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Mount Palomar Riesling, 2000Sep 23 '02 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line One of the better California Rieslings I've tried this year -- Mount Palomar Riesling, Temecula, 2000.
This past Saturday, I spent the afternoon with my brother, sampling wines in Temecula, California. My brother recently moved to this area, and I was introducing him to some of the local attractions that he is not familiar with. I've been visiting wineries in Temecula on a regular basis since 1990... so I kind of know my way around the valley. One of our stops during the afternoon was at the Mount Palomar Winery. This is a small, 50-acre winery founded in 1969 by John Poole. Today, the winery is under the supervision of his son, Peter Poole, and the winemaker is Etienne Cowper. Mount Palomar Riesling, Temecula, 2000 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Alcohol: 10.0% by volume Production: 100% Riesling from Temecula (from Mount Palomar's estate) plus a portion purchased from Ventana Vineyards. Fermented in stainless steel tanks. Estate bottled. Appearance: Pale yellow/straw color with tiny, micro-bubble formations on the wall of the glass. Aroma: Somewhat spicy and herbal in the nose, dusty apricot and pear tones. Light petroleum tones. Flavor: Yellow apple, pears and honey; sweet (residual sugar at 3.1%), but some gentle (though not tart or tangy) fruit acidity (pH: 3.12) keeps the palate clean. Medium-bodied, but a pretty good quaffing wine. Good chilled, and pretty tasty as it warms up. Price and Availability: Purchased at an Albertson's supermarket in Temecula, California, for $6.99 per 750 ml bottle. Price at the winery: $8.95 per bottle. Wineries in Temecula, it seems, just shot themselves in the foot. It is almost always cheaper to buy Temecula area wines at local grocery or drug stores -- like Albertson's Supermarket or Long's Drug Store -- rather than at the winery itself. Produced and bottled by Mount Palomar Winery, Temecula, California. Small production volume -- only 3,000 cases produced -- means that this wine is hard to find outside of the local area. Mount Palomar Winery produces about 14,000 cases of wine annually. Recommendations: Serve chilled. Nice for afternoon drinking or with a slice of warm apple pie. Would also perform well with your Thanksgiving turkey. Verdict: 4-stars. One of the few California Riesling wines I've enjoyed in recent months. Indeed, one of the better California Rieslings I've ever tried. I am a little generous in my rating, I know. At the price paid, I can find German Rieslings that I like just as well or better. However, compared to some other California Rieslings -- like the Mirassou Monterey Riesling, 2000 -- this Palomar wine is a winner. From the label: "Since 1984, Mount Palomar has made Riesling in this style -- true fresh fruit flavors, well balanced with subtle sweetness and crisp acidity; light, fresh and clean on the palate." If you are in the Temecula area (Riverside County, California), I recommend a visit to the winery. Tastings (6 wines) cost $5. Mount Palomar Winery 33820 Rancho California Road Temecula, CA 92591 Try the cream sherry. It's got a delicious butter pecan and banana flavor. The Winery's website: http://www.mountpalomar.com/  |
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