Get off! No, Wine Blogging Wednesday is not paying homage to The Artist Formerly Known and Again Known As Prince — Beau of BasicJuice is just hosting Wine Blogging Wednesday #11 with Off-Dry Wines as the theme.
Two things about my entry into this vintage of the global wine blogging festival will come as no surprise. First, I chose a riesling, my favorite of white varieties. And, I chose one from New York.
But, instead of staying close to home with a wine from Long Island, I looked a bit further west to the Finger Lakes Wine Region. They’ve been getting a lot of press lately (in Decanter, Wine Spectator etc.) and decided to check in on them.
Chateau Lafayette Reneau is located in Hector, NY on Seneca Lake and has garnered significant praise for its wines, which include pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon, riesling, chardonnay and a late harvest riesling. I’ll be interviewing the owner, Dick Reno and the winemaker, Tim Miller later this summer, so keep an eye out here for more information.
The tasting and technical information I was able to dig up on this wine is a little lacking, but they describe the wine as:
A refreshing peach nose and honeysuckle with delicate itrus fruit flavors that dance in the mouth. The lingering spicy pear finish and lively texture reveals an abundance of Riesling character. The reason fish were created.
(Note: this picture is from their website. Nena has our camera in upstate NY.)
By the way, in August I’m doing a blind tasting all the Finger Lakes rieslings I can get my hands on (two tastings actually, one for dry versions and one for off-dry versions). If anyone is interested in joining me…let me know.
As for this off-dry riesling, here are my own tasting notes:
Eyes: Super light. Almost colorless chartreuse yellow.
Nose: Light, crisp nose with under-ripe peach, Bartlett pear and golden delicious apple aromas.
Tongue: It’s definitely off-dry (more like semi-sweet actually) but its acidity is lively and crisp, balancing the wine nicely. It’s simple, with pear flavors sandwiched between the sugar and the acidity. The finish had a slightly off-putting tartness that bordered on sourness.
Price: $12
Lenn’s Grade: B-
Overall: A simple, gulpable riesling and I’m really not sure it’s the reason "fish were created." They also make a dry riesling, and I hope to try that one soon as well. As for this one, it would have scored a B if not for the finish.