Wine Notes > Riesling > Current Release

2008 Dry Riesling Reserve

(new release October 2009)

The Wine

Our dry riesling is produced in very limited quantities from selected lots from our Corral Creek and Stoller Vineyards. Our intent is to reflect ripe fruit that is highly focused with pinpoint acidity. 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 (almost always in November) with full ripeness and a touch of botrytis, giving the most intense dry Riesling we can make.

The Vineyards

Corral Creek was begun in 1983 by John and Diane Howieson, founders of Veritas Winery from whom the vineyard was purchased in 1995. A 28-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 25-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.

Stoller Vineyards currently has a 1.5-acre block of Riesling, grafted from Pinot Blanc in 2001 in one of the highest elevation blocks. A south-sloping, 176-acre vineyard on a 373-acre parcel, Stoller Vineyards commands a dominating view of the southern end of the Red Hills of Dundee and is planted on Jory soil. Newly grafted Riesling onto 2.7 acres of 108 Chardonnay at Ridgecrest and at a higher elevation of Corral Creek began to bear in 2004.

The Vintage

The 2008 vintage saw one of the coolest growing seasons on record, with 1,976 degree-days of heat during the growing season, versus the average for the last twelve years of 2,212 degree-days, and second only to 1,968 degree-days in 1999. This vintage resembles 1999 in the counterintuitive ripeness of the crop we finally harvested, and both vintages showed very good acid levels and excellent, full ripeness at lower sugars. Look for both whites and reds to excel this year, with very ageable wines, rich and complex from release to old age. Lower croploads, almost half-crop in nature, also similar to 1999, brought some of this richness, with harvest dates that were two-plus weeks later than average but not experiencing significant rainfall.

Stats

Harvest Data:

Harvested 10/29–10/30/08 @ 21.2–23.4 brix, 3.00–3.08 pH, and 8.0–10.6 g/L TA, from 1.48–2.87 tons per acre cropload

Fermentation:

Tank fermented with 4 yeasts (VL3, SIHA7, R2, VL1) in small stainless vessels

Cooperage/Aging:

None

Bottling:

Cold stabilized, filtered, and bottled 3/26/2009

Bottling Analyses:

13.66% alcohol, 3.09 pH, 8.4 g/L acid., 0.54% residual sugar

Cases Produced:

438

Suggested Retail:

$21 (TO ORDER)

Release Date:

October 2009

Winemaker's Comments

Platinum, yellow-green hues, with lovely white stone fruits, hard Christmas candy, lemon zest, orange marmalade or sugared peel, spice, and minerality on the nose. White peach, citrus, allspice, and mineral flavors continue on the palate, but with a huge, sweet impression countered by great acidity. The wine speaks impressively of weight, balance, and richness.

Quotes

Wine Enthusiast, December 2009, Paul Gregutt: 92. Another fine white wine from Chehalem, dry but not sour, with lovely sweet/tart peach and pear, honeysuckle and lime flavors co-mingled. It has a full midpalate and a clean, refreshing finish.

Wine Advocate, August 2009, Jay Miller: 91. …Offers up an aromatic array slate/mineral, petrol, spring flowers, apple, and citrus. Vibrant and dry on the palate, it has plenty of flesh covering its lively acidity. It will continue to develop for another 3–4 years and drink well for a decade.

Wine Spectator, December 2009, Harvey Steiman: 91. Brilliantly aromatic, brimming with lime-accented green apple, pear and a waft of mint as the dry, tangy finish carries the flavors through the long, vibrant finish. Drink now through 2018.

© CHEHALEM
31190 NE Veritas Lane • Newberg, OR 97132
Tasting Room (503) 538-4700 • Winery (503) 537-5553 • Fax (503) 537-0850