(Re-Tasted September 2012) ... This was not the first Riesling we opened on this Saturday afternoon - the first was a Dolomite 2006 (same year) from Cave Spring Cellars, it unfortunately was oxidized ... considering we did not have another bottle cold I decided to open up another Riesling from the same year, though different producer. This old vines Riesling is still holding onto its mineral component but is losing the battle with petrol, which seems to overwhelm most of the smells and flavours. Everything I can mention as a flavour or aroma has a petrol note attached: there's apricot and petrol, poached pear and petrol and a little lime pith and petrol ... though I have to hand it to this wine, it shucks the petrol on the the lingering finish so that it does not taste like you've sucked back a whole jerry-can of gasoline.
(Re-Tasted December 2010) ... Holy Hanna, is this a mouth puckering wine or what? Obviously a rhetorical question. Tonight we opened a 4 year old bottle of Featherstone's Old Vines Riesling, made from, at the time, 30 year old vines, some of the oldest in Niagara. The nose doled out a citrus stoniness while the palate was big on lemon and mineral and nice balancing acidity. The finish reminded me of sucking on an apple core - there's flavour there but there are all the pits; but by no means is that to insinuate this wine is the pits, in fact it is it's polar opposite ... still delightful and a wonderful pairing with fish.