Hillick & Hobbs Dry Riesling Estate Vineyard Seneca Lake 2019 (750ml)

 

Rated 94 Points by James Suckling

 

Such an expressive nose of white peaches, nectarines, mandarin oranges, white flowers and vanilla.  Grows with each swirl of the glass.  Intensely mineral and racy palate that feels lighter than it is, because it’s so precise and vibrant, the lime and mineral freshness making the long, dry finish mouthwatering.  The first release from David and Paul Hobbs’ Resling project in the Finger Lakes.

 

Hillick & Hobbs Dry Riesling

 

Estate Vineyard Seneca Lake 2019

 

Inaugural Release

 

The pursuit to craft world-class Riesling has brought Paul Hobbs back to his family roots in upstate New York to create site-specific estate wines from the emerging Finger Lakes region.  Founded in 2013, the winery is named after his parents, Joan Hillick and Edward Hobbs, and planted to high density vines on steep slate slopes.

 

Tasting Notes

 

Our inaugural vintage from our steep-sloped estate presents a delicate bouquet of spring white flowers and tangerine peel mingled with accents of wet slate.  Elegant and inviting on the palate, crisp pear and lime zest highlights are underscored by a bright acidity and lingering mineral notes that seamlessly glide into a clean and vibrant finish.

 

Alcohol:  12.5%

 

Vineyard

 

• Region:  Seneca Lake, Finger Lakes, New York

 

• Soils:  blue slate, glacial till, limestone glacial shale

 

• Slopes:  Western exposure with slopes up to 55%

 

Harvest

 

• Harvest Dates:  September 19, 2019 - October 16, 2019

 

• Hand harvested and sorted at the vineyard

 

Winemaking

 

• Varietal Composition:  100% Riesling

 

• Pressed whole cluster

 

• Partial native malolactic fermentation

 

• 100% stainless steel fermented and aged

 

• Bottled unfined, August 2020

 

The Estate

 

Situated on the southeastern banks of Seneca Lake, the property was acquired in 2013 and started being converted to Riesling one year later.  The vineyards are planted to high density and one of the first in the area to run up and down slope similar to those of the Mosel region.

 

Seneca Lake

 

Carved out of glacial movement that began during the Ice Age over two million years ago, the Finger Lakes is the result of ice sheets that last receded and melted approximately 10,000 years ago.  Seneca Lake is the deepest (~618’ deep) and one of the two largest in length next to Cayuga Lake.

 

Discovery & Development

 

After years of searching around the Finger Lakes, Paul and David ultimately concentrated their efforts on Seneca Lake and found a property with similar attributes to those found in the famed Mosel region.  Previously planted to native Labrusca varieties in the late 1800’s, the property started to become overgrown in the 1930’s after farming was abandoned.  Old cedar posts and wire trellising were found in the wooded areas, along with small terraces that allowed horses to work the original vineyard.

 

Farming

 

We are vigilant in our stewardship of the land and engaged in labor-intensive, hand-farming methods year-round to grow fruit to the highest quality.  The up to 55-degree gradient requires specialized equipment and erosion prevention measures such as no tilling or exposed soils and year-round cover crop.

 

 

Hillick & Hobbs

 

Finger Lakes, New York

 

Paying tribute to his upbringing on his family’s farm in upstate New York, Paul Hobbs’ newest estate overlooking Seneca Lake is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of what is possible in this nascent winegrowing region.

 

The Story

 

The pursuit to craft world-class Riesling has brought Paul Hobbs back to New York to create site-specific estate wines from the emerging Finger Lakes region.

 

Named after his parents who first met while attending nearby Cornell University, Joan Hillick and Edward Hobbs, Paul founded the winery with the vision to create Riesling that rivals its European brethren by pushing the boundaries of modern viticulture in the Finger Lakes.

 

When growing up with his 10 siblings on the family farm in Niagara County, his father Edward would travel to the region and return with stories to share at the family table, sparking Paul’s interest and forming the building blocks for a lifelong vocation in wine.  At the age of 16, his father instructed him to convert some of the farm’s orchards to vineyards after seeking advice from local growers.  The family began selling grapes to nearby wineries in the Finger Lakes, and while attending college at Notre Dame, his father persuaded him to pursue wine.  During his studies at UC Davis, Paul naturally developed an interest in Riesling, particularly those from Germany, which he considers his first love.

 

After solidifying an international winemaking career, he began to recognize that the Finger Lakes had all the desirable attributes – climate, slate soils and slopes – of the greatest Riesling producing regions.  Paul, along with his younger brother David Hobbs, began actively searching for a site, and after years combing the area, discovered a property south of Hector Falls that drew notable similarities to the Mosel.  In 2013, the purchase of the property was finalized and the labor and capital-intensive process of developing a vineyard from scratch began that Labor Day weekend.  It took nearly a decade before the inaugural vintage release to establish the 78-acre estate (21 planted).

 

Dedicated entirely to Riesling, the vines are planted to high density and grown on steep slopes in predominately hard slate soils, making machine work nearly impossible.  David Hobbs lives on the property and oversees the estate with a local team.

 

The estate revives the Hobbs family legacy of growing grapevines in upstate New York and enhances the potential for this emerging region.