JS9595 pts. - JamesSuckling.com - Tuesday, August 9, 2022
A concentrated and spicy dry riesling that has tons of pink-grapefruit, apricot and mirabelle aromas. Impressive textural complexity, yet this still retains wonderful freshness and delicacy. Extremely long, delicious finish. A cuvée of 60% Josef vineyard, 20% Magdalena vineyard and 20% HJW vineyards. Drink or hold.
WE9393 pts. - Wine Enthusiast - 10/1/2022
This blend of estate vineyards is consistently a favorite year over year. The 2020 delivers intense aromas of fennel pollen, lemon oil, yellow apple, tangerine and sliced ginger, making it utterly compelling. Ample apple and stone fruit flavors blend with earthy, spicy elements on the dry palate, with well placed acidity and a pithy texture lending support. (Alexander Peartree)
WS9393 pts. - Wine & Spirits - 06/22
Winegrower Fred Merwarth finds that his Josef Vineyard ripens at just the right level for a dry style, so he focuses this Reserve on that site. The wine is more lemony and citrus-based than the 2020 Dry Riesling (also recommended here). It has a mildly herbal attack giving way to a midweight mouthfeel that’s comfortable and slightly tense, especially in the finish. For herb-roasted halibut.
RP92+92+ pts. - Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate - 21st Apr 2022
The 2020 Dry Riesling Reserve comes in with eight grams of residual sugar and 12.7% alcohol and is perceptibly dry. It is a blend of 60% grapes from the Josef Vineyard, 22% from Magdalena and 18% from HJW, meaning that it has every chance to be a great wine, just like the pricier single-vineyard offerings. It is consistently one of the best intersections in the lineup for quality and price. This year it is about as good as anything in the lineup, just like last year. Deep and lingering on the finish, it has controlled power, the acidity soaked up by the concentration and countered by the modest sugar. It’s delicious but serious, sturdy but lively. It will be interesting to see how this compares with its predecessor, the 2019, as they both age. I suspect the 2019 will win as time goes on, but this is a very respectable competitor today and a pretty terrific wine with some potential upside in the cellar. (Mark Squires)
