Estate Grown | 100% La Crescent – Briede Family Vineyards, Winchester, VA Bottled on 4/7/23
The 2022 Briede La Crescent – Soliel d’Ovest showcases the bright, tropical character of La Crescent grapes grown in the Briede family vineyards. Whole-cluster pressed and cold-fermented in stainless steel, this wine captures vibrant aromatics while preserving a crisp, bone-dry profile.
On the nose, expect floral notes with honeysuckle sweetness and tropical fruit hints. The palate is strikingly lively, driven by racy acidity that balances the subtle residual sugar, creating a refreshing, long finish. Perfect as a standalone sipper or paired with fresh salads, seafood, or lightly spiced dishes.
Technical Details:
Alcohol: 13.1%
pH: 3.77
Total Acidity: 6.4 g/L
Residual Sugar: 0.1%
Free SO₂: 35 ppm
Total SO₂: 133 ppm
Fermentation: Cold, 4 weeks
Aging: Stainless steel
Packaging: W137 flint Stelvin bottle
Tasting Notes: Tropical and floral on the nose with honeysuckle sweetness. Bone-dry with zippy, racy acidity, offering a crisp, refreshing finish that highlights the purity and elegance of La Crescent.
Silver Medal Governor's Cup 2024
Bronze Medal Winner Atlantic Seaboard Competition 2024
Soliel d'Ovest Estate 2022 was reviewed by world renowned wine critic Julia Harding. Below are her tasting notes.
Score 16 (superior)
Full screwcapped bottle 1,151 g. Cool fermentation and ageing in stainless steel. This is a cold-hardy hybrid bred in Minnesota in 1988 and released in 2022. This interspecific hybrid includes 45% Vitis vinifera, 28% Vitis riparia, and less than 10% each of Vitis rupestris, Vitis labrusca and Vitis aestivalis.
Intense, ripe tropical fruits on the nose with a hint of roses giving it a floral aspect – smells a little like Gewürztraminer. Ripe on the palate, too, highly scented, with a citrus freshness balancing those tropical fruit flavours and rose-petal notes. Much higher acidity than on a Gewürz, which makes this easy and refreshing. Really nicely made to bring out all the attributes of this variety to give a refreshing yet flavourful white with intensity and surprising length. I can imagine this variety might also be good in a blend as it is quite intense. Not for keeping, though. (Though perhaps I will be proved wrong.) (JH)
