiar with Lemberger or the Finger Lakes, this is a good intro.
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