Forge Cellars Breakneck Creek Riesling 2022

Forge Cellars is one of the Finger Lakes’ most exciting and critically acclaimed producers, a partnership between winemaker Louis Barruol of Château Saint Cosme in the Rhône Valley and Rick Rainey, a Finger Lakes native with deep roots in the region’s viticulture. Together they set out to prove that the Finger Lakes, a cool glacially carved landscape of deep lakes and steep shale slopes in upstate New York, is one of the world’s great terroirs for Riesling, capable of producing wines that rival the finest examples from the Mosel and Alsace. Forge Cellars farms its vineyards with meticulous care, focusing on low yields and minimal intervention to let the region's distinctive shale soils and cool climate speak clearly.

The Breakneck Creek Riesling is sourced from a single vineyard site on the steep slopes above Seneca Lake, one of the Finger Lakes’ deepest and most thermally stable lakes, whose moderating influence extends the growing season and preserves the natural acidity that defines great Riesling. The 2022 vintage in the Finger Lakes was excellent, producing wines of exceptional balance and aromatic precision. Pale gold with a green tinge, the nose is vibrant and complex, revealing fresh lime, green apple, white peach, and apricot layered with distinctive slate driven minerality and a hint of petrol that speaks to the wine’s age worthiness. On the palate, the wine is off-dry and beautifully balanced, with electric acidity, a rich, textured mid-palate, and a finish of extraordinary length and mineral purity.

The Forge Cellars Breakneck Creek Riesling 2022 is exceptional alongside spicy Asian cuisine, roasted pork, smoked fish, or a classic Alsatian tarte flambée, a Finger Lakes Riesling of genuine world class ambition that will reward patience in the cellar for years to come.