Palate
Our Assemblage is only crafted during exceptional vintages. The 2015 Assemblage is dense and round, with intense aromas of cassis, black berry, cedar and spice. Medium to full-bodied, a firm tannin structure and a long finish.
It's bright, fresh, balanced and focused.
Winemaking
The 2015 Assemblage is a blend of 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot (about as low as my records indicate), 13% Cabernet Franc and the rest Petit Verdot, all aged for 28 months in 16% new French oak, the rest neutral. It comes in at 13.5% alcohol. This is a Cabernet Sauvignon-dominated wine this year, with little Merlot impact, largely due to a virus attacking some of the Merlot vines that normally would go into the Assemblage, said Kareem Massoud. Although Long Island is particularly famed for Merlot, Paumanok is one of the region's better Cabernet Sauvignon producers.