This week’s edition of Wine shop Wander Wednesday brings us to a new 2007 red wine release, Paumanok Vineyards 2007 Festival Red.  The vintages that were of the red grape from 2007 will be memorable and will be a bench mark for the Long Island Region.

According to Kareem Massoud, Winemaker at Paumanok, “The summer of 2007 was memorable. Spectacular conditions in June – warm, dry and breezy – allowed for a near perfect fruit set and subsequent large yields. It was a long, hot summer with a remarkable stretch of blue skies and plenty of sunshine in late August and throughout September. During this key period, the red grapes achieved maximum ripeness.”

This 2007 Festival Red is a blend of 72% Merlot, %24 Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot.  It was aged for a total of 10 months in a combination of older French and American oak barrels.

Upon the first pour there was a heavy aroma of alcohol.  Upon first taste, it was hot.  I had a feeling that this was going to need some time to open up.  In fact, I think most red’s from 2007 will need some time to sit and open up.

About an hour later, in the glass I was getting big black cherry aroma, some plum and a touch of prune.  It was very fragrant.

My second taste of this wine was very nice, big cranberry and currants, the taste of plum had carried over.  There was some wonderful dark berry and cherry flavors too.

This is a medium body wine that has a nice finish, just a little spicy, but it is short.

I had this with Mikey’s Mariana sauce and fresh homemade pasta from my local pork store.  My Marina recipe will appear in a future post.  This wine was wonderful.  The sauce and the wine were singing and dancing like Ginger and Fred.

I would recommend this wine.  This is a nice value at $18.95 from my local wine shop.  Just please remember that with any of the 2007 reds let them decant for a while before you consume.