2016 Red Newt Cellars The Knoll Lahoma Vineyards Riesling Finger Lakes 750 ml

Picture the archetype of a great Riesling region: It’s northerly and cool, ideally next to a body of water that helps moderate the cold. You might have a region like the Mosel or Rheingau in Germany in your head, or perhaps Austria’s Kamptal—but New York’s Finger Lakes fit that description, too. And Red Newt Cellars’ The Knoll proves that the region’s best belong in the collections of wine lovers everywhere.

It’s special enough that Decanter magazine named it one of their Wines of the Year 2021, while awarding it a 94-point score. Made from a two-acre block of the Lahoma Vineyard, on the west bank of Seneca Lake, its bold, tropical-inflected fruit meets a beautiful citrus and mineral energy in a wine that’s both seductively complex and compulsively drinkable.

The Knoll sits on rare sandstone-based soils, which are notable for how they encourage a powerful, opulent style of Riesling—all while the grape keeps its signature vibrant acidity. That push-pull of ripeness and vibrancy was taken further in 2016, when an unusually dry year concentrated the berries on the vine and resulted in an exceptionally dramatic edition of this bottling.

The Knoll is generally the last block of grapes that Red Newt harvests, as winemaker Kelby Russell trusts in the well-drained soils to keep disease at bay while he pushes for extra ripeness and complexity. That paid off big time in 2016, when perfect bunches arrived just before the rain at the end of October, allowing Russell to do a short maceration on the skins for improved texture before a native-yeast fermentation and an 11-month lees-aging. The result: one of the best white wines made in the US that vintage.