The Latest Cristaldi Scores
Vintage
Wine
Color
Rating
Vintage
Wine
Color
Rating
Fred Frank says the challenge for their Cabernet Franc lies in keeping yields to around three tons per acre, with careful leaf cropping and aging in French oak. This is a beautifully balanced, expressive example of Cabernet Franc—arguably one of the most structured and refined I tasted from the region. Red berry fruit mingles with elegant cedarwood spice and a fragrant pomegranate seed freshness. Medium-bodied with gorgeously firm, velvety tannins that anchor a core of crunchy red fruit, the palate is laced with refined baking spices and a touch of classic Cabernet Franc spice. The finish is mineral-driven, taut with acidity, and bursting with coiled energy. A wine to enjoy now and over the next 15–20+ years.
Fred Frank is bullish on Blaufränkisch, believing the variety thrives in the microclimates surrounding the Finger Lakes. The 2022 Dr. Konstantin Frank Blaufränkisch is a beautifully expressive wine, offering dark berry aromatics layered with cedarwood spice and a hint of mocha. The palate is medium-bodied and refined, with gentle, satiny tannins, brown spice, and subtle slate-like minerality. A bright citrus peel note drives the lengthy finish. Fruit was destemmed and cold-soaked, inoculated in stainless steel, then aged for 16 months in a mix of mostly neutral and 20% new French oak.
Damiani’s 2023 Cabernet Franc Reserve takes everything great about their standard Cabernet Franc and elevates it—more polish, more juiciness, and a silkier expression across the palate. Sourced from a mix of three estate sites and two grower vineyards on both the east and west sides of Seneca Lake, the fruit was fermented in 1-ton bins with 20% saignée and 15% whole cluster inclusion, all with native yeast. Aged 16 months in neutral French oak, the wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered. Bright red berry fruit and fine brown baking spices lead the aromatic charge, while cherry-skin tannins glide across the palate with a juicy, plump texture. The finish lingers with blood orange zest, rose oil, coriander seed, and finely etched cedar spice.
The 2018 Blanc de Blanc is 100% Chardonnay, sourced from select sites along the east side of Seneca Lake. Each lot was vinified separately in stainless steel and aged sur lie for four months before going en tirage for five years, then disgorged in 2024. The wine offers a vinous brightness that leaps from the glass, building into a frothy, textured palate. Chalky minerality provides structure, while nuanced layers of toasty brioche and roasted almonds—gifts of the extended lees aging—bring depth and complexity.
The 2019 Brut—a méthode champenoise sparkler made from Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Meunier—is sourced from multiple vineyard sites along the east side of Seneca Lake. Each lot was vinified separately in stainless steel and aged sur lie for three months before tirage. Disgorged in 2025 after five years en tirage, this wine offers a complex and richly textured profile. Baked apple, pear, and apricot lead the aromatic charge, followed by confected notes of apple tart and apricot pastry, with buttery, nutty undertones adding depth on the mid-palate. An assertive mousse softens into a gentle froth, while the long, saline-acid finish brings lift, freshness, and tension to this more opulent style of sparkling. My kind of bubbly!
The 2023 Cabernet Franc is sourced from vineyards on both the east and west sides of Seneca Lake. Each lot was vinified separately in one-ton bins, with 20% saignée prior to fermentation, 10% whole cluster inclusion, and native yeast fermentations. Aged for 12 months in neutral French oak, this red was bottled unfined and unfiltered. True to the region’s style, a savory through line connects the crunchy red berry fruit from nose to finish. Cherry, pomegranate, and raspberry notes mingle with cedarwood spice, while soaring tannins frame the medium-bodied palate. The finish carries rose stem and earthy nuances. One of the cleanest and most structured Cabernet Francs I tasted from the vintage.
A dry Prosecco-style sparkler made from Cayuga White, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir, sourced from vineyards on both Seneca and Cayuga Lakes. Fermented in stainless steel and aged on the lees for eight months, it also spent an additional four months en tirage prior to disgorgement. The result is exactly what you’d hope for—light on its feet, frothy, and bursting with expressive, crunchy orchard and citrus fruit. It’s easy-drinking and refreshing, with a pleasantly bold, dry finish.
The nose on this effervescent rosé is utterly beguiling—fragrant jasmine and honeysuckle waft alongside candied red berry fruit, leading into a creamy, frothy mousse that’s sweet but balanced. Flavours of dried peach rings and apricot carry through the finish, making this wine as joyful as it is quaffable. The only thing giggly about it is how happy you’ll feel after polishing off the bottle. Crafted using the saignée method for color extraction, this fresh and crisp sparkler blends Riesling from the estate’s Lake Effect Vineyard, Cabernet Franc and Traminette from Miles Vineyard (all in the Finger Lakes AVA), and Cayuga White sourced from nearby Burlee Farms in New York State.
