2012 Hyland Estates Gewurztraminer
A Gewurztraminer Dry White Table wine from
Willamette Valley, Oregon, USA
eRobertParker.com #209(Oct 2013)
Reviewer: David Schildknecht
Rating: 90point
Drink: N/A
Current (Release) Cost: $28 (28)
Scents of ripe pear with lime and mint represent an unusual showing for this grape variety in the Hyland 2012 Gewurztraminer, and those elements are joined by honeydew melon and hints of brown spices on a metaphorically cooling palate that’s surprisingly firm and bright even though alcoholically full and subtly oily, leading to a luscious and refreshing finish whose pear fruit still displays crispness and an invigorating chew of its skin. Montalieu assures me that this was not acidulated. The “trick” ? if you will ? is, he suggests, picking more than once (in the present instance, around October 1 and then again mid-month) so as to maximize the aggregate of freshness and spice-tinged ripe flavors, an approach I witness rather often with New World Sauvignon. Look for this fine value to delight over the next couple of years, though I would not be greatly surprised if it proved interesting for longer.