2020 Linden Riesling

Style

Vintage 2020 gave us a very different Riesling style. This wine is bone dry, similar to some Austrian or Australian Rieslings. It will also age well due to its bracing acidity. Aromas of yellow stone fruits, honey suckle, preserved lemon and petrol. On the palate the wine leads with some refreshing fruit, but then evolves with a push/pull of racy and nervous texture. It finishes with a bright, pithy lemon acidity.

Food Pairings

Asian noodle bowl, spicy pork, sushi, savory dishes with a fruit component.

Vineyard

Hardscrabble (Estate) Fauquier Co., on 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 2020

Winter ended early as March warmed and quickly initiating a very early bud break. From early April to early May we were on frost alert with many close calls. May 9 (Mother’s Day) finally nipped Chardonnay and Merlot vines resulting in reduced yields.

Cooler than average April and May also slowed vine development, but a warm streak in June allowed for good flowering and berry set. A hot, dry mid-July slowed vine growth at just the right time. The vines were looking balanced and ready to put their energy into ripening as veraison was soon to begin.

Late July gave us a few welcome rain showers that refreshed the vines, but those showers eventually became more steady rains and by mid-August the soils were close to saturated. This slowed ripening and pushed predicted harvest dates 7 to 10 days or more behind average. Smoke haze from the west coast fires filtered sunlight on some days.

Harvest was September 28, 2020. Sugars trended lower, but the grapes had very precise acidity and good balance resulting from a long, slow ripening.

Winemaking

Riesling was fermented relatively cool (20° C). This vintage was fermented dry, meaning there is no sweetness in the finished wine. Aged in stainless steel tanks and bottled in July of 2021. It is ready to drink after two or three years of bottle age, but will reward additional aging. 11.3% alcohol. 1,660 bottles produced. Drink through 2028.

Jim LawWhite Wine