2019 Poet's Leap Dry Riesling

This wine has not yet been reviewed.

The 2019 Poet’s Leap Dry Riesling is a blend of two distinct vineyards. Two-thirds of the grapes were grown from old vine Riesling planted in 1972 at Dionysus Vineyard on the east side of the Columbia River, 15 miles north of Tri-Cities. The remainder of the grapes were grown at Gamache Vineyard, a cooler, gently sloping site perched on the White Bluffs overlooking Basin City. This vineyard was first planted to Riesling in 1983.

 
Armin Diel, owner of Schlossgut Diel from Germany's Nahe region, came to Long Shadows in 2003 to make Poet's Leap Riesling. The partnership was born after Long Shadow's founder Allen Shoup and Armin discovered a shared belief in the notion that the U.S. was on the cusp of a Riesling renaissance. It was this idea that led Allen, then CEO of Chateau Ste. Michelle to establish Eroica, Chateau Ste. Michelle's joint venture with the Mosel's Dr. Ernst Loosen. At the same time, Diel was leading a Riesling renaissance of his own, serving as president of the VDP-Nahe, an association of area wine estates dedicated to high-quality Riesling production in Germany.  And it was Dr. Loosen's friendship with Allen and Armin that brought the two together.
 
Since Poet's Leap's first vintage in 2003, Long Shadows' director of winemaking Gilles Nicault has collaborated with Armin on Poet's Leap's vineyard selection, fermentation and blending to establish a consistent style for the wine. In the fall of 2016, Gilles assumed total winemaking responsibility for Poet's Leap after Armin found it increasingly challenging to make the numerous trips overseas that the project required. Gilles remains committed to crafting the same style and quality of the wine the team originally envisioned.