WTN: Hart Wine Cellar 2012 Riesling

Yet another bottle from the case Howie so generously donated to my cause last year. Tonight, I opened it up to accompany the first jerk chicken of the season. I had felt that Riesling might stand up better to the spicing and smoke of the meat, and I was not proved wrong. It had good varietal character in the nose, with a touch of petrol, some citrus and a hint of oxidation. On the palate, it had zippy acidity, was totally dry and light on the palate. Had I tasted this blind, I would have guessed a Kabinett Trocken. Nicely done, Howie!

Mark Lipton

Glad you liked it. 2012 is one of the best vintages for this area. Sometimes, a wine just makes itself. The grapes were grown by Don DeMaison (Long Cliff Winery), who knows Richard Vine from years ago. This is the first time I've ever bottled a Riesling bone dry. My tastes indicated that it was quite nice without any sweetening. In German classification, based on the sugar level at harvest, this would be spätlese trocken. Maybe I'll open a bottle of it tonight. Mary Jo is making shrimp and asparagus risotto.