Two surprises from the 2013 vintage at Thirty Bench where it comes to Riesling: 1) no wood post offering and 2) they barreled a batch. Now for the most part I’m not a fan of putting Riesling into oak, and neither is Thirty Bench winemaker Emma Garner, but for some reason she took a small batch of Triangle fruit, wild fermented it for 2 months in older oak, with a third of the wine in stainless steel. The result is a thicker, more mouth-filling wine that’s biggest asset I its persistent acidity along with its creamy apple notes and long finish – much better than I expected (hence the score I am giving it) … I have a feeling that Emma was surprised by the results too. Only 175 cases produced. Price: $30.00 – Rating: ****