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2007 Corral Creek Vineyards Riesling Reserve
(new release March 2009)
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The Wine
This Dry Riesling is produced in very limited quantities from our Corral Creek Vineyard. Our intent is to reflect ripe fruit that is highly focused by pinpoint acidity, while capturing a perfect balance and a sense of this excellent vineyard's uniqueness. This is a serious Riesling, not a quaffer, a big wine with brilliant, rich fruit, bright acid, and a weighty palate. The acidity provides ageability and great structure, making it perfect with food and cleansing on the palate. It continues the viscous, intense, Alsatian-styled wines that our Pinot Gris Reserve starts; it is harvested late (last and many times in November) with full ripeness and a touch of botrytis, giving the most dramatic and ageable Dry Riesling we can make.
The Vineyard
Corral Creek was begun in 1983 by John and Diane Howieson, founders of Veritas Winery from whom the vineyard was purchased in 1995. A 32-acre vineyard predominantly planted to Pinot Noir, with grafts of Dijon Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, and, recently, Riesling, to augment the prime 1.1-acre block of 26-year-old Riesling sited on a low bench above Corral Creek. Soils are Laurelwood, a blown sedimentary loess soil series that, although low in elevation, is well drained and seems especially suited to complex white wines like Riesling.
The Vintage
In summary, we think this may be a fantastic white vintage and a surprisingly good red vintage, despite the rain that many times might lead to less intense wines. With rain in the range of 2005 and much less than the last really rainy harvest season of 1997, most winemakers in the valley knew how to adapt and took advantage of the vintage’s attributes, such as lower sugars (and therefore alcohols) and higher acids. As long as botrytis is kept from reds or sorted out, and winemaking sleight of hand provides physical therapy for the intensity shortcomings, such as saignée, tannin adds, chaptalization, and acidulation, the vintage will have stellar wines, just with more variability. Buy whites in general, buy reds from trusted names.
Stats
Harvest Data:
Harvested 11/01/07 @ 21.0 brix, 3.07 pH, and 9.6 g/L total acid at 3.4 tons per acre
Fermentation:
Fermented with SIHA7 yeast in a small stainless Grundy tank
Cooperage/Aging:
Tank fermented
Bottling:
Cold stabilized, filtered, and screwcap bottled 4/29/2008
Bottling Analyses:
11.83% alcohol, 8.4 g/L acid., 3.10 pH, 1.1% residual sugar
Cases Produced:
107
Suggested Retail:
$24
Release Date:
March 2009
Quotes
Wine Enthusiast, February 1, 2009, Paul Gregutt: 91/CELLAR SELECTION. Despite the listed residual sugar—just over 1%—this is quite dry and ripely juicy. The initial impression is like sucking on a really ripe, sweet lemon, but there’s much more to the wine as it opens, revealing tangy apple and pear fruit flavors laced with iodine and mineral. Definitely a wine for acid hounds, and for food; but also a wine that can be cellared indefinitely.
Northwest Palate, March/April 2009: Recommended. Light hay aromas complement floral apricot and white peach scents on the nose. Bright, bold, and tangy apple and lemon-lime flavors are full of mineral accents. Crisp acidity and a long, tart fnish make this superb with cold-poached prawns.
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31190 NE Veritas Lane • Newberg, OR 97132
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Winemaker's Comments
This wine is all about perfect Riesling balance, which means great fruit on the nose and palate, of course, such as citrus zest and stone fruits like peach and cherry, or even fruit cocktail. But more than that, it means great acid, which requires 1 percent residual sugar for balance, and a complex and weighty set of flavors and textures including pineapple, honey, and wax. This is at once knife-edged and lush, cleansing and succulent, stony with mineral as well as stone fruit. A great pleasure.