2019 Linden Riesling
Style
This is a restrained, mineral style Riesling. It is medium/light bodied, with just a faint touch of sweetness. It finishes with ample acidity and some phenolics (tannins) that give it length.
Food Pairings
Charcuterie and soft cheeses. South Asian cuisine and spices. Salade Nicoise.
Vineyard
Hardscrabble (Estate) Fauquier Co., on top of the Blue Ridge at an elevation of 1,100 to 1,200 feet on an eastern slope. Well drained volcanic-origin greenstone and granite soils. Lyre training. Vines planted in 1997.
Vintage
2019 was a very hot and dry vintage. Bud break in late April was normal and consistent. A warm, wet May stimulated rapid shoot growth. July started a long hot dry period, which would last until harvest was over. There remained ample moisture in the ground, so vines did not slow their vegetative cycle until early August (right on time for véraison). A hot, dry August accelerated ripening.
An early harvest was on September 9. The crop was in excellent shape with good flavors.
Winemaking
Riesling was fermented relatively cool (16° C). Aged in concrete egg. The wine was bottled in August of 2020. It is ready to drink after one or two years of bottle age. 11.8% alcohol. Residual sugar is 5 grams per liter. 900 bottles produced. Drink through 2026.
Linden Vineyards / Our Wines / 2019 Vintage | 2019 Linden Riesling