2023 Brooks Winery, Riesling, Willamette Valley, Oregon.
I have a soft spot for Riesling and Brooks Winery, so I was thrilled to taste through a few new releases and their classic mineral driven Willamette Valley Riesling bottling, with this 2023 vintage being an elevated version of this bone dry and energy filled example that leads with piercing acidity, lots of lime, green apple, unripe apricot and quince fruit, along with saline, wet rock, snappy herbs, delicate white blossoms and lip smacking spice. The light framed palate and fresh tension here make for a eye popping Riesling that shines in the glass with true varietal character and compares well with some of Germany’s top trockens, it is one of America’s best Rieslings. The all stainless steel fermented and aged Willamette Valley Riesling comes from a selection of vineyard sites across the valley and a complex mix of mineral rich, volcanic based and marine sediment soils, including mature vines at the Hyland Vineyard, which certainly adds some pedigree here, even in small doses. Brooks is a big advocate for sustainable practices and has certified the estate to biodynamics, and focuses on organic grapes from non-estate sources, as seen here This zesty Willamette Valley Riesling, which saw a short period of lees contact and bottled quickly to preserve transparency, verve and freshness, is exciting stuff and should drink well for many years to come and I suggest paring it with Asian cuisine, Sushi and or briny oysters.
There is lots of excitement at Brooks Winery these days with Janie Brooks Heuk, who runs this innovative Oregon winery that specializes in Pinot Noir and Riesling, after promoting her long time assistant winemaker, Claire Jarreau, to the lead role here. I mentioned this transition in my prior reviews and I was really looking forward to see what Jarreau could do here and was very impressed. She comes into this with tons of passion, experience and precision and Claire looks to raise the bar here at Brooks after finishing her first harvest in charge with these 2023s, and things look very promising, as this wine shows, plus her Pinots are are stunners too, with the Janus 2023 being one of the finest efforts I’ve tasted from Brooks. The Brooks Winery, founded by the late Jimi Brooks, in the late 1990s, who tragically passed away much too young, and based in the Willamette Valley’s Amity-Eola Hills, as mentioned here and beyond, is an inspirational tale starting with passion, leading to heartbreak, then to love of family and responsibility to community. As I’ve said before I’m honored to have had an early look in on this great journey in American wine, when I met Jimi in around 2002 and tasted some of his first Brooks wines, which were standouts and part of a new generation of Oregon wine. I highly recommend de-discovering Brooks as soon as possible and especially check out their 2023s, and don’t miss a chance to visit the winery when visiting the Willamette Valley.
($25 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive