2022 Late Harvest Riesling
Tasting Notes
Enticing aromatics of candied tangerine, lemon zest, and guava lead to a rich palate with expressive, mouth-coating flavors of raw honey, sweet peach juice, and apricot jam. A bountiful amount of residual sugar is harmoniously balanced with the wine’s natural acidity resulting in a clean, luscious finish graced by lingering hints of fresh melon and orange peel.
Awards
The 2019 vintage was 93 Points by Owen Bargreen, Certified Sommelier, Formerly the Senior Editor at the International Wine Report
Vineyard Designation
100% Estate Grown
Vintage Notes
The 2022 vintage in the Yakima Valley was a bit of a roller coaster. A mild winter extended into spring with early frost periods and winter-like conditions in April. The cool spring delayed bud break by a few weeks and caused delayed growth in the vineyard as we moved into summer. Each vineyard block was meticulously managed to ensure a ripe crop by harvest. We lowered clusters per vine and allowed for more sunlight exposure. By mid-July, temperatures finally started warming up and led to record growth in a short amount of time. Fortunately, warm summer temperatures extended into fall, helping to lengthen the growing season and allowing the grapes to continue to ripen. Harvest ended up being delayed approximately three weeks from a typical year. We gratefully did not experience any fall frost events, so the grapes had extended hang time on the vines to achieve optimal ripeness and excellent flavor development. Overall, the 2022 vintage displays ripe flavors, bountiful fruit aromas, and balanced acidity. The wines can be enjoyed in their youth, or they can cellar for many years to come.
Winemaking Notes
Hand-harvest in late November, the Riesling grapes were then sent to a cold facility and stored at 0° F for seven weeks. This allowed the grapes to become completely frozen, thus increasing the sugar content from 23.5 brix at harvest to 40.7 brix when frozen. The grapes were then slowly pressed over a period of 3 days. The volume of juice was exceptionally low, but the quality was extremely high. After a very lengthy pressing, the juice was settled out and clean racked before fermentation. We inoculated with a special yeast strain designated for dessert-style wines and fermented the wine at 58 degrees. A slow, cool fermentation helped preserve the beautiful tropical fruit flavors. It also allowed us to achieve our desired alcohol levels while stopping the fermentation early with an abundance of remaining natural sugar. Once fermentation was seized, the lees were stirred twice a month for two months to enhance the roundness and texture of the wine.
* Produced in a Vegan Manner (No animal byproducts used in the production of this wine)
Food Pairing
Blue Cheese
Crème Brûlée
Fig, Apricot or Peach Desserts
Cheesecake
Apple Pie
- Appellation: Yakima Valley
- Cases Produced: 596 cases
- Alcohol: 9%
- pH: 3.30
- Acidity: 7.4 g/L
- RS: 22%
- Ageability: Enjoy now through 2050.