Ko-fu Riesling

The 2023 Ko-fu Riesling is our second wine from Abigail’s Vineyard, a short walk up the hill from our winery. We have always enjoyed Rieslings, especially those from Alsace, so we decided that this would be the only Freeman wine that isn’t made entirely from Pinot Noir or Chardonnay.

Abigail’s Vineyard, owned by our close friend Matthew Perry, was planted entirely to Pinot Noir in the mid-1990s and the fruit was primarily used for sparkling wine. In 2019, the Perrys—along with our friend, the talented winemaker Ross Cobb—budded-over 2 acres of Pinot Noir to Clone 17 Riesling. They believed that, like Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, Riesling would benefit from the area’s long, cool, foggy growing seasons. When they harvested their first Riesling crop in 2021, their prediction turned out to be spot on.

Riesling is an early-ripening variety, and it lends itself to picking at lower Brix and higher acidity than most other grapes. This was an unusually late-ripening vintage for all grape varieties, including Riesling. We would normally expect to harvest our Ko-fu in early September, but it didn’t reach maturity until late in the month. We fermented the Ko-fu in neutral barrels, similar to how we make our Chardonnays. Unlike our inaugural 2022 Ko-fu, which did not go through malolactic fermentation, the 2023 surprised us by completing a native malolactic on its own, even at a very low pH.

The 2023 Ko-fu Riesling has a classic nose of fresh peach, rose blossom, Meyer lemon, lychee and ripe fig. The palate is much rounder than our inaugural Riesling, due to the malolactic fermentation, and feels similar to an Alsatian Riesling. Although the fruity aromas and flavors lead you to think this is going to be an off-dry wine, it is absolutely dry with no residual sugar. The wonderful acidity allows many types of cuisine to pair with this beautiful wine. Try it with Japanese, German and French dishes. It should be at its best from 2024 through 2028.

Download PDF