Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
This wine draws from all three of Wiemer’s vineyards: Josef (50 percent of the blend), HJW (30 percent) and Magdalena. Each is vinified separately before blending. The Reserve feels warmer and deeper than the 2016 Dry Riesling (also recommended here), with a pronounced aroma of peach, as well as lemon, lemongrass and green herbs. It’s as focused as a laser beam, with a minerality that keeps the wine taut and long.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Dry Riesling Reserve comes in with eight grams of residual sugar, which in the Finger Lakes makes it dry, and 12.7% alcohol. A blend of the winery's vineyards, it is 50% Josef, 30% HJW and 20% Magdalena. As is always the case, this takes the regular Dry Riesling and adds some concentration but also some focus. The fruit seems more lifted and better defined, while the finish is certainly longer and more intense. It also seems just a little drier, yet somehow richer. Ultimately, it seems pretty friendly and rather sexy, relatively speaking. If you're wondering what you get by trading up, that's what you get. Three days later, this is still fruity, friendly and fresh. At the moment, the stylistic difference between this, the lower-level and the upper-level is more important than the qualitative one. As they all age, however, they will separate. This will take over versus the regular Dry Riesling and will, in turn, be surpassed by things like the Magdalena. For the moment, this is a sweet spot in the lineup. Let's see what it looks like in a few years.
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James Suckling
Brimming with peaches and apricots, this is a very succulent and unusually creamy dry riesling for the Finger Lakes. Long, very ripe finish. Although on the border of dry to medium-dry, this is a very food-friendly wine. Drink or hold.
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.