Tasting - A Taste of Two Rieslings (Hazy Mountain Winery)

"IT was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness..." (Charles Dickens)

Went to Charlottesville to connect with some old friends, and ended up with a reservation at Hazy Mountain Winery. Focus was on friends and catching up, but I took some notes on the wine I had so I figured I'd throw it up here for some credit and to keep my thoughts in one place.

No photos of the bottles, but here is one of the wines:

I had a 2018 Dry Riesling (left) and a 2019 Dry Riesling (right). Initially tasted them without any interference, but we had a charcuterie board so I started mixing stuff up partway through.

Location: Shenandoah Valley AVA

Year: 2018 / 2019

Cost: $32 / $34

Color: 2018 darker in color, much more golden character than the 2019, which was very clear and pale yellow.

Smell: I had a cold and couldn't really pick up many differences between the two from a purely swirl and snort method.

Taste: 2018 had less body, and was smooth. I would describe it as "tame", and would disagree with the website's listing of "exceptional texture and weight". 2018 was the sweeter wine (less alcohol content listed online as well). 2019 was my favorite of the two; definitely felt more acidic, had notes of green apple, and was dryer.

General Notes: If I had to buy one I would go for the 2019, I think it was more fun to drink and overall had more going on to unpack in your mouth. However, I wouldn't pay $34 for that, ever. Better stuff out there for half the price.

Wine Folly lists Riesling as having lime, apricot, beeswax, petrol, and jasmine tastes. I didn't pick up much of that, but in retrospect, I could realistically see petrol being a flavor that could have been in there.