Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
This Dry Riesling from the Dundee Hills and the estate Meyer Vineyard is bright and mineral-driven, yet with a touch of opulence. This wine is fermented in a combination of barrels and stainless steel, with six months of lees contact, giving it incredible generosity and texture. Aromatics of rich Meyer lemon pulp, clover honey and a touch of cardamom spice show a depth and complexity that is shot through with brilliant acidity. The palate shows tension and energy, sleek citrus cream, candied ginger and a faint hint of honeyed peach. Delicious.
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.
Home of the first Pinot noir vineyard of the Willamette Valley, planted by David Lett of Eyrie Vineyard in 1966, today the Dundee Hills AVA remains the most densely planted AVA in the valley (and state). To its north sits the Chehalem Valley and to its south, runs the Willamette River. Within the region’s 12,500 acres, about 1,700 are planted to vine on predominantly basalt-based, volcanic, Jory soil.