Finger Lakes/German Riesling shootout
Glenora Wine Cellars, Finger Lakes
Tasted Saturday, November 8, 2008 by salil with 764 views
Introduction
A really interesting and eye-opening event put together by John Zuccarino and Thomas Pellechia to compare dry Rieslings from Germany with those from the Finger Lakes regions. The wines were all tasted double blind in sets of three, with only the organizers (who did not take part in the tasting/judging) knowing the lineups and order of serving.
The Hermann J. Wiemer Dry Riesling was the stand out for the Finger Lakes Riesling. While the other FL Rieslings either felt overly phenolic/chemical or shrill and acidic, the Wiemer Dry came across as the most balanced and enjoyable, and held its own with the better German wines poured. The Donnhoff dominated among the Germans, and I found the Messmer halbtrocken another stand out in the dry flight. The Schlossgut Diel Dorsheimer Goldloch Großes Gewächswas a shock - this showed very poorly, and a second bottle opened later with dinner was almost as unpleasant to drink.
Flight 1 - The Finger Lakes/German Riesling shootout (14 Notes)
All poured double blind, three at a time.
2006 Dr. von Bassermann-Jordan Riesling trocken 81 Points
Germany, Pfalz
Basic Riesling nose showing lime, grapefruit and minerals. Dry on the palate with citrus fruit flavours, good acidity and a faintly warm finish. Not particularly interesting, but a decent example of dry Riesling.
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2007 Chateau Lafayette Reneau Dry Riesling 77 Points
USA, New York, Finger Lakes, Seneca Lake
The nose has a floral character which is spoiled by the presence of faintly plastic/vinyl aromas. Unpleasant on the palate with citrus fruits and awkward metallic and phenolic notes. Rough finish.
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2006 Schlossgut Diel Dorsheimer Goldloch Riesling Großes Gewächs 77 Points
Germany, Nahe
Tasted from two different bottles. Very unpleasant from the first with an offputting nose showing strange, faintly chemical and metallic flavours and some tart lemon and grapefruit flavours. On the palate this felt austere and harsh with stony and flinty mineral notes, tart citrus fruits and faint herbal notes. Felt unbalanced and overall quite unpleasant. From a second bottle this was not as coarse or harsh on the palate, but the nose still was very offputting.
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2007 Weingut Josef Leitz Riesling Eins Zwei Dry "3" 86 Points
Germany, Rheingau
Citrus, stone fruits and mineral notes on the nose and palate here. Bone-dry on the palate with lots of acidity - simple and straightforward, but quite uninteresting.
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2007 Ravines Wine Cellars Riesling 70 Points
USA, New York, Finger Lakes
Awful aromatic profile with vinyl/plastic and metallic notes dominating everything else. Tart, awkward and unbalanced on the palate with a rough texture and finish.
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2006 Hermann J. Wiemer Dry Riesling 88 Points
USA, New York, Finger Lakes
A slightly shy nose shows some citrus zest, pear and stony mineral notes. Very pleasant on the palate with orange, lime and nectarine flavours and a little residual sweetness. I did not pick this as a Finger Lakes Riesling in the tasting, and this was by far the most impressive wine from that area.
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2007 Glenora Wine Cellars Riesling Flawed
USA, New York, Finger Lakes
I had a hard time believing this wasn't a flawed wine. Very awkward chemical nose, lemon and plastic flavours on the palate, incredibly rough and disjointed.
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2006 Dönnhoff Grey Slate Riesling Kabinett trocken 89 Points
Germany, Nahe
Very nice nose with some flowers, pear, citrus fruits and slatey minerals. Clean and precise on the palate with bright fruit flavours around a core of minerals and good acidity. Refreshing and very enjoyable. My favourite of the flight.
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2006 Hermann J. Wiemer Dry Riesling 82 Points
USA, New York, Finger Lakes
From a second bottle placed elsewhere in the tasting. Floral character, slightly sweet with nectarine and lime flavours on the nose and palate and good acidity. There's some noticeable residual sugar on the back that stands apart from the other flavours. May have suffered in comparison with the Donnhoff.
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2006 Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett halbtrocken 88 Points
Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer
Slightly austere with the nose showing a very minerally character. Bright, pure citrus flavours on the palate over crushed stones and good acidity. Clean and refreshing.
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2006 Atwater Vineyards Dry Riesling 80 Points
USA, New York, Finger Lakes
Unpleasant nose with a dominant metallic/phenolic character. Much more pleasant on the palate with clean (if slightly simple) lemon and stony flavours. Long finish with a little warmth.
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2006 Prejean Winery Dry Riesling 76 Points
USA, New York, Finger Lakes
Faintly metallic, chemical nose that's hard to get by. Tart green apple and lemon flavours and flint on the palate with high acidity, and shows some roughness on the back end. A second bottle of this (placed elsewhere in the flight) was very similar and just as unpleasant.
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2007 Vineland Estates Winery Dry Riesling 83 Points
Canada, Ontario, Niagara Peninsula, Niagara Peninsula VQA
Austere nose shows little. Shrill, overly acidic on the palate with clean but tart fruit flavours and stony minerals.
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2007 Meßmer Riesling halbtrocken 89 Points
Germany, Pfalz
Tightly wound nose shows some grapefruit, lemon and minerals, but gives the impression there's more in reserve. Clean and precise citrus fruit flavours on the palate with lots of minerals and bright acidity underneath. This is one wine I'd like to explore more with some time and food.
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