92 Mark Squires - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The 2016 Dry Riesling Reserve comes in with eight grams of residual sugar, which in the Finger Lakes makes it dry, & 12.7% alcohol. A blend of the winery's vineyards, it is 50% Josef, 30% HJW & 20% Magdalena. As is always the case, this takes the regular Dry Riesling & adds some concentration but also some focus. The fruit seems more lifted & better defined, while the finish is certainly longer & more intense. It also seems just a little drier, yet somehow richer. Ultimately, it seems pretty friendly & rather sexy, relatively speaking. If you're wondering what you get by trading up, that's what you get. Three days later, this is still fruity, friendly & fresh. At the moment, the stylistic difference between this, the lower-level & the upper-level is more important than the qualitative one. As they all age, however, they will separate. This will take over versus the regular Dry Riesling & will, in turn, be surpassed by things like the Magdalena. For the moment, this is a sweet spot in the lineup. Let's see what it looks like in a few years.