Winemaker Notes
Expressive, mineral driven and immensely bright in this vintage with citrus, floral and flinty components. From old vines on steeply sloping limestone soil, the wine is quite accessible in its youth, but with tremendous aging potential. Elegant, pure and savory notes on the long finish.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2020 Dry Riesling Argetsinger Vineyard has just three grams of sugar, plus 8.2 grams of total acidity and 13.4% alcohol. This is another $14 per bottle over the regular Dry Riesling, but it is the better wine. It is deeper, more intense and more likely to age well. It also has the expression of fruit that the regular Dry Riesling lacks. Despite the different balance between sugar and acidity, this remains nicely balanced too, not shrill at all. Right now, this looks like one of the best I've seen in the brand. It drinks nicely today, but it should easily last for another 10 years, probably more. It's a beauty right now. Let's also hope it improves and gains anticipated nuance over the next couple of years. I'm leaning up on it today.
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Vinous
The 2020 Dry Riesling Argetsinger Vineyard comes from a vintage with tiny berries and, as Winemaker Morten Hallgren puts it, “phenomenal ripeness.” The 2020 is a beautifully tense, mineral-driven wine with sweet orchard fruit, slate, salt and flowers running through from start to finish. It's a suave, sophisticated Riesling.
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.