4 Thoughts from a Vertical Tasting of Nine Vintages of Paumanok Vineyards Merlot

Nine vintages of Paumanok Vineyards “White Label” Merlot

One of the best things about local wine — and wine in general, I think — is that you never stop learning things. There are always surprises.

We all know that Long Island grows and makes a lot of merlot. It’s the most-planted red grape here. And though the push has subsided, there was a time not that long ago when many wineries pushed it as the “signature grape” of Long Island.

I’m sure I’ll write about that at length at some point, but today isn’t that day.

Today, I bring up Long Island merlot because it offered one of those wine suprirses last weekend when I attended a nine-vintage vertical of merlot hosted by winemaker Kareem Massoud at Paumanok Vineyards that included wines from 2004-2006, 2012-2014, and 2017-2019.

I’ve been drinking Long Island merlot regularly for at least two decades. When I started taking wine seriously, most Long Island wineries were selling 2000 and 2001 vintage merlots, which turned out to be great vintages to experience early on in my local wine journey.

I knew that at least some of the wines would be very good and given Kareem’s turn to screwcap closures starting in 2007, I knew many would be fresher than you might expect.

So what surprised me?