a tasting note or comment.
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to Robin Garr's Wine Lovers' Page.
I did my best to be as dispassionate as a judge, though, and essentially succeeded in persuading most of the crowd of 22 who gathered in the meeting room above the excellent Acker Merral & Condit Co. wine shop on West 72nd that (1) domestic Rieslings generally really aren't very good, and (2) the exceptions can be truly delightful. At the end of the evening, one name stood out: Far and away, by virtually unanimous consent, the two offerings from Chateau St. Jean were the best and most delicious of the 17 wines presented.
It was tough to sip, expound, act like a guru and take notes, so mine are pretty sketchy, and I'll confess up front that some of the best descriptors of the night (which I shamelessly borrowed) came from the audience, which included several distinguished WineFo members including Jon Levine, Evan Sarzin and Robb Gordon.
I didn't select the wines, leaving that chore up to Jon & Co., but did recommend the division into flights and order of tasting, a combination of geographical categorizing and a rough progression from drier toward sticky-sweet.
Here are my notes, in the order tasted, with approximate NYC retail prices:
Chateau St. Jean 1995 Sonoma County Riesling ($11) - Pale greenish-gold. Wildflowers and honey, very attractive aroma. Slightly sweet flavor well balanced with crisp acidity. A well-balanced and approachable wine with a lot of Riesling character; despite its West Coast origins, I'd go so far as to call it "Germanic."
Trefethen 1995 Napa Dry Riesling ($10) - Pale greenish-gold. Faint aroma, minty and medicinal, opens up with time to floral notes. Fully dry and quite tart, with a light, pleasant bitterness in the finish.
Smith Madrone 1995 Napa Riesling ($7.50) - Tight, slightly floral, I detect a slight but evident "burnt-match" sulfurous quality. Better on the palate, sweetish apricot flavors, but the mismatch between the nose and flavor is disorienting.
Arbor Crest 1995 Dionysius Vineyards Washington Riesling ($8) - Pale color. Mineral nose, someone says "chalky," and that seems to fit. Sweet, "sugar water" flavor, insipid.
Tualatin 1991 Oregon White Riesling ($9) - Classic Riesling "petrol" on the nose and palate, a great example for those in the group who hadn't experienced this bizarre but actually pleasant descriptor. Minerally, intense, one of the better wines of the night.
Knudsen Erath 1981 Yamhill County Oregon White Riesling (cellar) - That's not a typo, this wine was indeed 15 years old, and it was showing delightfully. Rich gold color, butterscotch and caramel flavors with elusive mineral and "camphor" (Robb Gordon's contribution) nuances. Sweetness well masked by a firm acidic structure; showing its years, yes, but far from over the hill, with no signs of browning, and oxidized flavors well within bounds. Develops a cooked-fruit quality almost like stewed prunes with time in the glass, but still pleasant.
Lamoreaux Landing 1995 Finger Lakes Dry Riesling ($8) - Pale color. Good complex aroma, honeysuckle. Near dry, tart, with a surprising "foxy" quality so pronounced as to arouse some discussion about whether the varietal could possibly have been blended with French-hybrid or even native grape juice.
Dr, Konstantin Frank 1995 Finger Lakes "Dry" Riesling ($9) - Very perfumed and floral aroma; tart and simple fruit. Pleasant but one-dimensional.
Paumanok Vineyards 1994 Long Island Dry Riesling ($9) - Something's badly awry here, with odd, pungent and non-winelike aromas and flavors that don't appeal. General agreement that this is the evening's only "dumper."
Heron Hill Vineyards 1994 "Otter Spring" Finger Lakes "Free Run" Riesling ($8) - Gold color, surprisingly bright for Riesling. Honey and herbs (someone whispered "marijuana"), with a prickly, barely perceptible hint of petillance in a dry flavor that falls off in a finish so short as to draw unfavorable notice.
Paumanok Vineyards 1995 Long Island Semi-Sweet Riesling ($12) - Mineral aromas, tight and closed. Sweet flavor without balancing acid; soft and flabby.
