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William Rose Wines 2012 Dry Riesling
A fabled bootlegger and rapscallion
As the legend goes, William Rose was born in Scotland to English parents with Irish blood. He was a fabled bootlegger that traveled the underworld in his Bentley, known as “Demon Bird”. With a taste for the finer things in life, Rose was in high demand for his sought-after cargo of fine wine.
Sadly, William Rose isn’t real – as much as we’d really like him to be. But you can still taste his wines – at least, as interpreted by winemaker Mark Nicholl. Mark, the owner and winemaker at William Rose Wines, delights in telling his visitors about the latest exploits of that rapscallion William Rose.
When Mark launched William Rose, as part of the burgeoning urban wine scene in Eugene, he quickly discovered how tough it would be to earn distribution and reach. An innovative entrepreneur, he opened the Oregon Wine LAB – a unique tasting room in the heart of Eugene. The LAB features wines from small local winemakers, like William Rose, that don’t have their own dedicated tasting rooms.
Cellar 503 Tasting Notes
William Rose Wines, Eugene, Oregon
2012 Dry Riesling
A wine critic called William Rose’s Dry Riesling “An austere laser beam of crisp, pear-like focus, giving off petrol vapors in its wake.”
Wow, that’s quite a statement. A little over the top, perhaps, but accurate none the less. You’re probably wondering – what the heck are petrol vapors and is that really a good thing?
Really good Rieslings, especially those with a few years in the bottle, can often have what some folks call a petrol aroma. Not much, just enough to evoke a sense of vinyl or rubber. Doesn’t sound appealing but it gives this white wine a depth of flavor and character that is often missing in other white wines. It’s not overpowering and gives this Riesling an interesting edge that you’ll enjoy alongside aromas of jasmine, tropical fruit, and Meyer lemon, with hints of star fruit and white raspberry.
A Cellar 503 selection in March 2015, Urban Winemakers and Collectives Applegate Valley | Riesling
