Forge Cellars Riesling Classique

Forge Cellars is the partnership between Louis Barroul and Rick Rainey in the Finger Lakes region of New York State. I’ve found in my tastings and research there that Forge represents one of the most dynamic, forward-thinking, and profound producers in the Finger Lakes . If you want to understand Finger Lakes Riesling at its best, then this is the place to visit.

Louis Barroul is the current scion of the 14^th generation of the Barroul family, winemakers from southern France at Chateau Saint Cosme. If you’re into other people’s scores, Barroul’s top wines from up and down the Rhone Valley have routinely scored 100 points (both in the British and the American press).

If you’re into my personal recommendations, we run a prebuy every year on his “basic” Cotes du Rhone because it’s delicious when it first arrives—but after four years of cellaring down, it tastes like Cote Rotie! The quality is the same up and down all the wines Louis makes, including Forge.

Rick Rainey is the dynamic partner. You’ve heard a similar story like his before – a gregarious and larger-than-life gourmet, Rick started his career in restaurants, where he developed a love of wine. T that quickly became both his avocation and vocation. With the addition of a young family, Rick moved into wholesale, which led to many trips to France, which led to striking up a friendship with Louis.

Together, the two shared their dream and the result is Forge. Louis, the creation and doing something entirely new (and I would guess not based on his family). Taking his current skill set and applying it to new circumstances. For Rick, a culmination of his career in wine and restaurants, allowing him to live on the ground level of what he loves.

A representative of all this fine work is their Classique Riesling. For Rick it is the mint and herbal qualities that show through most strongly on the nose, with a vibrancy and zest on the palate. For me, this wine really shines on the palate – it is dense and textured, strong-willed and massive right now. The perfect dinner Riesling for more substantial cuisine. That is not to say that this is out of character for a Riesling; rather to note that at this age, this one is on the more powerful end of the spectrum. It’s dramatic and delicious, and quite profound now.