DRY RIESLING Flashcards
Ravines, Argetsinger Vineyard, 2017, Seneca Lake – total acidity 8 grams / residual sugar 3 grams ($16, $18, $9.25)
- from a single vineyard, one of the oldest Riesling vineyards in the Finger Lakes
- The Argetsinger Vineyard’s limestone soils produce a grape of lean minerality and complex floral aromatics.
- It is intensely aromatic with floral notes, citrus fruit, and a distinct mineral character.
Trocken, Besigheimer Wurmberg, Dautel, 2016, Württemberg – total acidity 7.3 grams / residual sugar 4.8 grams ($13, $15, $7.75)
- From near-50-yr-old Rielsing vines planted in steep limestone-soil terraces overlooking the Enz River (ta David), it’s smoky yet with the twiggy sleek lyric qualities of both the soil and the vintage; and how do you poise herbs and oolong teas and salts with such a gentle demeanor?
- Pear and apple fruit light aromas lemon blossom and they have calcarious soils limestone higher PH soils everything is harvested by hand. Bright and zesty on the tongue with excellent concentration a creamy texture and a long mineral laced finish, even better on the second day.
David Franz, 2019, Eden Valley – total acidity 6.1 grams / residual sugar 2.34 grams ($14.25, $16.25, $8.25)
- from Barossa, South Australia
- son of Peter Lehmann Wines
- limes and lemons, with hints of ruby grapefruit and marmalade
- The unclarified free run was cold fermented for around a month in stainless and the pressings barrel fermented. Five months on un-stirred yeast lees
Trocken, Gunderloch, 2018. Rheinhessen – total acidity 7.1 grams / residual sugar 2.7 grams ($13.75, $15.75, $8)
- Sourced from Gunderloch’s three grand cru sites (Rothenberg, Pettenthal, Hipping)
- spontaneously fermented and vinified in steel
- Red slate (roten schiefer) coats the tongue and flourishes its herbal, spice-scented signature.
- 12hrs of skin contact also lends the wine a touch of tannin and phenolic tension that makes this a bracing, refreshing experience.
Federspiel, Ried Burgstall, F.X. Pichler, 2018, Wachau – total acidity 6.5 grams / residual sugar 3 grams ($16, $18, $9.25)
- from the Wachau, Austria
- It is squeaky clean, with assertive aromas of ripe white peach, apricot, orange zest, white flowers, and a hint of pink grapefruit on a smoky, mineral background. It is salty and fresh on a medium-bodied, slightly glossy palate that’s boasting ripe white nectarine, lime peel, crushed stone, tart pear, apple skin, and white pepper.
- “Burgstall” stretches on a high plateau adjacent to the town of Unterloiben, featuring pure gneiss and granite soils with blown-in sands on top. It is the oldest vineyard in Loiben. The name translates to “Burg” (castle) and “Stahl” (stallion) as there was a small fortification built here in the Middle Ages (around 1238) to defend the farm animals against raiders. This sun-pampered and breezy vineyard is most suitable for lacy, fruit-driven Rieslings in the Federspiel range, which means the wine needs to fall between 11.5% and 12.5% alcohol by volume.
Trocken, Künstler, 2018, Rheingau – total acidity 7.1 grams / residual sugar 5.3 grams ($12,74, $14.75, $7.50)
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Stift Goettweig, Silberbichl Reserve, 2013, Kremstal – total acidity 7.2 grams / residual sugar 5.5 grams ($17.75, $20, $10.25)
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Hiedler, Ried Heiligenstein Reserve, 2018, Kamptal – total acidity 6.7 grams / residual sugar 5 grams ($20, $24, $12.25)
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Paetra, Elwetritsche, 2017, Eola - Amity Hills – total acidity 8 grams / residual sugar 4.5 grams ($15.25, $17.25, $8.75)
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Kuentz-Bas, 2018, Alsace – total acidity 5.7 grams, residual sugar 3.8 grams ($11.75, $13.75, $7)
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Pacherhof, 2016, Trentino – Alto Adige – total acidity 7.4 grams / residual sugar 4.7 grams ($14, $16, $8.25)
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Zind-Humbrecht, Roche Calcaire, 2017, Alsace – total acidity 4.2 grams / residual sugar 14 grams ($15, $17, $8.75)
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Weingut Dautel
- Grape growing history in the family for 500 years
- Ernst Dautel was one of the first producers in the Württemberg to estate bottle wines in the 70s, when crappy bulk wine production was rampart
- He joined the VDP in 1999 and the estate remains one of the very best in Württemberg, now under the guidance of the son Christian Dautel
Gunderloch
- The Gunderloch estate in Nackenheim, just southwest of Frankfurt, was founded in 1890 by the banker Carl Gunderloch on the banks of the river Rhine. From the beginning, the estate was run with a strict commitment to quality.
- He bought top vineyard sites, including a large part of great Nackenheim Rothenberg. Since its foundation, the estate has stayed in the same family, now in its fifth generation, with Agnes and Fritz Hasselbach
- The combination of its steepness, exposure, soil structure and proximity to the river gives the Rothenberg vineyard the optimal microclimates for ripening its famous Rieslings.
F.X. Pichler
- Fifth-generation grower Franz Xavier “F.X.” Pichler might have been the most ambitious of the handful of founding members of the regional producers’ association called Vinea Wachau. Created in 1983, it included not just Pichler but renowned producers Franz Hirtzberger, Josef Jamek, Franz Prager, and Emmerich Knoll.
- They established sustainable guidelines for viticulture and winemaking while creating the well-known designations “Steinfeder,” “Federspiel,” and “Smaragd” to classify wines.
- Together they are largely responsible for the exponential rise in quality Grüner Veltliner and Riesling in Austria over the last four decades.
- F.X.’s son, Lucas, has been in full charge of the winemaking for nearly two decades, while F.X. keeps his presence felt mostly in his meticulous guidance of their vineyards.
