THE "IMPOSSIBLY PERFECT WINERY"-- AN UPDATE

One of our favorite Finger Lakes wineries drops a 98-pointer!

Tom & Susan Higgins, co-proprietors of the Heart & Hands Wine Company. Tom is a vigneron extraordinaire, and Susan is perhaps the most intelligent person I've ever met in the wine business.

They both work their butts off to produce, bottle, and sell fabulous wine.

We excitedly wrote about the Heart and Hands Wine Company  a couple of years ago. (See The Impossibly Perfect Winery, updated in October 2024.) To review, Tom and Susan Higgins broke ground on the eastern shore of Cayuga Lake in 2007 with the primary purpose of growing and bottling excellent Pinot Noir along with a few whites and sparklers. Although the spot they chose in Union Springs for their ambitious enterprise sits a few miles east of the region's traditional power centers (as in the shores of lakes Keuka and Seneca) a priceless treasure lay hidden beneath their chosen soil-- limestone bedrock, a necessary component for world-class Pinot Noir. Fifteen vintages later, their tireless toil and hard-won experience had them in position to fully capitalize upon the splendid 2022 growing season.

Mo Chuisle-- "From the Heart," or something like that. It's a Celtic thing.

The Heart & Hands Wine Company 2022 "Mo Chuisle" Estate Reserve Pinot Noir has achieved unprecedented recognition... including, not for nothing, from your Grumpy Old Mansplainer. As a premium member of the winery's "Claddagh Club" I have preferential access to their finest and most limited offerings. I received ONE bottle of the 2022 Mo Chuisle in my recent quarterly allocation, and it blew me away. I immediately contacted the owners to offer my gushing praise as I pleaded with them to let me purchase some more.

Great Pinot Noir is unlike any other great red (See THE ROYAL BROTHERS: CABERNET SAUVIGNON & PINOT NOIR.) I personally use a simple 4-tier rating system exclusively for Pinot Noir--

Level I-- A wine that should not have been made.

Level II-- Varietally correct & recognizable; perfectly drinkable, if unremarkable.

Level III-- A wine that could raise the birth rate.

Level IV-- Proof of the existence of God. (See note below.)

The Heart & Hands Wine Company 2022 "Mo Chuisle" Estate Reserve Pinot Noir is the closest I've come to a full-blown Level IV since the 1978 La Tâche I described in BOTTLED FREAKING HEAVEN. But don't just take my word for it... DECANTER magazine recently named this wine one of the Top-20 American single-vineyard Pinot Noirs, and the widely-respected wine critic James Suckling just awarded it 98 points. It's nice to have my palate validated by these pros.

If you want to experience this wine for yourself, act fast... even at $60/bottle it is likely to sell out quickly. (See their website for shopping and shipping particulars.) And if you miss out on the 2022 Mo Chuisle, you can amuse yourself while waiting for the 97-point 2023 with the winery's numerous other offerings. We've loved their Chardonnays (both the unoaked "Verve" bottling and their Meursault-like regular bottling) as well as their intriguing Aligoté and Arvine, two rarely-seen varietals. Their Rieslings are always taut and nervy. And when available, the limited-edition Champagne-style sparklers are precisely styled and utterly delicious. Even the winery's regular and mid-range Pinot Noirs reliably place among New York State's finest reds, demonstrating the same brilliant viticulture and craftsmanship as their more expensive brethren. "Polarity" is a compelling and full-bodied white wine made from Pinot Noir. I could go on and on... everything is either good or great here; even the glassware they sell is special.

NOTES:

Check the winery's website for visiting info. Keep in mind that this is a small and serious winery for serious wine lovers. There are plenty of other wineries that will welcome limos and bridal parties if that's your thing.

"Proof of the existence of God?" I've come to believe that great Cabernet Sauvignon might well be humankind's greatest agricultural achievement, but that great Pinot Noir is God's way of occasionally reminding us how far we have to go.