WINE TIME: Kemo Massey of Seville Quarter

Pensacola News Journal
PNJ.Com
Kemo Massey of Seville Quarter
May 20, 2010

“Wow!”
That was my exclamation after tasting the last few sips left in a tasting bottle of Red Hook Winery Chardonnay supplied by Angel’s Share Importers. The smile on the faces of my fellow tasters told me instinctively where the rest of the bottle had gone.

The wine reminds me of California and France, but neatly carves out a niche that is all its own. It grabs the taster with its precise minerality and well defined acidity, all the time staying connected to the structured core of fruit. These traits make for a solid framework that allows these flavors to play and intermingle in a contrapuntal melody that is persistent and fresh. This wine never veers into the contrived flavors you find in some California Chardonnays. Graceful power and understated elegance come to mind here.

The grapes are grown on what is called the North Fork of Long Island in the Jamesport vineyard. Far from the hustle and bustle of the city, this bucolic enclave adheres to sustainable farming practices and eschews big-city life in favor of pastoral settings. The farmland and vineyards are simply beautiful, and all look like they came straight out of the sketchbook of George Inness.

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The winemaker of this bottling, Robert Foley is a master of his craft. He shows why he is so widely respected among his peers with this beauty of a wine.

All of the Red Hook wines are selling out quickly around the country, but we still have the Chardonnay available in the Seville Quarter wine shop at $42.99.

Seville Quarter, 130 E. Government St. 434-6211, or visit www.sevillequarter.com.