Wine & Spirits - August 2018 - 77

US NEW RELEASES
92 | Hermann J. Wiemer

$39

2016 Seneca Lake HJW Vineyard Riesling ^
Drawn from Wiemer's original 1976 planting,
this has an old-vine elegance and composure.
What starts out as sweet and simple-pear
juice, with a peach accent-takes on plenty
of complexity with air, with a salty minerality
that gives it length. Cellar. (350 cases)
512226

92 | Hermann J. Wiemer

$25

2016 Seneca Lake Late Harvest Riesling ^
This leads with an intensely tropical richness, with flavors of mango and papaya as
well as drippingly ripe yellow peach. So it's
a surprise and a delight to find those flavors
dry and fine, even salty, with a long, mildly
smoky finish. (700 cases)
512224

91 | Hermann J. Wiemer

$39

2016 Seneca Lake Josef Vineyard Riesling ^
A compelling savoriness, like raw almond,
lends complexity to this fresh, round riesling
from Josef Vineyard, frequently the warmest
of Wiemer's vineyard sites. The wine starts
out ripe and ample, but after a day it gathers
energy, and a wiry acidity that tones the pear
and apple flavors. (190 cases)

and apricot have a high-toned yellow-rose
florality. There's plenty of breadth in its
golden grape flavors, a core of pineapple fruit
with acidity to boot. Cellar it to see where it
goes in six months. (3,500 cases)

N E W YORK DESSERT
511829

94 | Hermann J.
Wiemer

$75/375ml

2015 Seneca Lake Magdalena Vineyard
Noble Select Riesling ^ Made entirely of
botrytized fruit, harvested with 44.8 percent
sugar in the grapes, this is wildly powerful
wine. The initial scents are all in the realm
of botrytis: saffron, mango and apricot; then,
with air, it develops an intriguing lees note.
In flavor, it's tropical and utterly rich, but the
power in the wine's sweetness doesn't really
compare to the power of its movement, like a
dancer moving dramatically across the stage.
Pour in small doses at a dinner party with
white cake, or with nothing at all, and watch
your guests' faces. (85 cases)

OREG ON WHITE
CHARDONNAY

92 | Bryn Mawr

$22

91 | Lumos Wine Co.

$35

91 | Youngberg Hill

$40

2017 Willamette Valley Chardonnay (Best
Buy) ^ Bryn Mawr's Willamette bottling is
from two vineyards: its own, and Havlin. Fermented in steel tanks, it's immediately fruity,
the scents of apple and pineapple accented
by wheaty, leesy notes. The flavors are complete and layered, with impressive freshness,
acid structure and length. A bargain for a seafood feast. (350 cases)
512055
2015 Willamette Valley Wren Chardonnay ^
Wren is Dai Crisp's "home" vineyard, a cool
site in Philomath that seems to give this wine
a quiet intensity. With its light apple and caramel scent and tense, saline flavors, it comes
off almost like Fino Sherry (though without
a trace of oxidation). It's dramatically savory
wine for a seafood stew. (118 cases)
511943
2016 McMinnville Aspen Block Chardonnay ^ Made in a leesy, reductive style, this has
a little matchstick note on its brioche scents,
but that blows off to reveal a deep core of ripe
apple and pear fruit, with enough complexity
to fill out the wine's weighty build. Decant for
roast chicken. (335 cases)

GEWURZTRAMINER
511783

90 | Hyland Estates

512311

91 | Lamoreaux Landing

$24

2016 Finger Lakes Round Rock Vineyard
Riesling ^ Thrillingly dry and focused, Lamoreaux Landing's Round Rock is all about
lemon-lime flavor, with hints of lees in the
background. The texture, all talc and freshness, leaves a lasting impression. (213 cases)
512225

90 | Hermann J. Wiemer

$45

2015 Seneca Lake HJW Bio Riesling ^ Fred
Merwarth took a 2009 replanting project
at the estate's oldest vineyard, HJW, as an
opportunity to explore biodynamic farming, now awaiting Demeter certification. This
2015 is among the driest riesling Merwarth
has ever made. It's dense, lean and salty, with
a scent of apples and a dramatically linear
freshness that lengthens with air-a complex
wine for such a young vineyard. (200 cases)
511834

89 | Hermann J. Wiemer

$18

2016 Seneca Lake Semi-Dry Riesling (Best
Buy) ^ This wine's intriguing scents of peach

512094

93 | Bryn Mawr

$35

2016 Eola-Amity Hills Estate Chardonnay ^ From the very moment it's poured, this
chardonnay gives the impression of balance.
From its delicate, high-toned apple-and-lees
scents to the firm, rippling movement of the
acidity and minerality through the fruit, this
has a crunchiness, focus and a compelling
sense of seashell minerality. Pour with lobster thermidor. (220 cases)
511958

93 | Cristom

$25

2016 McMinnville Single Vineyard OldVine Gewurztraminer (Best Buy) ^ Laurent
and Danielle Andrus Montalieu acquired
Hyland Estates in 2007, and set about reviving vines planted in the early 1970s. This
wine shows that old-vine character in its
texture, the spiced pineapple flavors quietly
assertive, dry and focused. For shrimp in yellow curry. (150 cases)

PINOT BL ANC

$40

2016 Eola-Amity Hills Chardonnay ^ Cristom has made small amounts of chardonnay since the early 1990s. This one is at once
lean and generous, chewy caramel notes and
wheaty accents supporting pear and pineapple flavors. It's quiet, balanced and comfortable in its middle weight and modest acids.
A thoroughly satisfying match for lemon
chicken. (63 cases)
512096

511766

92 | Elk Cove

$19

2017 Willamette Valley Pinot Blanc ^ A brisk
pinot blanc, this leads with tart lemon notes
and a pronounced whiff of minerals, as if
chalk dust were rising from the glass. There's
WINE & SPIRITS

AUGUST 2018

http://lamoreauxwine.orderport.net/product-details/0069/2016-Round-Rock-Riesling http://brynmawrvineyards.orderport.net/product-details/0055/2016-Estate-Chardonnay https://www.elkcove.com/our-wines/pinot-blanc-willamette-valley-2/

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - August 2018