Winemaker Notes
Tree fruit notes evoke peaches, apricots, and wines of the sun, while shale and rock expressions are driven by the flavors of the earth beneath, and flowers and meadows suggest a floral character with elements of wild herbs and teas.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Very deep and concentrated with enormous minerality, this great dry riesling has incredible saline intensity in the wet-stone finish. In spite of all the power, this is still only medium-bodied. Only just opening up. From vines planted in 1992 on loam over shale soil. Wild-fermented in neutral puncheon oak casks and matured on the lees for 10 months.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Changing it up a bit, the 2023 Dry Riesling Breakneck Creek Vineyard is loaded with ripe, citrusy fruit (tangerines), balanced by a briny notion that almost recalls the shallow seas that overlaid the Finger Lakes region in the distant geological past. It's medium-bodied and zesty-salty on the palate, with a long, silky-textured finish.
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Wine Spectator
An extroverted white, with mustard flower, peach, mango, ginger and turmeric notes that zip along over slightly pithy acidity.
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.