Category Archives: Grape Varieties

…at the Canberra International Riesling Challenge, where Riesling dreams come true…

by

Last time I waxed lyrical on the subject of Riesling…well, I spent a weekend drinking, slurping, swirling and sniffing Riesling. We talked about it, discussed and analysed…and I’m more in love with the grape then ever before.

The morning of Saturday 15 October started with the opportunity to taste…514 Rieslings! Australia, New Zealand, Canada, USA, Austria, Germany, South Africa and France sent in their representative bottlings.

20161015_100703.jpg

We started with the Elite Golds and the Trophy winners before casually spending the next 3 hours trying the rest of the winning crowd – an incredible 85 Gold medals got handed out this year. Luckily, got to start before the crowds rolled in.

20161015_121923.jpg

An impressive array of styles, from the bracing examples of bone dry Clare Valley to searing acidity of New Zealand with a nice balancing touch of residual sugar, to the lushness of Alsace and the versatility of our North American friends. This is a must attend event for anyone at all curious about wine, the absolute generosity and versatility of a single grape and for anyone interested in terroir. And no, just because someone didn’t win on the day doesn’t mean their particular Riesling was not delicious – competitions are only as good as the judges on the day, after all.

And for those more serious, Friday held the annual Seminar and MasterClass on the excellence in Riesling. This year we covered such topics as:

  • Innovation in Riesling winemaking – trying everything from sparkling examples to “orange” Riesling with plenty of skin contact (oddly yumm even if I was in the minority), lees and other bits, to a the new fad of low alcohol wines (clearly, I am not a fan of the ultra processed…nevermind the lack luster taste).
  • Key Aspects of Terroir – with focus on climate and the changes we have recently experiences in temperature.
  • The MasterClass on Riesling from regions 41 degrees and south: A presentation on evolution of New Zealand Riesling with some excellent examples, as well as what the Tasmanians have been upto in the recent years. Incredible diversity!

 

Interested or curious? Check out these links:

Cheers!

20161014_171058.jpg

PS: My personal picks

2016 Mount Majura Vineyard Riesling, Canberra District (Trophy)

2016 Jim Barry Watervale Riesling, Clare Valley (Gold)  – consistently good

2016 Jaeschkes Hill River Clare Estate Riesling, Clare Valley (Gold) – purity

2016 Hentley Farm Riesling, Eden Valley (Gold) – deliciousness in a glass

2016 Galafrey Reserve Riesling, Great Southern (Gold)

2016 Trevelen Farm Estate Riesling, Great Southern (Bronze) – juicy deliciousness

2016 Hay Shed Kerrigan & Berry Riesling, Mount Barker (Gold)

2016 Capel Vale Regional Series Riesling, Mount Barker (Gold)

2016 Freycinet Vineyard Riesling, Tasmania (Silver)

2016 Goaty Hill Riesling, Tasmania (84 points)

2016 Chartley Estate Riesling, Tasmania (Trophy) – rose petals, waxy green apple.

2016 Bellarmine Dry Riesling, Pemberton (Silver)

2016 Robert Stein Riesling, Mudgee (Gold)

2016 SANTAS & D’SAS Henty Riesling, Henty (81 points) – chocolate nose and green apple pastry palate.

2016 Ferngrove Off-Dry Riesling Limited Release, Franklnad River (Trophy) – love it despite my self

2015 Basedow’s Eden Valley Riesling, Eden Valley (Gold)

2015 Laurel Bank Riesling, Tasmania (85 points) – finger limes and roses with jasmine, textural

2015 SANTA & D’SAS Henty Riesling, Henty (Bronze) – that of the fabulous magnum bottle, so points for presentation but also damn good juiciness inside

2015 Bream Creek Riesling, Tasmania (Gold) – searing acidity balanced with just a hint of sweetness to finish dry, but just love the purity

2003 Eldridge Riesling, Clare Valley (Gold) – for the petrol and kerosene

2010 Petaluma Hanlin Hill Clare Valley Riesling, Clare Valley (Gold) – aging nicely, no kerosene

2005 Poacher’s Ridge Riesling, Hastings River (Gold) – slurp, slurp away!

2015 Prinz von Hessen Kabinett ROYAL, Rheingau (Gold)

2014 Joern Riesling Arancia, Rheingau (80 points) – texture, funk, weirdness or epic proportions, totally intriguing. One of those ‘orange’ wines that’s just lips smacking good.

