Wine of the Week: Paumanok Vineyards 2022 Minimalist Chenin Blanc
January 7, 2025: Paumanok has earned its place among the East Coast's elite producers and winemaker Kareem Massoud's "minimalist" wines are among his best
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If you’re reading this, you probably already know Paumanok Vineyards and winemaker Kareem Massoud — or you’ve at least tasted some of his wines. For more than 40 years, Paumanok has been focused on making the best wines possible on the North Fork through a combination of innovation and precision.
The wines are consistently among the best being made on the East Coast.
Even if it started as an “interesting accident,” chenin blanc is a big part of Paumanok’s success. Massoud’s regular label chenin has a bit of a cult following, and while a small handful of other wineries are now working with chenin, none even come close in terms of deliciousness.
But today, we’re here to talk about Paumanok Vineyards 2022 Minimalist Chenin Blanc ($55). After enjoying a glass there, I picked up this bottle at Palmer Vineyards (also owned by the Massoud family), but it has since sold out.
He’d likely balk at this statement, but you could consider Massoud’s “minimalist” wines his response to the “natural wine” movement. To make this chenin, he hand-harvested fruit from Paumanok’s oldest chenin block, which was planted in 1982. The fruit was pressed whole cluster, and the juice was transferred to stainless steel barrels, where alcoholic fermentation was done via ambient yeast. It stayed in steel barrels for seven months prior to bottling. Nothing was added to the wine besides a minimal amount of sulfites.
The results are striking in their purity and balance.
The nose oozes with a melange of tropical and citrus fruits, ripe green melon, a drizzle of honey, and a subtle leesy note. Despite relatively low alcohol (11%) it shows nice weight and flavor concentration — more tropical fruits like pineapple and mango with sweet grapefruit and Meyer lemon — with fresh acidity and a juicy, brisk feel on the long finish. There is a honeyed flavor here without sweetness that I really enjoy.
As I mentioned, it’s sold out, but I have yet not to enjoy one of Massoud’s “minimalist” wines, so check them out any time that he makes one.
Paumanok Vineyards 2022 Minimalist Chenin Blanc
Region: North Fork of Long Island AVA (New York)
ABV: 11%
Rating: 92 pts
Price: $55 (Sold Out)
