About a month and a half ago I was at the home of Nena and Lenn Thompson, with special guest Michael Gorton Jr. Lenn decided to pour this wine. I was extra special pleased - because Gewurztraminer is among my favorite wine grapes, and makes for one of my favorite varietal wines.
Palmer has had a long history of making refreshing, thirst quenching aromatic whites, so I was naturally thrilled to see Lenn pull this one one out.
Here's winemaker Kareem Massoud's winemaking notes on this wine:
After the mildest winter in memory, April of 2023 was quite warm resulting in a relatively early bud break in the second half of the month. May cooled off and we were lucky to emerge unscathed from the frost that hit the Finger Lakes region in mid May. 2023 was the year El Niño returned and it brought plenty of moisture. Lots of humidity in June and July, along with occasional rains and then more rain in September and October. In between, there was plenty of heat, indeed it was one of our hottest vintages. In the end there was enough sun and heat to fully ripen the crop to produce the quality wines we aim for.
In the vineyard, an intensive regimen of leaf removal (to better expose the fruit to the sun and wind) was done. Performing thorough leaf removal early in the growing season (during or immediately after fruit set) aids greatly in attaining the goal of growing healthy, ripe, clean fruit. The fruit is healthier thanks to the drier microclimate created within the canopy. Pathogens such as powdery mildew are susceptible to UV light which will kill their spores.
After letting the fruit hang into mid-October, botrytis (the "noble rot") began to set in. The vineyard yielded about half a ton per acre. Average fermentation temperature was kept cool, around 60º F or less. The wine was fermented entirely in stainless steel tanks to preserve varietal character.
The resulting wine was nothing short of a success. The impressive lychee, passion fruit and floral notes came through as promised. There was apricot and honeysuckle. Notes of honey. A layer nose that kept on revealing new notes. The wine was incredibly well balanced, showing great fruit, and excellent acidity. And of course each sip revealed another exceptional layer and another. A truly remarkable dessert wine. Palmer Late Harvest Gewurztraminer 2023 is the sweet small of success.