2014 Joern Riesling Hasensprung Stuckfass, Rheingau (81 points) – more ‘normal’ of the pair but oh so wickedly fun to drink. Slightly ‘orange’ wine i.e. saw some skins.

2015 Martha Clara Estate Reserve Riesling, Long Island (Bronze) – great balance

2014 Fox Run Vineyards Riesling Lot 11 Lake Dana Vineyard, Finger Lakes (Silver) – ripe tropical notes, great length

ALSO:

2015 Moorilla Estate Sparkling Riesling, Tamar Valley – just yummy and frothy

2015 Glaetzer-Dixon Uberblanc Goldpunkt Riesling – sherbet, pears, apples, roses, lychees…and on and on

2011 Foxes Island Belsham Awatere Estate Riesling, Malborough – juicy, yellow fruits, tangy and incredibly fresh

2015 Mudhouse The Mound Riesling – in spite of myself, drink by the bucket

2010 Peregrine Riesling – “very like-y” not so technical with this one but sweet monkeys on fire this stuff is good. Good savoury edge.

 

 

For the love of Riesling…

by

I love Riesling. The realisation that I love Riesling came pretty early on in my drinking career, though I can’t quite say when. It was around the time when wine was becoming more prominent in the diet, rather than vodka or the usual lolly water cocktails. It started with Eden Valley Riesling, then the taste buds found Clare Valley, Canberra and Murrumbateman region featured quite prominently for a bit, and more recently I discovered Tasmania. Each year in October I have a mild flirtation with Rieslings from other countries, but I rarely feel the need to venture outside Australia’s shores. For the last 3 years I flirted with Germany, Austria, New Zealand and even America quite a bit due to the required learnings as part of a wine course – these guys make some amazing juice. On the annual pilgrimage to Canberra International Riesling Challenge in 2012, I recall being very infatuated with a Czech Republic offering… Yet, I always return back to the fold and guzzle the bracingly dry, lemon-lime, talc-y, juiciness and pure goodness that is  Aussie Riesling.

One of the more inappropriate Riesling experiences was on a Hunter Valley wine trip, in mid winter sitting in a spa at midnight and guzzling Riesling from Eden Valley that we brought with us for fear of running out of good wine. The wine was delicious, the stars were bright and the air was cold. Copious quantities were consumed, no hang over was experienced the next morning and the day was happily spent trialing Hunter Valley reds and the other great white, Semillon.

In the days of hosting public tastings in the suburbs of Sydney, I tried to sway the hordes towards the one and only. If I didn’t tell them it was Riesling, they loved it. If they asked for Sauvignon Blanc, they got Riesling and they loved it. If I offered them Riesling, the ubiquitous response was almost invariably the same “Ah nah, I don’t like sweet wine”. After years of this it made me want to tear my hair out, so I just resorted to subterfuge (see above) and kept the hair. This misunderstanding continues, and like any die-hard Riesling freak of a supporter I hope in my heart of hearts that there will be a renaissance. However, I am also guilty of thinking that while the mass of consumers forget this noble drink, there’s simply more for me!

So, Riesling… why do I feel compelled to put fingers to keyboard and publish my ravings? Mostly, because the annual pilgrimage to Canberra is next week and I’m gearing up for the Masterclass and also because sharing the love for the grape may just convert one more person. I may convince someone to try it, who hasn’t tried it before. Even small wins are gratifying.

On a more gripey note, recently the news is all about single vineyard or single site wines. (I’m waiting for that ultimate $100,000 bottle of single vine wine at this rate.) An article in a well respected wine rag, boldly stated that a producer having recently purchased a new rather famous vineyard (in Australia) has bottled a new wine (from Chardonnay) that speaks of the vineyard. The article then listed a few vinification techniques and concluded that the new single vineyard wine “speaks of its place” but also tastes very similar to a wine the producer makes from a collection of vineyards. Pray tell, how does the wine speak of its place when the winemaker worked it to the bone? And if it’s so site specific and speaks of place, why is it so similar to the more blended version?

So here’s the thing: you wouldn’t have this problem with Riesling. In fact, the best Rieslings are made in the vineyard, picked and the least the winemaker does to it, the better the wine is. A wine that truly “speaks of its place”. Alsace usually gets mentioned right around here with it’s myriad of soil types and Riesling styles. Germany, for centuries was renowned for producing the world’s best wines – from Riesling. So if you are a natural-minimal-intervention-wine-lover-type person, grab some Riesling and enjoy. It’s the closest to nirvana you will ever get.