Empty Glasses

Last April, my girlfriend went to a conference in Germany for her job. Held in Wiesbaden, they granted the participants with a nice welcome gift: a half bottle of Rheingau Riesling “Von Unserm” 2001, from Balthasar Ress. Not imported in Quebec, that little bottle piqued my curiosity and patiently waited in the cellar for a couple of months. I was not in a hurry, as it is well-known that rieslings, especially German ones, can gain a lot from ageing. A vertical tasting at the Fox Run winery in the Finger Lakes last year also proved that point in a very eloquent manner.

Located in Hattenheim im Rheingau, the Balthasar Ress winery is in business since 1870 and has been passed from generation to generation since then. It now cultivates 46 hectares of vines, 90% of which are planted with Riesling, a bit above the Rheingau average (80% of the production being riesling). The rest of the production is divided between Spätburgunder (Pinot noir) as well as some Weissburgunder (Pinot blanc).

We finally opened it last week and it proved to be very impressive. Nobody would have guessed that this wine was 10 years old. The tropical fruit notes that we often see in young riesling were still there, underlined by a suprisingly lively acidity and a bright pale yellow riesling. It seemed like a wine fresh out of the winery. As the night went on, I (somehow!) managed to restrain myself from drinking it all in one gulp in order to see how it evolved. The result was lovely: the petrol notes started to come up and pushed the wine to another level of complexity, as it did not take over the fruit. Everything was really well balanced and formed a cohesive whole. It’s too bad that we only had a half-bottle though, as I would have liked to see it evolve even more.

I wish that this winery was available in Québec, as I was impressed by the quality of what we tasted. It will prompt me to find a way to discover a bit more about German wines, which I don’t know well. Ninety wines from Germany, ranging from 10$ to 211$, are available at the SAQ, which gives us a rather small playing field. Of these, would you have any suggestions for a novice-but-willing-to-learn-about-german-wine drinker?

Before heading to TasteCamp 2010 in the Finger Lakes, we knew that we would taste some really good riesling. After all, the region is renowned for its whites and each winery has (at least!) a couple of rieslings in their portfolio.

The first bang of the weekend came right at the beginning of the first tasting, held on Friday afternoon at Heron Hill Winery. The 2002 Heron Hill Ingle Vineyard Riesling exploded with this petrol character that we love from older rieslings and was backed with some fruity character. At its peak right now, it drinks beautifully and is still fresh and crisp as one would expect from riesling. Poured along with the 2007, which was an unusually warm vintage in the Finger Lakes, we could really see where the 2007 is heading (and it’s the right direction!). At 15$ for the 2007 and 20$ for the 2002, they represent great values and set the table for the rest of the weekend.

After going around Keuka Lake, we ended at Ravines Wine Cellars, for our second riesling treat of the weekend. It is hard for me to pick just one, as we were treated with their dry riesling from 2006, 2007 and 2008. All three offerings show a clear and assumed style. These bone-dry rieslings (0.3% RS) are made for the long run as even the oldest of the three was still razor-sharp, with the structure and acid which will hold this wine together for years to come. The same holds for the Riesling Argetsigner Vineyard 2008, a single vineyard offering made of fruit from the land farmed by Sam Argetsigner, which we had the chance to visit the next morning. Clearly, a winemaker with a vision.

The vertical tasting of Fox Run’s rieslings gets my vote for the most educational event of the weekend. The first flight, composed of Reserve 2008, Dry 2003, 2002 and 2001 rieslings, and the second flight, made of Semi-Dry rieslings (2008, 2006, 2003 and 2001), really put forward how Finger Lakes Riesling ages with time. As with the Heron Hill Ingle Vineyard Riesling on the first day, these wines really show their full potential after 6-7 years. For the record, the Dry Riesling 2002 and Semi-Dry 2001 were my favourites.

To be ranked along the most intriguing experiences of the weekend was the tank samples which were poured at Hermann J. Wiemer. Drawn directly from the fermenting tank (photo from the New York Cork Report), we were given the opportunity to taste how the “HJW Vineyard” and the “Magdalena Vineyard” rieslings from 2009 were coming along. Not being used to wine at this stage, it was quite interesting. We could sense all the elements in there, but did not know exactly what to make of them. Given the rest of the lineup at this event, I’m sure that Fred Merwarth and his team will be able to put it all together.

Bottom line? They know how to make great riesling in the FInger Lakes. It’s the most consistent varietal which we were given to taste over the weekend and it keeps you asking for more…!

With Day One of TasteCamp EAST 2010 drawing to a close, we can draw a quick conclusion: the Finger Lakes is really a land made for riesling, but it’s not then good thing coming out of this region.

During the course of the day, we’ve been lucky enough to have been treated with great care by the fine folks at Heron Hill Winery (who hosted the lunch and noon tasting which regroped many producers around Keuka Lake), at Ravines Wine Cellars (with an afternoon tasting of a large part of their lineup) and at Red Newt Bistro (who hosted the dinner and organized a tasting along with Fox Run and Anthony Road). I’ll come back with more details once I’ve decanted my experience, as there is a lot to say.

As one would expect, not all wines were excellent, but some have pulled ahead of the pack. I’m quickly thinking of Heron Hill’s Ingle Vineyard Riesling 2007, which after tasting the 2002 will make you wonder how long it will last. The dry rieslings from Ravines are straight, focused and have a clear plan in mind, which holds up remarkably well over the three vintages which were presented to us. I was also surprised by the general quality of the red wines presented by Red Newt, Anthony Road and Fox Run, not only the collaboration Tierce 2007 in red (and from 2004 to 2006 in riesling), but the Merlot, the Syrah (!) and the Cabernet Franc/Lemberger.

I am sure that Day Two will bring as much pleasure, discoveries and enjoyment. It will take me a while to sort through everything, but I can take one thing for granted: there will be lots to talk about.

Starting next Friday, I will be in the Finger Lakes region of New York in order to participate to TasteCamp EAST 2010.

The concept for TasteCamp is a simple one: getting enthusiastic journalists and bloggers together in a region that is new to them to taste as much wine as possible and speak to as many winemakers as possible over the course of a weekend.

By looking at the list of wineries present for the event, we know that we’re going to have a great time. However, what I look forward to is to meet fellow bloggers which I’ve been reading for a while now, and getting to know many of them via Twitter. More on that later.

In the meantime, I’ll immerse myself in the archives of Ithacork, by Tom Mansell, and its lovely Science! section, of 1WineDude by Joe Roberts and the New York Cork Report by Lenn Thompson and his team. I’ll also make sure to bookmark any other blog which I haven’t had the chance to read yet, which will make for nice discoveries until we finally get there…!