Hermann J. Wiemer Cuvee Brut 2013
-
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Enthusiast
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Blend: 60% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Noir
Professional Ratings
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2013 Cuvée Brut is a 65/35 blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, bottled in August 2014 and disgorged in December 2017 (40 months on the lees). It comes in with five grams of residual sugar and 12% alcohol. It is quite dry. The Pinot Noir was sourced exclusively from Magdalena Vineyard, the Chardonnay from HJW and Josef Vineyards. This was seen before, but this is a new disgorgement. (Kudos to Wiemer for being transparent—the disgorgement is noted with a stamp on the back label.) Whether it's the new disgorgement or I simply was too unkind the first time around, this is much more impressive now. This has fleshed out, showing both more concentration and more intensity. Big, dense and palate-coating, this adds a gripping, dry and long finish with a little sharpness. There are some whispers of complexity now, too, but it is still young. At this point, I won't be surprised if it improves more in the bottle too.
-
Wine Enthusiast
Wiemer's Cuvee Brut is fresher and more forward than the producer's longer-aged blanc de blanc. Yet amidst the cutting green apple and lemon, there's plenty of autolytic character, expressed as whispers of toast, rising dough and burnt sugar. It's vibrantly balanced by tiny, penetrating bubbles and a lingering, fresh finish.
Other Vintages
2018-
James
Suckling -
Wine
Enthusiast -
Robert
Parker
-
James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker
-
Wine
Enthusiast
-
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Spectator
Hermann Wiemer was born in Bernkastel, Germany into a family with 300 years experience in making the distinguished vinifera wines of the Mosel Valley. He arrived in the United States in 1968 already well versed in the European tradition of fine winemaking. To this heritage he added the skill of grafting fragile vinifera vines onto sturdy American rootstock.
In 1973 he bought 140 acres on the west side of Seneca Lake, which he planted with a variety of European vinifera grapevines. Visitors who wish to see these vines, along with ponds and the six acre nursery, can take the popular Vineyard Walk through the property.
The Winery, which produces 12,000 cases each year, was designed in 1982 by an award winning team of Cornell architects. Enclosed within the shell of a seventy-year-old scissor-trussed barn, it accommodates a laboratory, tasting and retail sales, a wine production area and a private tasting room. Its unique white cathedral-like interior counterpoints the bare wooden walls and sleek Italian stainless steel tanks.