Over the holidays I was able to taste 8 of my favorite finger lakes Rieslings side by side. Absolutely no losers here – all of these are worth savoring, and showcase the great wine being made in the region. I’ll paste my notes below, but the absolute best bottles (to me) were the ravines and the forge, with kemmeter, hillock and Hobbs, and Weis right there. But again, they are all top of the region quality.
by WyntersVix
13 Comments
2020 Ravines Dry Riesling Argetsinger Vineyard – A tiny bit effervescent when first poured, with a shy citrus nose. Once it warmed and opened up in the glass, the nose was huge – lemon, lime, and honey. Medium plus acidity, long lovely finish, and so much complexity. Lime, quince, minerality for days, a touch of mandarin orange and eucalyptus. The minerality lingers on the finish, and you’re caught between savoring and drinking more.
2021 Forge Cellars Dry Riesling, Tango Oaks Vineyard – Gorgeous gold in the glass – does not look like a dry Riesling with only a few years on it. The nose is huge and has just a little appealing funk. My notes say “mineral, lime, and … is that a hint of aged Gouda?” Medium acidity, a hint of oak, so much mineral on the attack, with a touch of citrus and stone fruit. this one absolutely stood out as the most interesting, and it was the bottle I kept reaching for, because it made me think, and it was a lot of fun.
2024 Kemmeter Riesling – Very pale lemon, citrus nose. It drinks like a mosel kabinett Riesling – certainly not sweet, but a touch more residual sugar than the rest. However, that is balanced with beautiful acidity. After an hour out of the bottle, this wine was really singing – pear, stone fruit, and a little floral, with a minerality that shines through. The finish goes for days.
2021 Hillick & Hobbs Estate Dry Riesling – Absolute template of a beautiful, classic Riesling. Textbook form, the picture next to Riesling in the infographic. I tend to lean towards bottles that make some sort of statement (acid bomb, licking rocks, funk, etc) and this bottle is instead a balanced dream of a thing.
2023 Weis Vineyards Winzer Select Riesling K – Pale lemon, a touch of effervescence. Big peachy mineral nose. Great acidity, fruit forward, and a touch of residual sugar. Medium finish didn’t impress like a few others, but overall a fantastic bottle of wine. A very clean classic German-style Riesling that would please a variety of palates.
2021 Hermann J. Weimer Reserve Dry – Great mouthfeel, really nice acidity, hint of mint, and little floral note on this one. Violet. Balance.
Apollo’s Praise 2024 Dry Riesling Lahoma Vineyard- lemon, peach, and tropical notes on the very generous nose. Highest acidity of the group, but also the most tropical of the group, with tons of Pineapple as it opens up. My favorite acidity but not my favorite expression of riesling.
Nathan K 2023 Dry Riesling – very pale lemon, shy nose, maybe some pear. Mineral mineral mineral – this is wet rocks with very little fruit – some lime zest.
Definitely an all-star lineup from the region, glad they showed well!
Don’t miss Boundary Breaks
Great line up. 4-5 absolutely fantastic bottles there.
I’m so impressed with the Finger Lakes wines. I was blown away by Forge. Especially their Cab Franc and Riesling. Ravines, Weiss and Weimer were also outstanding.
Love Apollo’s Praise!
Apollo’s Praise is wonderful!
No Red Tail Ridge?
no Dr. Konstantin Frank?
Have you tried Boundary Breaks Dry (or any of the others?). We did a massive tour of idk how many the other year and we found that this was one of our favorites. And the winery was beautiful, spacious, and the people inviting and not stuffy like at Standing Stone.
Been to all these wineries. FLX Riesling probably 1a or 1b for North American Riesling with Washington state
Weis & HJW probably the best from this lot
I think I just learned more about American rieslings than I ever knew existed! Thank you. 👏🏼
If you can get Fox Run, good stuff and beautiful vineyard.