Finger My Lakes

I'd love to try Riesling and Cabernet Franc from the Finger Lakes, but goddamn it, they are very hard to come by in Chicago. Zug recommends the wines from Damiani; I shall keep my eyes open for them. Funny, but just after Zug e-mailed me about Damiani, I saw that Jancis just posted about Finger Lakes wines, fingering (heh) Fox Run, Heron Hill, King Ferry, Red Newt, Treleaven, and Hermann J Wiemer as the best.

Speaking of Riesling, I opened the 2005 Joh. Jos. Christoffel Erben Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Kabinett the other night. Deceptive, this one. Sweetness is its first trick: it smells like a cinnamon-dusted pie made from strawberries, kiwi and apple, and a wall of sugar hits the front of the mouth. Yet the finish feels dry and quenching, a twist of a salted lime. Upon entry it also conned me into thinking it's a lighthearted, monolithic simpleton. Turns out this is a viscous, extracted little beast, and it sits on the tongue, and sits, and sits. Third, the acidity is cloaked. Sure, there's some, but you don't really experience it until you pucker the inside of your mouth after you swallow; suddenly, the acidity blooms, and the mouth starts watering. Finally, subtle Würzgarten spice notes emerge only at warmer temps.

This all portends the wine it will be; I should buy another bottle and cellar 'til 2015. At $17 per bottle, I can afford to!