Tried these two US Rieslings over the weekend:
1. Ch.Montelena Riesling PotterVlly (13.4%; www.Montelena.com) Calistoga 2016: Light gold color; quite fragrant floral/pineapple/R very light petrol/Mosel valve oil slight chalky very attractive nose; fairly tart bit off-dry (.5%-.7% r.s.?) brisk R/floral/pineapple/mango very slight Mosel valve oil pleasant flavor; very long pineapple/R/mango/floral very light Mosel valve oil bit off-dry finish; a rather pleasant Calif R that avoids straying into tutti-fruti territory if a bit on the simple side. $23.50 (KK)
____________________
2. Empire Estate DryRiesling FingerLakes/NY (12.7%; www.EmpireEstateWine.com) Hector/NY 2016: Med.light gold color; tiny bubbles on side of glass (dissolved CO2?); lovely stony/mineral/chalky lightly floral quite Germanic nose; quite tart/tangy slight prickly/dissolved CO2 rather mineral/chalky/stony light floral/pineapple slight Mosel-like bit off-dry (0.5% r.s.?) rather attractive flavor; long slight prickly fairly tart/tangy/mineral light floral/pineapple rather stony/mineral/chalky/metallic/steely finish; quite an attractive clean/crisp/brisk/bit Mosel-like R. $21.00 (AV)
________________________________
A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. I was a bit disappointed in the Ch.Montelena in that it was a bit on the simple side and not as good as previous ones I had some yrs ago. PotterVlly (and Cole Vlly) is a great area in Calif for growing R. This was not nearly as good as the Dashe McFaddenRanch/PotterVlly R that I've had in the past.
Tom