Fort Berens Estate Winery 2013 Riesling - 90pts

Fort Berens Estate Winery 2013 Riesling (Lillooet) Fraser Canyon - BC

Availability
: Direct from winery here and VQA stores
Cost: $18
Alcohol: 12.5%
Production: 610 cases
Date Tasted: April 23rd, 2014

Tasting Notes: Most impressive. Subtle, at first, especially if served too cold. Awakens after a breather in the glass and a chance to warm-up to room temperature, revealing a hidden opulence of warm, inviting orchard fruit aromas and cool, mineral and green apple peel notes. The palate offers off-dry levels of residual sugar (13g/l), yet, finishes almost dry thanks to equal counterbalance of green apple and citrus acidity. Zesty fruit flavours and stonefruit minerality linger on past the mouth watering affects of the crisp acid. Yum.

Fort Berens is carving out a nice niche for themselves as producers of one of BC's most consistent and affordable, terroir-driven Rieslings. $18 is a steal for wine that ticks most, if not all of the boxes that Riesling fanatics look for when choosing their next bottle of what Jancis Robertson calls "indisputably the greatest white wine grape in the world...". Now, Chardonnay lovers may argue that point, but what they wouldn't dispute is that Riesling sourced from Fort Berens' own Lillooet vineyard is both unique and very tasty and well worth the under $20 price tag.


Enjoy this wine in its youth or experiment with putting 1-2 away for a long sleep and see if any aged Riesling characters like honey nectar flavours or petroleum aromas appear over time, though, the winery's still youthful vineyard may not yet support lengthy ageing (perhaps, the one box this wine doesn't yet 'tick'). Drink 2014-2017+?
 - Liam Carrier ©copyright 2014 IconWines.ca

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