Stop by Chacewater Winery”s tasting room in Kelseyville and you”ll find something unusual. There, among the Cabernets, the Sauvignon Blancs, Petite Sirahs and Chardonnays are not one, but two distinct Rieslings.
It”s not some unfortunate mistake. Although winemaker Mark Burch admits domestic Rieslings are a tough sell, he actually sought out the grapes from nearby Alienor Cellars and hovered over them during fermentation.
“Almost always you”ll find it sweet if not real sweet — and that whittles down the market,” Burch said of California Rieslings. Producing exceptional wines from the grapes this nation overlooks in their zeal for the Zins, Pinots and Cabs with ratings alongside, however, “can lead to things that make you stand out.”
Not that Chacewater needs much help in that regard. Three years ago the winery produced roughly 1,200 cases. Now they turn out more than 12,000 a year. Yet just a few hundred of these contain the German varietal.
“We”re still in the era of Chardonnay and Cabernet,” Burch pointed out. “There”s not enough time in most people”s lives to seek out great wines they don”t know. We have a place for it because we like to create an experience.”
Chacewater”s 2012 Dry Riesling presents a bouquet warm with floral notes, spring meadow grasses and ripe fruit. On the palate it snaps — citrus crisp, acidic, with hints of pomace and an enticing residue like diesel.
Oh, it sounds a bit off-putting, but the soaring highs balanced by hints of a guttural past are what marks a mature Riesling. The petrol note is an impression, something hewn into the delicate flight of bright fruit, bringing it level, drawing attention to the more grounded aspects of its profile.
Burch allowed his dry to mature in the barrel, using partial malolactic fermentation to prod the wine.
“I didn”t want to give up too much acidity,” he explained.
Of course, many Americans associate Riesling with the grapes affected by botrytis cinerea, more colloquially known as “noble rot,” which produces delicate, juicy and sweet wines. Yet the varietal has been cultivated along the Rhine river for at least 500 years–perhaps 2,000. Its qualities and grades are often misunderstood.
What we consider sweet Rieslings, the Germans classify as Auslese, Beerenauslese, Tockenbeerenauslese and other long words referring to the level of sugars residual in the wine.
Chacewater”s sweeter Riesling was picked at the same time as the dry at 23 Brix, but treated to a different process on the way to bottling. The winemaker, for example, settled the sweet wine into stainless tanks.
The 2013 Riesling from Chacewater is soft on the nose, with wafts of apple orchard making the strongest impression, with light honey and floral breezes. The taste follows suit–tree-ripened fruits such as apple and apricot telling the palate of pleasant, late summer days. It”s the sort of thing people expect, although without the overbearing sweetness that turns some away from the varietal.
Both are nice wines, but Burch has his favorite.
“I don”t dislike sweet wines at all,” he said, “but I prefer the dry. There is a deeper and more complex wine at the dry level.”
Both wines are available in the Chacewater tasting room.
Dave Faries can be reached at 900-2016
