Brooks Wine
2022 Riesling
This one came in sharp. And stayed there.
The Approach
Brooks Wine. Riesling. 2022. Willamette Valley.
Would the sharpness settle down over time — or just keep pushing harder?
Small pours. Cork pushed back in. Left on the counter. Three nights. No food. No decant.
You know that cold glass of pineapple juice your mom made from the can on a Saturday morning. Sweet but sharp. Wakes you up before you're ready for it. That's the first pour. Bright. Immediate. No introduction.
Underneath it — like the smell of a chalkboard eraser in elementary school. Dry. Dusty. Sitting beneath everything else in the room without announcing itself. You almost missed it.
In your mouth it hit sharp from the first sip. That bright brine that wakes your whole mouth up before you're ready for it. Light on the tongue. The kind of taste that rings out after the sip is over. Still there long after you expected it to be gone.
30 minutes later it was still pushing. Nothing had backed off. Nothing had softened. Like it had somewhere to be and wasn't interested in waiting on you.
This was the night it got strange. In the best way.
Then 30 minutes in something else showed up. Like filling up a tractor and getting diesel on your hands. Didn't expect it. Couldn't ignore it. The kind of smell that stops you mid-pour and makes you go back in a second time just to make sure you didn't imagine it.
You didn't.
In your mouth it was like cutting a fresh grapefruit in half and eating it straight for breakfast. Tart but smooth now. Light on the tongue. The brightness was still there but softer. The kind of taste that rings out after the sip is over — still there long after you expected it to be gone.
By night three it looked like it was done.
The morning after a great party. Everything still there. Just quiet now. The diesel was stronger on the nose. The brightness mostly gone. First sip was flat. Like the wine had used everything up and had nothing left to say.
Then the second pour happened.
30 minutes in it woke back up. The brightness came rushing back. The sharpness returned. It was like the wine had been resting not fading — and then decided it wasn't done yet.
Didn't expect Day Three to have a second act.
The Story It Told
This wine never did what it was supposed to.
Day One it came in bright and stayed there — sharp and restless from the first sip. Day Two it turned strange, diesel showing up out of nowhere like a plot twist you didn't see coming. Day Three it looked like it was fading out — and then pulled you back in on the second pour.
Most wines you can predict by night three. This one kept moving.
If Day Two was the best night — and it was — Day Three had the best moment. That second pour when the brightness came rushing back was the kind of thing that makes you sit there a little longer than you planned.
Not every bottle gets better the longer you wait. This one just kept surprising you.
© Jake Ruse — The No B.S. Wine Letter / Austin Texas Wine Society. All rights reserved.