90 Kelli White - Vinous

"Very pale garnet. Made with 20% whole cluster. Though somewhat austere, this is quite a lovely Pinot Noir. The nose offers more earth than fruit, with scents of wild game, mushroom, cedar, forest floor, and just a hint of cherry. In the mouth the wine is bright and fresh, though the fruit is a bit bound by the structure, making the wine rather lean in feel. As with the 2012, the acidity is ample, but this vintage offers riper tannins that are better integrated into the wine’s overall texture.

"Nathan Kendall is one of a handful of young producers that are working to shake up wine production in the Finger Lakes by focusing on small batches of meticulously made wines and seeking clientele beyond the local markets. Though he relies exclusively on native fermentations and utilizes little sulphur, he does not align himself with the natural wine movement, per se, “but I do believe in hard work in the vineyard and little to no intervention in the cellar.” Kendall hails originally from the Finger Lakes, but his winemaking career has taken him to various corners of the globe. He eventually returned to his homeland and assumed a cellar position at Ravines for a number of years. He launched N. Kendall while working there (2011), and relied on their White Springs vineyard fruit for the first three years of his brand. When he left in 2014, he lost access to that fruit and as a result his modest production (then around 300 cases) dropped down to a single Riesling. Now he has expanded his sources and intends to be up to 800 cases by the harvest of 2016. His Rieslings are nothing short of brilliant, and the Pinot Noirs are quite good as well." Reviewed July 2016.