Cab Franc Chronicles - Your source for all things Cabernet Franc!
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Analysis and commentary of the Hermann J. Wiemer, 2019 Magdalena Vineyard Cabernet Franc, Finger Lakes, New York, USA
Hermann J Wiemer arrived from his native Germany to New York's Finger Lakes region in the 1960s with over 300 years of winemaking lineage under his belt. A true pioneer in the Finger Lakes, Hermann bought the original farm in 1973 and planted his first vineyard in 1977/78. Since his retirement, the winery has been run by Fred Merwarth and Oskar Bynke.
The Magdalena Vineyard is one of the crown jewel sites of this estate. It was purchased by Hermann back in 1999, and is planted with a number of different grape varieties including Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Noir, Gewürztraminer, Lemberger, and, of course, Cabernet Franc.
The original block of Cabernet Franc was planted 1999. A second block of 2.4 acres was planted in 2004, grafted from the original block, and this is the selection that goes in to the estate's Magdalena Vineyard bottling.
The microclimate of the Finger Lakes is complex and diverse, and the lakes play a critical role in moderating not on the regions climate, but also defining the microclimate of a given vineyard. Seneca Lake is the largest and deepest of all the Finger Lakes, and the Madgalena Vineyard is on the west side of Seneca Lakes.
Generally speaking, the west side of Seneca Lake is a little cooler than the east side, as the east side gets the benefit of the stronger afternoon sunshine. However, Magdalena Vineyard is a warm site for the west side of Seneca Lake, because it tends to receive less precipitation during the growing season, and its position at the northern end of the lake means it gets the benefit of warm air coming in from the east. The site also sunshine earlier in the day, which helps to dry out the canopy and bunches and reduces disease pressure.
There are two bedrocks in the Finger Lakes. Limestone, which is present towards the upper third of Seneca and Cayuga Lakes, and shale, which is present in the lower two thirds. The soils across the region are typically deep, glacially derived soils with mixed textures.
The soil series in the Madgalena Vineyard is called Honeoye silt-loam, and there's about 6 feet (182cm) of topsoil before the limestone bedrock.
From winemaking perspective, the fruit is hand-harvested, and they used about 30% whole cluster fruit for all of their Cab Francs. Also, in 2019, the fruit was picked in two passes, in an effort to get different degrees of ripeness and fruit profiles. The wine is fermented in small open top fermenters, with pumpovers until fermentation kicks off followed by punchdowns. The wines spends some time in 500L French and Hungarian oak, about 17% new.
0:00 History/Intro
0:39 Magdalena Vineyard, Finger Lakes Overview
3:03 Clonal selection and viticulture
4:22 Soils!
5:54 Winemaking
6:57 Tasting notes
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Website in progress with a full write up and tons more content.
Originally posted to Instagram July 25, 2021.
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Key wine facts below:
Producer: Hermann J Wiemer
Appellation: Finger Lakes (Seneca Lake)
Region: New York State
Vineyard: Magdalena Vineyard (Estate-owned)
Soil: Honeoye silt-loam atop a limestone bedrock
Alcohol: 12.8%
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