Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/674905
DEPARTMENT HEADER may 2016 / the tasting panel / 79 PACIFIC RIM SOLSTICE VINEYARD RIESLING AND SELENIUM VINEYARD ICE WINE RIESLING Pacific Rim Winemaker Nicolas Quille from Lyon, France, is all about the purity of fruit: a very good thing for Pacific Rim, the third-largest producer of Riesling in Washington, located in the Columbia Valley. "These are 44-year-old vines, very small yield on very shallow soil. For this vintage, we chose to focus more on press selection so this wine has only the free-run juice. We only make 200 cases of this stuff. Very small, very geeky Riesling." Pacific Rim Solstice Vineyard Riesling, Yakima Valley, Washington From Yakima Valley Washington, Solstice Vineyard. Shallow, wind-blown loess on basalt bedrock. 100% Riesling. Old vine Riesling, hand-picked and fermented with native yeasts, aged sur lie for 6 to 12 months. Blind Tasting Note Menthol, mineral oil, Italian oregano, citrus zest, leesy and a chalky palate, almost powdered. —Daniel Coplen Pacific Rim Ice Wine Riesling, Selenium Vineyard, Columbia Valley, Washington From Yakima Valley, Washington, Selenium Vineyard that sits 1,200 feet above sea level. Wind-blown loess on basalt bed rock. 100% Riesling. Frozen Riesling harvested on St. Nicolas day, 2013 at eight degrees Fahrenheit. Fermentation halted at 155 g/L of residual sugar. Wine aged for eight months in tank and one year in bottle. Blind Tasting Note Apples, saffron and wild ginger. —Clarke Anderson SARTORI DI VERONA'S FERDI AND I SALTARI AMARONE Sartori di Verona, established in 1898 by Pietro Sartori, is now one of the leading producers in the Veneto. Andrea Sartori, his widely respected great-grandson, tells us that the Ferdi Garganega "is a Soave on steroids. In 2003, we started drying the grapes like we do for amarone, and we refined the process over time. I'm sure you've tasted a lot of Soave, but nothing like this." Sartori Di Verona Ferdi, Bianco Versonese IGT, Veneto From the hillside vineyards of the Soave zone in the Veneto. Rocky, calcareous soil. 100% Garganega. Handpicked and hand-sorted grapes are dried for 40 days, then pressed and macerated on skin at low temperature. Part of must fermented in oak cask, the rest in stainless steel. Sur lie aging for about seven months and then aged at least four months in bottle. Blind Tasting Note Bright and tropical. Kiwi/guava, dried apricot, bell pepper, ginger and sour cream. —Nicole Murray Sartori I Saltari Amarone, Veneto Just east of Verona, in the Veneto. 60% Corvina, 20% Rondinella, 10% Croatina and 10% Corvinone. Blind Tasting Notes On the nose, wood smoke, anise, black cherry, tobacco, beef jerky and black berries. On the palate, cocoa, coffee, charred meat, black plums, cinna- mon and plum skin. Mouth-coating, very restrained fruit. Black tea finish. —Daniel Coplen Pacific Rim Solstice Vineyard Riesling. Sartori di Verona Ferdi. Pacific Rim Ice Wine Riesling, Selenium Vineyard. Sartori I Saltari Amarone. may 2016 / the tasting panel / 79