Dr. Konstantin Frank 1995 Finger Lakes Semi-Dry Riesling ($12) - Citric aroma, grapefruit nuanced with "earthy" qualities that one participant pegged as "cat spray." Is this a Riesling or a Sauvignon Blanc? Sweet but with good acid balance to keep it in perspective.
Lamoreaux Landing 1995 Finger Lakes Semi-Dry Riesling ($12) - Floral nose; citric-tart sweetness surprisingly reminiscent of grapefruit juice.
Knudsen Erath 1994 Willamette Valley Oregon Late Harvest White Riesling ($21) - Pine and petrol, medicinal, someone nails the scent with "doctor's office." Off-dry, good acidity, doesn't convey nearly the impression of sweetness that the claimed 5% residual sugar suggests.
Dr. Konstantin Frank 1995 Finger Lakes Ice Wine ($20/375 ml) - Rich gold color. Peaches, apricots and honey, definite presence of botrytis, delicious; sweet and well balanced flavor, hints of volatile acidity not inappropriate in a dessert wine.
Paumanok Vineyards 1994 Long Island Late Harvest Riesling ($18/375 ml) - Odd, fruity quality that someone pegs as "stewed raisins." Achingly sweet flavor, prompts wags to yell for emergency dental treatment, but the acid balance is there. Definitely the most persuasive of the three Paumanoks tasted.
Chateau St. Jean 1992 "Belle Terre" Sonoma Riesling "Special Select Late Harvest ($25/375 ml) - Whoop, here it is! CSJ's moral equivalent of trockenbeerenauslese lives up to expectations, a very clear, bright-gold wine with a marvelous, complex and balanced nose showing elements of "diesel," honey-apricot botrytis and pleasantly herbaceous haylike notes. Rich, complex and achingly sweet, follows the nose, full structure and a finish that goes on so long, I think I'm still tasting it three hours later. Tasted unblind, yes, and, cynically, perhaps influenced by the "in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king" factor. But it's a mighty fine wine, and I couldn't help noticing that everyone in the room (me too!) kept this glass to savor when all the rest were dumped.
I enjoyed reading your notes on the riesling tasting in NYC. Riesling must be the most neglected great wine in the US. I was glad that you had an overall favorable impression of the Finger Lakes NY rieslings because I originate in that area and visit it regularly. Some of the producers there have made great progress in recent years, with many of the best wines being produced by some of the newest, smallest wineries. Just a few comments on your notes:
1995 Lam. Landing Dry Riesling - I know the winemaker here (Rob Thomas) and I sincerely doubt that any hybrid/native juice was blended in. Besides most of the hybrids being used in the FL have no trace of foxiness left. (BTW, if you want to see what can be done with hybrids try some of the excellent late harvest Vignoles that are made from time to time). In France it would be terroir, in the FL it must be some niagara juice!
Dr. K. Frank's Rieslings: often start out austere, age into somthing more complex. They made a truly bizarre Gewurtz in 1995 (I like it) - very concentrated and a pinkish-bronze in color.
Heron Hill - Haven't had a good wine from here in years. Word is that the owners have lost interest. Too bad, because they are one of the better known places outside the FL.
On the choices, I would always try L.Landing (which has only been around a few years) and Dr. Frank. In my opinion, the best recent releases of FL riesling are the ones from Hermann Wiemer, esp 1993 Reserve, 1994 Late Harvest, 1987 Bunch Select, and the 1995's. Two newish, small places have put out smashing 1995 rieslings - Fox Run and Standing Stone. The later has only been around two years and I have yet to have a poor wine from them - surprisingly good 1994 Cab. Franc and Pinnacle (Cab. Sauv./Merlot blend!).
I now live in the NYC area and it is a shame how little FL and Long Island wines are appreciated here (LI isn't great for riesling, however).
Chateau St. Jean's wines sound very tasty - when I was there last year they wern't available. Generally I wasn't too impressed with Calif. riesling, but thats OK, they have the climate to do other things very well. Z. Moore was my favorite Riesling/Gewurtz. place of the trip.
Cheers,
Joe Moryl