Ravines Dry Riesling 2017
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Robert
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 Dry Riesling is a blend of 16 Falls Vineyard on shale and White Springs Vineyard on limestone. It's dry (four grams of sugar, 8.2 of total acidity) and comes in at 12.6% alcohol. This is another example of how fine the Dry Riesling category is in the Finger Lakes. The prices are reasonable, the quality is high and the wines are available (there are more than 6,000 cases of this, out of the winery's 26,000 or so for 2017). Intense, focused and able to age, this is a classic expression of Riesling. As it aired and warmed, it became a bit friendlier and more expressive, seeming more like the White Springs this issue. It didn't quite start out that way. Store this well and there will be no rush approaching it for more than a decade. It might do 20 years from the vintage date. I've said this a few times in this report, but this is certainly another time to trot this out given the quality, aging ability, price and availability: You may need to put your name on one of those cases.
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Ravines was created by Morten and Lisa Hallgren in 2000. Morten, a French-trained oenologist, came to the Finger Lakes from his family’s centuries-old estate in the South of France. He and his wife and business partner, Lisa, convinced of the potential for fine winemaking in the Finger Lakes, opened their original tasting room on 17 acres of sloped, shale stone soils nestled between two deep ravines on Keuka Lake.
They focus on making fine, classically-styled wines that allow for the cool-climate characteristics to be shown without compromise - creating their own unique expression within the Finger Lakes wine region.
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.