The Latest Cristaldi Scores
Vintage
Wine
Color
Rating
Vintage
Wine
Color
Rating
As is often the case with Reserve bottlings of Cabernet Franc from New York State, this wine delivers greater volume and a satiny texture. It offers a layered mix of red and black fruit nuances, with notes of tobacco, cedarwood, and crushed cacao nibs emerging on the juicy, earth-driven finish. Sourced from 20-year-old vines at Ryan William Vineyard on the eastern shore of Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes, the fruit was fermented on the skins, then pressed and aged in a combination of new, used, and neutral French oak barrels.
Harvested from 20-year-old vines grown on the Ryan William Vineyard, located on the eastern shore of Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes. Fermented on the skins, then pressed and aged in a mix of new, used, and neutral French oak barrels. This is a lovely, well-built, red-fruited expression of Cabernet Franc with juicy pomegranate-seed tannins and lingering baking spice notes that perfume the medium-length finish. It opens with great fruit intensity and energy, though it tapers slightly toward the end—but remains thoroughly enjoyable throughout.
Is it the label, or does this wine truly radiate gorgeous rose petal florals? Yes—it absolutely does. Those perfumed aromatics are joined by red berry fruit and French pastry notes, with a hint of pistachio cream and coriander unfolding on the long, enveloping finish. Native yeast fermented, it’s a beautifully balanced and complex wine.
The Sparkling Brut from Ravines is a wonderfully complex, focused, and expressive wine made from 33-year-old Chardonnay vines and 32-year-old Pinot Noir vines grown at the Argetsinger Vineyard on the southeast side of Seneca Lake. The site’s Howard gravel soils over limestone bedrock lend a mineral edge to this traditional-method sparkler. The 2012 vintage was exceptionally warm for the region, with near-ideal conditions. Hand-riddled, and then disgorged in late 2019 with a dosage of under 5 g/L, it shows beautifully expressive notes of toasty brioche mingling with lemon and lime blossom. The mousse is frothy and creamy, resolving with notes of honey-drizzled almonds and saline-mineral tension on a long, bone-dry, mouthwatering finish.
This sparkling Riesling from Ravines (perched above the glacier-carved Finger Lakes of New York State) is made in the traditional method, with secondary fermentation in bottle and four years en tirage. Hand-riddled and disgorged in the spring of 2022, it’s a dynamic, expressive wine with a gorgeously enticing thread of saline-acid minerality. Layers of baked orchard fruit and toasty almond notes carry through the lengthy, satisfying finish.
This is pure elegance from the Finger Lakes region of New York State. Structured and poised, it rests on a firm, dusty tannin backbone with racy blood orange and cranberry-like acidity. The nose is delicately expressive, offering red berry fruit and warm brown baking spices, while the palate delivers clean, zesty ripe red fruit that glides into a mineral-laced finish, redolent of iron and earth.
100% estate-grown, sustainably farmed Cabernet Franc from White Springs and 16 Falls Vineyards. Aged for one year in seasoned 2,000-liter Austrian and Hungarian oak casks. Bing cherry and cranberry fruit lift from the glass, accented by fine baking spices and a touch of vanilla. The palate is structured and intense, with robust, soaring tannins that deliver serious grip, matched by a firm spine of tangy, mouthwatering acidity.
The 1995 is a stunningly beautiful wine, offering layers of pressed violets, dried rose petals, loamy earth, currant, and cassis. Juicy acidity remains vibrant and fully in check, balanced by firm, mineral-rich tannins. With time in the glass, notes of leather, tar, black olive, liquorice, and charcuterie emerge, adding depth and savory complexity. Enjoy this wine with pizza at Fiocha Pizza in Mattituck, NY.
The 2010 shows some tension right out of the gate, but with air, it opens beautifully—offering cassis, currant, wet slate, and warm brown spices. The palate builds with integrated tannins that carry both grip and a velvety texture, framed by savory notes of sage and bay laurel. A firm saline-acid tension drives the finish.
