Hermann J. Wiemer HJW Vineyard Riesling 2016

Bright and pure, with a racy beam of yellow apple, white peach, chamomile and lemon pith notes. Flashes of talc and dried chamomile add further tension through the finish, with the fruit keeping pace along the way. Drink now through 2024.

The 2016 Riesling HJW Vineyard comes in with just seven grams of residual sugar and 12.5% alcohol. This was sourced from HJW vines planted in 1977. This is what the winery calls Hermann Wiemer's "home site," his own, original plantings. Although there are other blocks in HJW now, this upper-level bottling uses only the 1977 vines. Perky, bright, very elegant and transparent, this is another gorgeously balanced Wiemer Riesling this issue. It seems airier and slightly drier than most, yet it is somehow still more personable than most of its siblings. It just dances across the palate. It features both finesse and power, but the lively acidity accounts for its bright personality, despite being perfectly integrated. Even with the modest sugar level, it still seems fruity on first taste, but air and warmth change the balance a little. The next day, it seemed very tightly wound and brilliantly constructed. It displayed its tension and purity as the acidity came to the foreground. This has the longest finish, I'd say, of the dry Rieslings this issue. It's a pretty tasty one, too, with that controlled tension and expressive Riesling flavors. There is a hint of flint after it is open a couple of days. At this point, this was my favorite of the group, but over three or more days, others held better. That's a stern test, to be sure, but it is one that I expect great Rieslings to pass. Overall, while I thought that the Magdalena held better over three days, this should still age very well. As I said with the Magdalena, buy some for now and some for a decade from now.

Intensely concentrated in milky white blossoms and ripe stone fruit, this well-balanced Riesling hits all the marks. There's breadth to the ripe fruit flavors, with plenty of acidity for balance. A delicate, soft grip of astringency holds everything firmly in place, leading into a powdered mineral finish.

Drawn from Wiemer’s original 1976 planting, this has an old-vine elegance and composure. What starts out as sweet and simple—pear juice, with a peach accent—takes on plenty of complexity with air, with a salty minerality that gives it length. Cellar.