Savage Grace
Underwood Mountain Vineyards Riesling
Columbia Gorge, Oregon/Washington, USA
Second bottle, retasting two years later. Pale white with golden refraction, excellent clarity. Floral, pine and honey notes in nose. Sweetish but good acidity, peach, honey, guava and stone flavors, with peach and guava in aftertaste. Mild astringency on finish. Pine-pineapple-apple flavors on first sip, consistent with varietal. Solid mainstream Riesling in winemaking style (any lees or lactic flavors from previous tasting are largely missing now, sadly) but the sophistication and elegance of fruit expression remains of interest here. I’m curious what we should expect from Riesling in Pacific Northwest in general, and Columbia Gorge in particular. I’ve had plenty of the former, and a handful of the latter. It’s a worthy topic for discussion and further investigation...
Second bottle, retasting two years later. Pale white with golden refraction, excellent clarity. Floral, pine and honey notes in nose. Sweetish but good acidity, peach, honey, guava and stone flavors, with peach and guava in aftertaste. Mild astringency on finish. Pine-pineapple-apple flavors on first sip, consistent with varietal. Solid mainstream Riesling in winemaking style (any lees or lactic flavors from previous tasting are largely missing now, sadly) but the sophistication and elegance of fruit expression remains of interest here. I’m curious what we should expect from Riesling in Pacific Northwest in general, and Columbia Gorge in particular. I’ve had plenty of the former, and a handful of the latter. It’s a worthy topic for discussion and further investigation...
Sep 10th, 2019Pale yellow in color with a golden tinge, excellent clarity. Honey, apple and spice notes in nose. Off dry, rounded mouthfeel. Honey and peach flavor with length (later guava), malic finish with a hint of leesy-lactic acid and fine-grained skin astringency. I might prefer it drier, but given the style, there is still much to like here. Less complex than the 2015
Pale yellow in color with a golden tinge, excellent clarity. Honey, apple and spice notes in nose. Off dry, rounded mouthfeel. Honey and peach flavor with length (later guava), malic finish with a hint of leesy-lactic acid and fine-grained skin astringency. I might prefer it drier, but given the style, there is still much to like here. Less complex than the 2015
Oct 18th, 2018Pale golden white in color. Apple and honeysuckle notes in nose. Off dry, honey, apple, stone fruit with length, lactic and honey lemon finish with light astringency and minerality. Gorgeous wine, true to varietal character.
Pale golden white in color. Apple and honeysuckle notes in nose. Off dry, honey, apple, stone fruit with length, lactic and honey lemon finish with light astringency and minerality. Gorgeous wine, true to varietal character.
Sep 11th, 2017
I remember tasting these a year ago with the owner/winemaker. Glad they're in NYC now. Worth it if you can find them.
I remember tasting these a year ago with the owner/winemaker. Glad they're in NYC now. Worth it if you can find them.
Aug 15th, 2015
Ohmygoodnessyum. Notes of peach and ginger. Not sweet but not overly dry either. Wonderfully balanced!
Ohmygoodnessyum. Notes of peach and ginger. Not sweet but not overly dry either. Wonderfully balanced!
Mar 26th, 2015
Distinctive Riesling nose, lime orange, strong acidity touch of sweetness. Fresh and vibrant.
Distinctive Riesling nose, lime orange, strong acidity touch of sweetness. Fresh and vibrant.
Nov 13th, 2019
Bright lime and lemon with a hint of effervescence and stoniness. Silky and luxurious on the tongue. Fantastic.
Bright lime and lemon with a hint of effervescence and stoniness. Silky and luxurious on the tongue. Fantastic.
Oct 11th, 2018Gorgeous off-dry Riesling with flavors of green apple, lime zest and wet stone. Loving the under 11% abv too.
Gorgeous off-dry Riesling with flavors of green apple, lime zest and wet stone. Loving the under 11% abv too.
Jan 2nd, 2017