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2006 Poet’s Leap Riesling, Columbia Valley

2009 April 15
by Eric Hwang

Poet’s Leap is produced by Long Shadows Vintner’s, Armin Diel, a German winemaker whose family has owned Schlossgut Diel in Burg Layen since the 1800’s. He is renowned for his Rieslings.

20090926I tasted this wine at Taste Washington and decided to open this up for family dinner. Unlike German Rieslings, the Poet’s Leap has 12.9% alcohol but actually doesn’t taste that high. It is borderline off-dry with 1.4% residual sugar but is delicatelybalanced by the fruit’s natural acidity. It has a pale straw color and a subtle nose of pear, orange, and white flowers. The richness in the mouth is the combination of balanced acidity, alcohol, and a slight amount (3%) of oak fermentation. This only enhances the crisp palate of apples, honey and minerals and its nice lingering finish. I think I compared it to a Kabinett at the Taste, but as this wine warms up a bit, it gains a more intensity and sweetness comparable to a Spätlese that highlights the ripeness of the fruit. It would be interesting to compare this wine side-by-side with a German Riesling. It paired nicely with the ham we ate but I could see having this with shellfish, oysters, fish or even spicy Chinese food. This 750ml bottle is about $20; not as much as comparable German wines but more than many other Washington Rieslings. I’d probably drink more of this if it were a bit less expensive.

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Copyright © 2009, Eric Hwang and Bricks of Wine. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Eric Hwang and Bricks of Wine with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

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