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2001 Dry Riesling Reserve

(updated 10/9/02)

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The Wine

Our Dry Riesling is produced in very limited quantities from a 1.1 acre block on our Corral Creek Vineyard, largely for top-end restaurants or dry riesling freaks. This is a big wine with brilliant, rich fruit, bright acid and a weighty palate. The acidity provides ageability and great structure, making it amazing 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 (almost always in November) with full ripeness and a touch of botrytis, giving the most intense dry riesling we can make.

The Vineyard

Corral Creek, although not our oldest estate vineyard, was begun in 1983 by John and Diane Howieson, founders of Veritas Winery from whom the vineyard was purchased in 1995. A 25 acre vineyard predominantly planted to Pinot noir, significant grafts of Dijon chardonnay and Pinot gris have been made at the vineyard, but not touching a 1.1 acre block of 16 year old Riesling nestled on a low bench above Corral Creek. Soils are Laurelwood, a predominantly sedimentary soil series that, although being low in elevation, is well drained.

The Vintage

2001 is a soft, big vintage. It saw almost ideal growing and ripening weather and less than an inch of rain during harvest. This is not a typical cool climate vintage and the Pinot noirs will be soft, fleshy and early appealing. Whites will be full and broad, and early maturing. The alcohols are restrained slightly by yields that were neither too generous nor forced extreme extraction: Pinot noirs, 2.38 tons/acre; Chardonnay, 2.77; Pinot gris, 2.26; Riesling, 2.77; Gamay noir, 1.86; Pinot blanc, 4.27.

Stats

Harvest Data:

Harvested 10/26/01 @21.6 brix, 2.89 pH, and 7.7g/L acid

Fermentation:

Fermented with several yeasts (R2 & VL3) in small stainless vessels

Cooperage/Aging:

Tank fermented

Bottling:

Cold stabilized, filtered and bottled 4/04/2001

Bottling Analyses:

12.5% alcohol, 7.5g/L acid., 2.96 pH, 0.77% residual sugar

Cases Produced:

188

Suggested Retail:

$19

Release Date:

August, 2002

Winemaker's Comments

Very pleased. This is our wine of choice when we want to startle someone in a good way. We love the complexity and concentration of this wine, and love the reactions when others realize it, their faces going from an "OK, sure" tolerance to the "Wow" excitement. As the epitome of cool climate whites, we get great refreshment and food stimulation from bright clean fruit and acid. There is a mineral, lime and citrus, white fruit brightness, combined with a well balanced, multi-layered richness that is broad, weighty and long on the palate. Spices, tree fruits, lemon drops, pineapple, clean oat straw notes all blend for another complex riesling. Yes, very pleased.

Quotes

Oregon Wine Report, September 2002. Full warm and creamy riesling aromas of peaches and minerally spice with a hint of flowery honey. Nicely viscous, almost syrupy mouth feel with flavors of white peaches, some pineapple, and interesting nuances of both minerals and flowers. Good acidity provides backbone and helps freshen a long tart finish.