Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
The stunning white and yellow-peach nose pulls you into this very succulent and elegant dry riesling. Near-perfect balance right through the very long, pristine finish.
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Wine & Spirits
Art Series always hangs back in the cellar before a late release, its exotic character aided by an ambient-yeast fermentation. Bottle age has lent some intriguing savor to this wine, a hint of diesel, petrol and pepper. That savor balances quincelike sweetness, setting it up for scallops.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2020 Dry Riesling comes in with 9.7 grams per liter of residual sugar, 7.9 of total acidity and 11.9% alcohol. This is unoaked but for 5% of the blend aged for five months in neutral French oak. The tiny amount in oak has increased, but not by a lot. It mostly just changes the texture here, by a little, not the flavor. The rest is a relatively friendly Dry Riesling, perhaps friendlier than the 2019 (not here with it, alas) that is approachable now. Yet it still shows persistence, focus and some underlying power. It's friendly, but it is not exactly a puppy dog. A food pairing is recommended. It's a beautifully balanced 2020 that has a good chance to age well and develop more.
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.
Increasingly garnering widespread and well-deserved attention, New York ranks third in wine production in the United States (after California and Washington). Divided into six AVAs—the Finger Lakes, Lake Erie, Hudson River, Long Island, Champlain Valley of New York and the Niagara Escarpment, which crosses over into Michigan as well as Ontario, Canada—the state experiences varied climates, but in general summers are warm and humid while winters are very cold and can carry the risk of frost well into the growing season.
The Finger Lakes region has long been responsible for some of the country’s finest Riesling, and is gaining traction with elegant, light-bodied Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc. Experimentation with cold-hardy European varieties is common, and recent years have seen the successful planting of grapes like Grüner Veltliner and Saperavi (from the Eastern European country of Georgia). Long Island, on the other hand, has a more maritime climate influenced by the Atlantic Ocean, and shares some viticultural characteristics with Bordeaux. Accordingly, the best wines here are made from Merlot and Cabernet Franc. The Niagara Escarpment is responsible for excellent ice wines, usually made from the hybrid variety, Vidal.