Winemaker Notes
Situated on the southeastern banks of Seneca Lake, our estate vineyards’ steep slopes and row orientation encourage excellent air flow and early ripening. The 2021 vintage is a textural riesling with fragrant aromas of gardenia followed by layers of pear, citrus, and crushed rock that are mirrored on the palate. A long finish is extended by crisp acidity and lingering minerality.
Professional Ratings
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Tasting Panel
Aromas of honey and fresh linen intersect with tart lemon, frozen peach, and crisp Asian pear, carried on a sea breeze that tingles and arouses the palate. Initiated by taut acidity, salinity leaves an impact through the finish.
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James Suckling
One of the stars of this challenging vintage. Cool and reserved nose with fresh mint, parsley and basil aromas. Some aeration in the glass teases a lot more crisp pear and yellow-apple aromas out of the wine and expands the mid-palate creaminess. Excellent structure and juiciness on the sleek and precise, medium-bodied palate. Complex wet-stone minerality at the self-confidently dry and crisp finish. Drink or hold.
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Wine & Spirits
This is Paul Hobbs's homecoming, a traveling winemaker returning to his family's roots, the winery named for his parents. This third release is a posh wine, dry and lean, with yeasty scents of apple, celery and lime. The flavors lean more tropical, with peach and passion fruit, all delivered within a beautiful structure, elegant, modestly creamy, with a delicious mouthwatering tang. The flavors drive long into the finish, for pasta with parsley pesto.
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Decanter
This is a classic and refined Riesling from Hillick & Hobbs in the 2021 vintage. Evocative of the steep slate slopes of Germany's Riesling epicentres, this wine shows petrichor, white flowers, and a touch of petrol. The palate is gorgeously textured with honeyed ginger, orange oil, and lots of mouthwatering lemon zest. It's undeniably ageable yet delicious now.
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Wine Enthusiast
Restrained and elegant, notes of citrus, peach pit and ginger weave between waxy, honeyed richness. The palate is finessed, long and harmonious but speaks quietly, demanding thoughtful tasting rather than porch pounding.
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Vinous
The 2021 Dry Riesling Estate is cool-toned, settled and fresh as a daisy—very relaxed and zen. Notably elegant and concentrated in spite of the cold, wet season, this is such a finessed wine. Rich layers of peach, chamomile, ginger, lemon oil and salty yeast unfurl in the glass. The finish is long and even-tempered.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Initially released in 2023, the 2021 Dry Riesling Estate Vineyard comes from a cooler, wetter, more typical vintage than the 2022. It's also more floral, with hints of crushed stone to go along with notes of green apple and fresh lime. It's light- to medium-bodied, tight and linear on the palate, yet it still has some silkiness to its mouthfeel, with a tart, zesty and lengthy finish.
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Wine Spectator
Crackles nicely with pippin apple, lime and slate notes. Reveals flashes of yellow apple and chamomile on the finish, with the slate edge lingering nicely. Drink now through 2027. Tasted twice, with consistent notes. 4,500 cases made.
Riesling possesses a remarkable ability to reflect the character of wherever it is grown while still maintaining its identity. A regal variety of incredible purity and precision, this versatile grape can be just as enjoyable dry or sweet, young or old, still or sparkling and can age longer than nearly any other white variety. Somm Secret—Given how difficult it is to discern the level of sweetness in a Riesling from the label, here are some clues to find the dry ones. First, look for the world “trocken.” (“Halbtrocken” or “feinherb” mean off-dry.) Also a higher abv usually indicates a drier Riesling.
As the most historic wine-producing region in New York state, winemaking in the Finger Lakes area dates back to the 1820s and today as a region, accounts for 90% of the state’s total wine production.
Its narrow and deep lakes created by the movement of Ice Age glaciers create an environment similar to the classic Riesling-loving regions of Europe, namely Germany and Austria. The Finger Lakes retain summer heat that incidentally warms up cold winter air, making it fall down from the lakes’ steep slopes. When spring comes, the lakes, already cooled by cold winter weather, stave off vine budding until the danger of frost has subsided. The main lakes of the zone, that is those big enough to moderate the climate in this way, are the focal points of prime vineyard areas. They include Canandaigua, Keuka, Seneca and Cayuga.
While Riesling has fueled most of the region’s success, today Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc enjoy some attention.