"From the Long Shadows wine portfolio, the Poet's Leap is a consistent contender for best U.S. Riesling. It certainly proves year after year what the Columbia Valley can do with this grape. The 2013, which is just reaching the market, is effusively fresh and zesty, almost jubilantly fruity. After an hour or so, it calms down and displays classic Riesling character of apricot and peach with a mineral core. Many stores may still have the 2012, which is also top-notch and might not need that hour to calm down. Alcohol by volume: 12.9 percent."
- Washington Post (October 1st 2014), ***
"The 2014 Poet’s Leap is another white that perfectly balances its juicy acidity and nicely integrated sweetness. Quince, green apples, lychee and mint all emerge from this medium-bodied, crisp, elegant Riesling that’s drinking great today. It’s amazing to see the freshness and purity that this team is able to get, even in these record-breaking hot vintages."
"(12.5 grams per liter residual sugar with 7.7 grams of acidity and a pH of 2.97; the fruit was picked by hand and whole cluster-pressed): Pale straw. Tangy aromas of stone and citrus fruits, dusty brown spices, minerals and honey Moderately sweet but with terrific acidity and saline minerality buffering the sugar and intensifying the fruit. A strong CO2 content gives the wine a youthful spritz. Tactile, bright Riesling with terrific retention of fruit. Grapes from Underwood Mountain in the Columbia Gorge bring more ripeness, said estate manager/winemaker Gilles Nicault, noting that the fermentation temperature did not exceed 61 degrees. - Stephen Tanzer"
"Open-armed, generous and fine-boned, this pure Riesling is composed primarily of fruit from The Benches vineyard in Horse Heaven Hills, overlooing the Columbia. It has a peppery phenolic top note that seems to hold the wine together like fine lace, with an elder-flower scent, pure apple flavors, and a finish that's forthright and subtly phenolic."
"Silky, lively and elegant, with layers of pear, citrus, wax and floral flavors in lovely proportion, finishing harmoniously and slightly off-dry. Drink now through 2022.—H.S."
"Poet’s Leap is made famous by German winemaker Armin Diel, proprietor of the renowned Schlossgut Diel. The 2014 is a lovely Riesling, offering wonderful aromas of pear and red delicious apple followed by gravel on the expressive nose. Absolutely delicious, with lovely minerality, followed by flavors of green apple, cantaloupe and green papaya which carry on through the finish. Lithe and expressive, one of the best made Washington Rieslings out there. This effort eclipses the 2012 and 2013. (Best 2015-2017) - OB."