Awards:

GOLD National Wine Awards of Canada

Story:

Our Righteous Dude was introduced in 2013. As winemaker Dan Sullivan remarked at the time, “Riesling is one of the purest expressions a vineyard and winemaker can render. In that sense it is righteous, with a fun, broad appeal and, like Ferris Bueller, a Righteous Dude.”  With a cult following, only matched by The Dude himself from The Big Lebowski, producing another was never far from our radar. The beauty of 2022’s Bench Riesling ensures that The Dude abides!

Vineyard:

The clarion call that ‘great wine starts in the vineyard’ rings especially true with Riesling. In this case a small 27-year-old plot where the Twenty Mile and Beamsville benchlands meet farmed with meticulous attention by owner Bob Nedelko. The dolomite limestone that underlays this famed ribbon of vineyard lends a steely frame for intensely floral and citrus aromas and flavour that animate the fruit from this iconic place.

Growing Season:

Extended temperatures below -20C in the Niagara area over the winter of 2021/22 caused a serious short crop situation for the Niagara grape growers for the 2022 Vintage.  Despite a relatively moderate growing season and late fall rains, the short crop resulted in lovely ripe, concentrated fruit.

Harvest:

Beginning earlier than anticipated, late September saw damp weather and select varietals were ready to be picked in a hurry.  The damp weather gave way to a warm fall perfect for harvest.  Yields were relatively low, but the quality of fruit proved to be outstanding. 

Winemaking:

The Riesling was hand picked and sorted, then pressed cool and quickly at a nearby site.  It was brought cold to our winery to begin a long slow watchful fermentation closely monitored by Rosehall Run winemakers, Lee Baker and Dan Sullivan until the perfect balance of natural acidity, grape sweetness and body was struck. At this point the fermentation was arrested, and the wine was captured at the perfect moment where Riesling crystalizes into pure diamond clarity from the cold, violent, molten existence that is fermentation in stainless steel.  Working quickly the wine was very judiciously sulphited, stabilized and filtered in one pass to preserve the delicate freshness and vibrancy.

Critical Acclaim:

“Classic riesling nose, apples and citrus, all steel. CO2 helps to mark sugars, the palate is crisp and tanky, slightly tacky. Totally correct.” Score 90 John Szabo - WineAlign.com

“Ripe pear, orange blossom and peach, lovely viscosity and bright acidity to finish. A pretty package altogether.” Score 90 Jeremy Bonia - WineAlign.com

Harvest Date: September 22, 2022

Bottling Date: February 6, 2023

Cases Produced: 250

Residual Sugar: 19g/L

Total Acidity: 10.35

Ph: 3.01

Drink now through 2025 for a crisp, fresh style, but has potential to age longer.