Fruit sourced from Miles Vineyard in the Finger Lakes region. Aged for 12 months in a mix of stainless steel and French barriques. This is a savory-sweet, red-fruited wine with notes of dusty rose petals, loamy earth, and exotic brown spices like star anise and coriander cream. Tart apple skin tannins frame the palate, leading to a finish laced with black olive and dried herbs.
This white blend is composed of 80% Traminette sourced from Miles Vineyard in the Finger Lakes and 20% Cayuga White from nearby Burlee Farms. The wine was aged for one year in neutral oak barrels. It opens with a flinty mineral nose and citrus peel, followed by wildflower aromatics. The palate layers in apple, pear, and peach fruit, lifted by bright lemony acidity, lime zest, and a subtle chamomile note. Crisp, clean, and energetic.
Harvested from 40-year-old vines grown on the eastern shore of Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes, this wine was fermented on the skins, then pressed and aged in a combination of new and used French oak barrels. Dark-fruited and structured, it delivers robust tannins and juicy acid tension that drive a spicy, medium-bodied finish.
Part of the “Multi-Rosati” series—typically 5 to 8 bottlings released each year—this rosé is made from red fruit picked specifically for pink wine, hand-harvested, whole-cluster pressed, settled and fermented entirely in stainless steel. All wines in the series are vinified the same way to highlight varietal character and vineyard site. This bottling delivers deep red berry fruit with a wild, sauvage edge, layered with notes of cherry skin, kumquat rind, and a hint of cocoa powder. A striking chalky-salty minerality anchors the wine, which finishes with crisp, juicy acidity and remarkable complexity. Winemaker James Christopher Tracy says that he hopes the wine reflects its moderate maritime climate and dramatic ocean influence—and it certainly does.
This is a wonderfully rich and meaty red with impressive depth of fruit, yet it never veers into cloying or overt sweetness. It doesn’t possess the sheer intensity of a Napa Petit Verdot, but instead offers brightness and vividness underscored by firm acidity. There’s real personality here, with wild, sauvage notes ranging from dried sage and bay leaf to rose stem. The finish is bold, dry, and tannic, chased by mouthwatering acidity.
This Lagrein opens with a rich cocoa powder nose, alongside cassis, rose petals, and loamy earth—all of which carry through seamlessly to the palate. Grippy tannins frame a saline, mineral-driven finish. Dark, brooding, and expressive, it shows impressive depth and breadth, with well-balanced tension. Spicy and intense, yet remarkably light on its feet.
A blend of 75% Cabernet Franc and 25% Syrah, this is an electric, vividly expressive wine bursting with cassis, strawberry, and black cherry fruit. Brown spices weave through a medium-bodied palate framed by fine, sinewy tannins and a distinct granularity. A salty-chalky mineral core and a spine of juicy, electric acidity give the wine structure and tension. Like most of James Christopher Tracy’s wines, it’s built for the table—food is not optional.
Mosaico is an exotic field blend from a complanted block in the Sylvanus Vineyard on our home farm in Bridgehampton. The 2022 vintage is composed of 32% Pinot Grigio, 29% Chardonnay, 14% Sauvignon Blanc, 10% Muscat Ottonel, 8% Gewürztraminer, and 7% Tocai Friulano. All varieties were grown, harvested, pressed, and wild-fermented together in stainless steel. This is a wild beast of a wine—in the best way—bursting with orange oil, tangerine zest, and mouth-puckering acidity. There’s a focused squeeze of lime, lemon, and grapefruit on the palate that makes it incredibly vivid and energetic. An absoulte must with food.
This Muscat Ottonel opens with bright aromatics of orange blossom, chamomile, and white flowers, layered with hints of autumn leaves. The palate builds in richness with notes of citrus, mango, green papaya, and underripe pineapple, accented by a twist of lime zest. Crunchy acidity underscores the frothy, refreshing texture of this pét-nat.
100% Tocai Friulano from the Sylvanus Vineyard in Bridgehampton—one of the very few plantings of this variety on the East End of Long Island, and among only a handful in the United States. This is a bright, vivid white with zesty lemon-lime fruit, white flowers, and a subtle note of Marcona almond on the finish. The palate is driven by mineral tension and sea spray aromatics
