Winemaker Notes
Enjoy now with a host of dishes, especially fattier seafoods, broiled or roasted meats, and any kind of spice.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Orange blossom and lemon zest perfume this intensely aromatic dry Riesling. Plump yellow cherry and tangerine flavors build on the palate, invigorated by racy zips of acidity and crushed-stone minerality. Buoyantly pretty yet firmly structured to improve at least another decade.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2015 Dry Riesling Reserve comes in with nine grams per liter of residual sugar and 12.7% alcohol. A blend of the single vineyard offerings this issue (HJW–57%; Josef–39%; Magdalena–17%), this takes the regular Dry Riesling and supercharges it, adding a bit more concentration and a fresher, livelier feel. While some styles in the Finger Lakes aim for intensity, this aims for balance. Every hair is in place. Yet, it is deep, fresh and transparent. It should only get better in the cellar and age well. It does need to show just a bit more character to justify (or improve) its score, but that should be easy to come by in time. Very fine, it is still probably a step or two behind the 2014.
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Wine & Spirits
In a halbtrocken style, walking the line between savory and fruity, this has a wheaty scent to go along with its pineapple accents. It smells rich, but feels mouthwatering and pure, the flavors carried effortlessly by zippy lemony acidity; for salmon crudo.
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.