Winemaker Kareem Massoud says this took six weeks to finish fermentation—and he was thrilled with the vintage. And no wonder: this is something else. Deep black in color with blue highlights, it opens with inky dark berry fruit, blue fruit, and violet aromatics. A bold, ripe expression of Long Island Cabernet Sauvignon, it delivers a full-bodied palate with soaring tannins and a finish that layers cedarwood spice, tar, black olive, and pressed rose petals. Powerful, structured, and built to age—this is a red wine with serious longevity.
Alluring aromatics of rich loamy earth wrap around dark currant fruit and warm tobacco spice. Medium- to full-bodied on the palate, with a plump core of cassis, blue fruit, blackberry, and black cherry. The tannins are velvety and mouthcoating, leading to a long, lingering finish layered with cedarwood, truffle, and earthy depth.
Sourced from a site originally planted with sparkling wine in mind, this bottling offers a beautifully frothy, creamy mousse layered with red berry fruit and delicate French pastry aromatics. A crisp, crunchy, acid-driven finish makes it especially food-friendly—owner Charles Massoud recommends pairing it with chicken or fish dishes.
This 2022 is a bold, robust Cabernet Franc with dark fruit intensity and firm, building tannins. Bright currant fruit weaves through layers of rich mahogany spice, black olive, and brown baking spices. The finish is long and structured, anchored by juicy, concentrated fruit and a compelling wet stone minerality.
Fermented in neutral oak with 50% whole berries, the result is savoury and red-fruited, with dusty mineral tones, subtle currant and fig notes on a lovely nose. Medium-bodied on the palate with juicy, spiced plum fruit, layered with brown spices, green olive, cherry wood, and mahogany. Supple yet robust tannins frame the wine, leading to a crunchy, acid-driven finish.
Native fermented on skins in stainless steel for two months with délestage before pressing, followed by malolactic fermentation and 12 months in puncheons, then filtered prior to bottling. The wine opens with pure red fruit, floral lift, and rose stem aromatics, leading to a creamy, medium-bodied palate with fine-grained tannins. Pretty notes of pressed flowers and wet slate minerality carry through the long, elegant finish, all framed by bright, juicy red-fruit acidity.
Sourced from the vines just behind the winery—easily visible from the patio—this dessert Sauvignon Blanc was served at the 50th anniversary of the NATO alliance. It’s a wonderfully expressive, detail-driven wine, offering ripe apricot, orange oil, honeysuckle, and jasmine. Never cloying, it’s lush yet balanced, with incredible acid tension and remarkable length.
Fermented in stainless steel and barrique, then aged in neutral oak for up to 14 months. This full-bodied red shows dark red berry fruit layered with savory brown spices, walnut husk, dried rose petals, and a touch of dark chocolate. Cocoa powder tannins frame the juicy, dark berry finish, while a firm spine of acidity keeps it lifted and bright, in the vein of a great Morgon—try it with duck à l’orange.
This medium-bodied Cabernet Franc is a juicy, red-fruited wine driven by saline-laced acidity and supported by intense, grippy apple-skin tannins. There’s a dark muscularity here—deep tones layered with cured meat richness and a savory black olive edge, alongside dried rose petals and wild herbs. Sourced from Sawmill Creek Vineyard, a hillside site on the east side of Seneca Lake with slopes as steep as 20% and elevations ranging from 490 to 820 feet above sea level, and planted in the 1990s to Clone 214 (a Loire Valley selection). Just 250 cases were produced.
From the Wagner Farms Cayuga White block on the east side of Seneca Lake, planted in 1978, this wine comes from a flat site with Lansing gravelly silt loam soils—formed from calcareous glacial till derived from sandstone, limestone, and shale. Cayuga White, a French-American hybrid developed by Cornell University in the 1940s, is grown almost exclusively in the Finger Lakes and here is planted on its own roots and trained to a high-wire cordon system. No sulfites were added at bottling. Bottles were disgorged in winter 2024, with just 450 cases produced. Fragrant pear and white peach aromas mingle with almond and white flower notes, blooming on the palate into tropical tones of pineapple and coconut cream. There’s something oddly evocative here—like a dry, acid-driven Pina Colada conjured by a bartender at Death & Co, served poolside at a Hawaiian resort. Why it takes you there, you won’t be able to explain. But it will—and that’s part of its charm.
