Hello and welcome to my weekly dig through the pile of wine samples that show up asking to be tasted. I’m pleased to bring you the latest installment of Vinography Unboxed, where I highlight some of the better bottles that have crossed my doorstep recently.

This week’s edition is a little unusual as I’m using it as an opportunity to share with you a bunch of wines from the Finger Lakes region of New York. I recently made a trip to Seneca Lake (the largest of the 11 Finger Lakes and the one with the most wineries and vineyards). I wrote up the top wines from that visit as part of my monthly column for Jancis Robinson this week, but there were a bunch of excellent wines that didn’t make it into my final article that I want to make sure to share with you. So I’m doing a little Finger Lakes takeover of Unboxed.

Let’s start with some wines from Anthony Road Winery. Self-taught winemaker Peter Becraft grew up in Virginia and studied art in New York, thinking he was going to be a sculptor. But then he ended up with a girlfriend who worked in fine dining, and he caught the wine bug. He talked his way into working in a wine shop in Tribeca on the weekends, and he and his girlfriend began to dream about moving to the country, specifically the Finger Lakes. On one of their scouting trips, they stopped by Anthony Road winery for a taste, and by the end of that visit, Becraft had talked his way into working the next harvest.

And that, as they say, was the first day of the rest of his life. After working that 2006 harvest as an intern. Becraft and his girlfriend moved to the region, and he got a full-time job at Anthony Road, working in both the vineyard and the cellar. Two years later he was assistant winemaker, and in 2014 he took over as winemaker.

Becraft produces a wide portfolio of wines all of which are made at a very high level of quality. His sparkling wines are quite tasty, as this Blanc de Noir that gets 4 years of lees aging demonstrates. The Anthony Road rosé of Cabernet Franc was one of the better pink wines I tried in the region, and both the skin-fermented pinot Gris and Lemberger (aka Blaufränkisch) were quite tasty as well.

George Nosis, winemaker and owner of Atwater Estate Vineyards has a wonderfully eclectic and playful lineup of wines that includes one of the best renditions of the Vignoles grape that I’ve had. A cold-hardy hybrid grape with a slightly mysterious past, it has the ability to make aromatic wines with a range of sweetness. Nosis’ version has just a whisper of sweetness and a lovely floral quality along with excellent acidity. His Symvoli red blend is one of the best red wines I’ve had from the Finger Lakes.

Just up the road from Atwater, Lamoreaux Landing makes a number of excellent Rieslings, including their Red Oak Vineyard bottling, which has a lovely green apple brightness.

Fox Run Vineyards has been making wine on the shores of Seneca Lake since 1990. I’ve got their tasty Traminette (another cold-hardy hybrid grape) and their Dana Lake Riesling to recommend.

Finally, I have a number of wines from Boundary Breaks Wine, started and run by Bruce Murray and his wife Diana Lyttle. Bruce started his career working for newspapers in New York before joining a startup in the first Internet boom of the 1990s. He made a little money with that company sold, and started his own company, and made a little more money when that one sold. But he wasn’t loving how hard he was working and how little connection he had to the real world. But a combination of his first taste of Dönnhoff Riesling at the famous Lotus of Siam restaurant in Las Vegas and a fateful conversation with Finger Lakes vintner John Wagner planted the seed that would become Boundary Breaks.

In the early 2000s, Murray bought some property and spent 6 years planting vines, making his first vintage in 2011. Today Boundary Breaks makes about 10,000 cases of high-quality wine with an emphasis on Murray’s beloved Riesling, several of which I can recommend below. However, you’d be foolish not to pick up a bottle of his Gewürztraminer if you find it, as it’s an exemplar of the form.

I’ve got notes on all these wines below, and most of them are under $25!

Tasting Notes

2017 Anthony Road “Blanc de Noir” Sparkling Wine, Finger Lakes, New York
Palest gold in the glass, with fine bubbles, this wine smells of berries and a touch of citrus peel. In the mouth, berries and apple flavors mix with red apple skin and a touch of grapefruit. Nice salinity and brightness. 100% Pinot Noir. 12.2% alcohol. 4 years on the lees. 85 cases made. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $39. click to buy.

