Matt Spaccarelli at 90! Points that is...Benmarl Winery

It's official - Matt Spaccarelli is 90! Points that is.....

One of the stars of the most recent Taste Camp 2014 Hudson Valley was the estate Cabernet Franc from Benmarl Winery. So I was down on the Shawangunk last Sunday and stopped in and saw Matt Spaccarelli. There, on a Sunday afternoon, was Matt, sitting on the back bay of their warehouse dock, munching on a piece of pizza, waiting on 4 tons of Merlot to be pressed. There's never a safe time during harvest season. You're always on call, always at work.

 

As always Matt was incredibly generous an friendly. And he took me on a quick tour tasting his wines in process from the 2014 harvest. A fabulous Sauvingnon Blanc, a wonderful Seyval Blanc, and some incredible reds that were slowly cooking away. Really really impressive. Matt is doing everything extremely right. He is a careful and knowledgeable winemaker. And he is only improving.

 

The most recent evidence was the 90 Point score in Wine Enthusiast for the Estate Cabernet Franc. Big dollops of dark cherry and cassis, with excellent acidity, great balance, and lovely complexity. This is a fantastic wine perfect now or will cellar for at least seven to ten years. A gorgeous wine with huge fruit up front, but a lovely, soft dry finish.

 

The maturation of Spaccarelli from novice to the accomplishments he's just received, are a great indication of things to come for Benmarl Winery and for the Hudson Valley.

 

Congrats Matt!