LeSeurre
The Finger Lakes winery with a French accent. Domaine LeSeurre focuses on dry wines made from distinct terroirs. Sébastien and Céline LeSeurre are a French husband and wife winemaking team living and working in the Finger Lakes. When they first moved to New York, they explored the Finger Lakes by visiting and sampling grapes from the many different terroirs — geography, geology, and climate of a certain place — and soon determined this is the best place to grow beautiful grapes and craft fine wine together.
"In September 2011, feeling rich from our worldwide experience, we moved to and fell in love with the beautiful Finger Lakes region of upstate New York. Our first vintage together as Domaine LeSeurre was in 2012, and in October 2013 we opened our tasting room in Hammondsport on the east side of Keuka Lake. We hope that you will enjoy our wines for years to come." – Céline & Sébastien LeSeurre
Sébastien LeSeurre said it's important to choose old vines, with roots that reach very deep into the soil. Although grapes are ready to harvest three years after planting, the wines that come from grapevines that are 10 to 15 years old are of a higher quality, and in 20 years they are “the best,”. The LeSeurres choose grapes grown in different kinds of soil. Grapes grown in stony shale soil give wine minerality and acid, while the grapes grown in clay will be fruitier. The effect of blending the two, in comparison to a single-estate approach, is like comparing an orchestra to a single musician.
“Simply applying Old World techniques to a New World wine region usually doesn’t work. Instead, the LeSeurres seem to be embracing the style of fruit the Finger Lakes provides, while enhancing it with their own personal influences learned along the way. It’s a gentle melding of styles rather than a blanket approach. This is a winery to watch.” -James Molesworth, Wine Spectator
