Hermann J. Wiemer Magdalena Vineyard Riesling 2016 | 94-points of Liquid Gold

94 Wine Advocate: “The Hermann J. Wiemer Magdalena Vineyard Riesling 2016 comes in with nine grams of residual sugar and 12.5% alcohol. It’s fruity, dry, very aromatic and focused. Showing beautiful purity of fruit and sensual texture, this is what a lot of folks will want in a Riesling. Wiemer, though, has the concentration that provides a different and more accessible balance. There is still plenty of acidity here, which becomes very much clearer when you taste it the next day.

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As Hermann J. Wiemer Magdalena Vineyard Riesling 2016 warms, the finish becomes far more intense on the second day tasted as this becomes drier and zippier. The fruit still easily matches the acidity, however, and makes this perfectly harmonious. If this is fruitier and sexier on opening than most of the upper-level this issue, those are merely relative adjectives, because there is plenty of power here too. That’s ultimately what will make it special. Buy some for now. Buy some for ten years from now.

Magdalena Vineyard

The unique traits of our Magdalena Vineyard are featured in this lush Riesling. A beneficial air exchange with Seneca Lake moderates the temperatures, creating a warmer and more protective site in the colder months and a cooling effect throughout the summer.  The resulting ripeness greets you in the nose with an intense, floral bouquet. This gives way to a fruit-driven, mouth-coating freshness that lingers for minutes after the first sip. Magdalena wines are striking and powerful.  Most of all, developing very well over time– whether in the glass or in the cellar.

Winemaker Hermann J. Wiemer

All Wiemer needed was the right place to apply his skill and passion from wine-making at the highest levels. In the little town of Dundee, on the western shore of Seneca Lake, he found it. Hermann discovered that the cool climate and gravelly soils of the Finger Lakes were similar to his family’s vineyards in the Mosel Valley. At a time when very few thought it was possible to grow vinifera varietals on Seneca Lake, Hermann believed that the unique soil types and moderating weather effects of the Finger Lakes would make it possible to produce great wines here.

German folk wisdom held that Riesling grapevines would flourish where black cherry trees thrived. Subsequently, Hermann purchased 80 acres of land on which we now have the winery and the “HJW Vineyard”. Countless hours, an uncanny skill at grafting, and willingness to experiment to find the best clones of each varietal for the region helped Hermann establish the vineyard. An obsessive dedication to making the most authentic and elegant wine has slowly and increasingly caught the attention of the world’s most discerning wine critics.