2022 Anthony Road “Unoaked” Chardonnay, Finger Lakes, New York
Palest gold in the glass, this wine smells of lemon pith and white flowers. In the mouth, saline flavors of white flowers, apples, Asian pear and lemon pith have a lovely crystalline acidity and wet chalkboard minerality. Very pretty. Fermented in stainless. Malolactic blocked. 12.7% alcohol. Closed with a screwcap. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $20. click to buy.

2021 Anthony Road “Skin Fermented” Pinot Gris, Finger Lakes, New York
Pale amber in the glass this wine smells of wet leaves, apricots, and potpourri. In the mouth, silky flavors of dried apricot, plum pit, dried orange peel, and herbs have a nice acidity and savory weight. Kept on the skins through fermentation, then pressed off into stainless and old oak barrels. 11.4% alcohol. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $26. click to buy.

2021 Atwater Estate Vineyards “East-West Vineyard – Dry” Riesling, Finger Lakes, New York
Pale gold in the glass with a hint of green, this wine smells of beautiful fresh honeysuckle. In the mouth, bright crystalline citrus pith and honeysuckle flavors have a quartz-like purity. Juicy and bright, with excellent acidity. Stony wet chalkboard minerality. Mandarin pith in the finish. Wild fermented warm in a barrel and then barrel aged for 5-6 months in neutral French oak. 12.4% alcohol. Score: around 9. 190 cases made. Cost: $27.

2022 Atwater Estate Vineyards Vignoles, Finger Lakes, New York
Palest greenish gold in the glass, this wine smells of clover honey and white flowers. In the mouth, bright sweet cucumber and candied green apple flavors mix with white flowers. Crisp and clean with excellent acidity. Fermentation stopped with 2.9% sugar remaining. 11.4% alcohol. 84 cases made. Score: around 9. Cost: $24.

2016 Atwater Estate Vineyards Skin Fermented White Wine, Finger Lakes, New York
Light amber in the glass, this wine smells of honey roasted nuts and dried honey. In the mouth, roasted nuts, orange peel, sarsaparilla, and vanilla flavors have a wispy, chalky tannic texture and wonderful bright freshness of acidity. There’s a faint herbal bitterness in the finish but that doesn’t distract from what is a wonderfully alluring wine. A blend of 52% Gewurztraminer, and 48% Chardonnay picked and fermented separately with native yeasts. Spends 2 weeks on the skins before pressing, then 2-3 years in barrel on the fine lees. 100 cases made. Alcohol not recorded. Score: around 9. Cost: $42.

2020 Lamoreaux Landing “Red Oak Vineyard” Riesling, Finger Lakes, New York
Palest greenish gold in the glass, this wine smells of Asian pear and green apple and a hint of citrus pith. In the mouth, stony wet chalkboard minerality mixes with Asian pear and a hint of citrus pith. Excellent acidity and length. Limestone loam soils. Tastes barely off-dry. Clone 10. 11 g/l residual sugar. 11.7% alcohol. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $25. click to buy.

2021 Boundary Breaks Vineyard “90 – Estra Dry” Riesling, Seneca Lake, Finger Lakes, New York
Pale greenish gold in the glass, this wine smells of green apple and Asian pear. In the mouth, bright Asian pear, green apple, and white flower flavors have a nice chalky minerality and wonderful acidity. Bright, fresh, and stony. 12% alcohol. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $25. click to buy.

2022 Boundary Breaks Vineyard “Unoaked” Chardonnay, Seneca Lake, Finger Lakes, New York
Pale greenish gold in the glass, this wine smells of white flowers and pastry cream. In the mouth, vanilla pastry cream and lemon pith and white flowers have a crisp bright acidity. 12.5% alcohol. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $20. click to buy.

2021 Boundary Breaks Vineyard “Medium Dry” Gewurztraminer, Seneca Lake, Finger Lakes, New York
Pale greenish gold in the glass, this wine smells of honeysuckle and orange blossoms. In the mouth, the wine is silky, with a weighty texture on the palate with wonderful orange blossom, jasmine, and citrus pith flavors and a light to moderate sweetness. Rich and delicious without being too unctuous and oily. Crushed and tank fermented and then left in tank on the fine lees for 6 months before bottling. 13.5% alcohol. 800 cases made. Score: around 9. Cost: $23. click to buy.

