Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
The 2016 Riesling Magdalena Vineyard is the first vintage where the winery removed “Dry” from the label for this bottling. It presents sweet citrus, orchard fruit and white flowers with a freshness akin to a just-flowered daisy. You feel more than taste the 12 grams per liter of residual sugar, an approach that works beautifully. The 2016 is gorgeously textural and so harmonious.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
he 2016 Riesling Magdalena Vineyard comes in with nine grams of residual sugar and 12.5% alcohol. It's fruity, dry, very aromatic and focused. Showing beautiful purity of fruit and sensual texture, this is what a lot of folks will want in a Riesling. Although nine grams of sugar isn't typically all that much in the Finger Lakes, this doesn't show a hint of austerity, at least not early on. It is also nicely concentrated. Some in the Finger Lakes focus more on that zing and zest from acidity. (Diversity in style is a great thing for a region, and I love those, too, so don't misunderstand.) Wiemer, though, has the concentration that provides a different and more accessible balance. There is still plenty of acidity here, which becomes very much clearer when you retaste it the next day. As it warms, the finish becomes far more intense on the second day tasted as this becomes drier and zippier. As with all of Wiemer's gems this issue, this only begins to show all it has with a lot of time and air. (For the record, after three days, I liked this better than the regular HJW.) The fruit still easily matches the acidity, however, and makes this perfectly harmonious. If this is fruitier and sexier on opening than most of the upper-level this issue, those are merely relative adjectives, because there is plenty of power here too. That's ultimately what will make it special.
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James Suckling
Apricot, pineapple and hibiscus aromas pour from the glass of this concentrated and very succulent riesling that’s just off-dry. Long, complex finish in which ripe and mineral components are beautifully integrated. This will slowly turn in a drier direction as it ages. Drink or hold.
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Wine & Spirits
In 2016, the Magdalena Vineyard’s proximity to Seneca Lake provided a cooling effect, contributing to this wine’s exceptional depth of flavor (eight separate picks through the vineyard helped, too). Starting off with scents of peach and ripe apple, the wine has a lanolin richness, a weight that feels wholly satisfying and effortless. Though it has plenty of fine acidity, it’s not a wine of energy so much as completeness, with a cradling palate presence, an ideal foil for something rich and spicy, like a Japanese curry.
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.