2022 Boundary Breaks Vineyard “Ovid Line North – Medium Dry” Riesling, Finger Lakes, New York
Palest greenish gold in the glass, this wine smells of lychee, white flowers, and candied green apples. In the mouth candied green apple, lychee and Asian pear flavors have a nice stony minerality and a faint chalky texture that lingers in the finish with notes of lime zest and lemon pith. 2% residual sugar. 11% alcohol. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $19. click to buy.

2022 Boundary Breaks Vineyard “Ice Wine” Riesling, Finger Lakes, New York
Medium yellow-gold in the glass, this wine smells of candied apricots, candied lemon peel, and honey. In the mouth, clover honey, apricots, and candied lemon flavors are quite sweet, but with a nice underlying acidity and minerality that keeps the wine from being too cloying. 25.6% residual sugar. 9.75% alcohol. 2500 bottles made. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $70. click to buy.

2021 Fox Run Vineyards Traminette, Finger Lakes, New York
Pale greenish gold in the glass, this wine smells of rose petals, candied orange peels, and honeysuckle. In the mouth, bright floral flavors of honeysuckle and jasmine mix with Asian pear and a hint of orange peel. Crisp and bright acidity with lovely wet-chalkboard minerality. Clean. 23 g/l residual acidity. Fruit comes from a Keuka Lake vineyard. 11.4% alcohol. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $15. click to buy.

2022 Fox Run Vineyards “Lake Dana” Riesling, Seneca Lake, Finger Lakes, New York
Palest greenish gold in color, this wine smells of honeysuckle, clover honey, and Asian pear. In the mouth, lychee and Asian pear flavors are moderately sweet and bright with very good acidity. Notes of candied green apple and lychee linger in the finish. 40 g/l residual sugar. 12.6% alcohol. Closed with screwcap. Score: around 8.5. Cost: $15. click to buy.

2022 Anthony Road Rosé of Cabernet Franc, Finger Lakes, New York
Pale baby pink in the glass, this wine smells of watermelon and bright berries. In the mouth, plum skin and watermelon have a saline brightness that is very charming. Juicy with excellent acidity. Orange peel lingers in the finish with a hint of herbal bitterness. There’s a small percentage of Lemberger in the wine as well. 13.1% alcohol. Closed with a screwcap. 800-1500 cases made depending on the vintage. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $15. click to buy.

2022 Anthony Road Lemberger, Finger Lakes, New York
Light ruby in the glass this wine smells of cherry and berries. In the mouth, herbal flavors balance bright berries and a hint of salinity. Orange peel lingers in the finish. Juicy and bright. Aged for a few months in a combination of stainless and large format oak. 13.3% alcohol. Closed with a screwcap. 300 cases made. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $25.

2021 Atwater Estate Vineyards “Symvoli” Red Blend, Finger Lakes, New York
Light to medium hazy ruby in the glass, this wine smells of dried herbs and flowers with hints of red berries. In the mouth, fresh and bright flavors of dried herbs, dried flowers, and forest berries are shot through with a stony wet pavement minerality. Fresh and shimmering in its herbal savory goodness but without a trace of bitterness. Ghost-like tannins hang ethereally in the finish. Symvoli — means the coming together of people or water, a confluence. A blend of 33% Cabernet Franc, 33% Syrah, 14% Cabernet sauvignon, 10% Blaufränkisch, and 10% Merlot. Spends 10 months in neutral French oak on the lees. 12.6% alcohol. 497 cases made. Score: around 9. Cost: $30.

2019 Boundary Breaks Vineyard Cabernet Franc, Finger Lakes, New York
Medium garnet in the glass, this wine smells of plum and cherry with hints of green herbs. In the mouth, juicy plum and plum skin flavors mix with chopped green herbs that have a faint minty quality, as crushed nuts and a touch of earthiness linger in the finish. Excellent, crunchy acidity. 13% alcohol. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $23. click to buy.