2012 O’leary Walker Rieslings – Watervale and Polish Hill (Clare Valley)

Drinking these two wines provides a great exposition on Clare Valley Riesling, particularly in terms of terroir and the quality of the 2012 vintage.

2012 Watervale Riesling - $22 – Hailing from a vineyard with a westerly aspect and red loam over limestone soils, it tastes very much like a Clare Valley riesling from Watervale. Generous citrus flavours dominate, along with florals, and hints of stonefruits. Nice mid-palate drive and intensity is underscored by an unforced acidity. It finishes with good length and a soapy note I often find in Clare Rieslings. Quality offering. Good now or over the next 5-10 years. 4 Stars

2012 Polish Hill Riesling - $22 – From a couple of rocky, slatey vineyards, this delivers the taut structure and minerality typical of the Polish Hill sub-region, while also showing the beautiful generosity of the vintage to come together in a superb riesling. A step up from the Watervale. It’s not quite ready to drink straight out of the bottle now, but it improves over a few days, and is an absolute monty for the cellar. Lime, florals, and bath salts. Great intensity of mineral laden fruit throughout and finishes with tremendous length. Stunning value. I'm buying. 4.5 Stars

Website: www.olearywalkerwines.com



Red

2010 Dr Loosen Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett (Mosel, Germany)

(Wehlener Sonnenuhr)

Wehlener Sonnenuhr is a very steep, rocky vineyard, with a very thin top soil, and apparently the purest of blue slate in the Mosel. Many of Germany's most revered Riesling producers including JJ Prum, Willi Schaefer, and of course Dr Loosen produce a wine or several wines from this site. James Halliday has written that Wehlener Sonnenuhr is his most treasure vineyard in Germany. With this history and reputation, this is the kind of wine I want to love, but at least in this instance, it falls a touch short of my expectations. Perhaps tellingly 2010 was a less than perfect vintage in the Mosel, with Dr Loosen saying that it "was marked by dramatic swings in the weather and a fitful growing season".

This is a rich, off-dry Riesling. Flavours of citrus, honey, and an interesting note of green tea ice-cream, are nicely balanced by the acidity. As the wine moves to room temperature an appealing minerality comes to the fore. This is a very nice Riesling, and it went well with a Vietnamese meal, but it never scaled any great heights. If you are partial to the off-dry style you might score it higher.

 

Rated:

RRP: $40

ABV: 7.5%

Closure: Screwcap

Drink: 2012-2020

Website: www.drloosen.com

Red

2011 Whicher Ridge Riesling (Frankland River)

This is a cracking Riesling. Elegant, unobtrusive acidity mark it out as different from many of its peers.

Classic flavours of lime, grapefruit, bath salts, and after being open for a couple of days, lovely hints of honey emerge. The wine turns bone dry through the back palate, and that sense is accentuated by a beautiful river stone minerality. Great persistence of flavour completes the journey. Neil and Cathy Howard have turned out another impressive, textural white. Drink it this summer with some fresh seafood, or put in the cellar for the next decade and watch it blossom. Love it. 4 Stars +

Rated:

+

RRP: $28

ABV: 12.5%

Drink: 2012-2022

Website: www.whicherridge.com.au

Red

2004 Crawford River Riesling (Henty)

While this Riesling mightn’t quite have the reputation of Grosset, for a number of Riesling lovers in this country the Crawford River is numero uno. My experience with Crawford River until this wine had been limited to the 2010, which didn’t blow me away, but then is generally not considered the most representative of vintages.

So what of the 2004? When you taste the fresh, yet developed characters of this 8 year old Riesling, I find it mind boggling to see the number of Northern hemisphere Rieslings that still remain under cork. More than a decade of evidence of the superiority of screwcap, and winemakers still want to submit one of the great wines for ageing to the vagaries of cork.

To the wine. Bright acidity and amazing freshness as an 8 year old. Classic riesling citrus fruit has developed a nice richness and is accompanied by toasty, kerosene notes. A streak of earthy minerality adds uniqueness and texture. A very good Riesling that is drinking beautifully now and for the next few years.

The question I was looking to answer is whether the 2004 is a benchmark Australian Riesling? It’s a quality Riesling, but not quite at the top of the tree for mine. Whether 2004 is considered one of the better vintages or not, I’m not sure. Perhaps it will be third wine lucky when I next try a Crawford River.



Rated:

 
 
 
RRP: $50
ABV: 12.0%
Closure: Screwcap
Website: http://www.crawfordriverwines.com/
 
 
Red

1998 Richmond Grove Watervale Riesling (Clare Valley) - Cellar Release

This wine is as good an advertisement for screwcaps as I’ve tasted.

James Halliday’s review of the wine back in 1998 gave the wine a score of 90 points and a drinking window until 2008. He described it as a “classic in the making which is quite certain to achieve significantly higher points when mature”. I’m not sure it has quite reached classic status, but time has indeed been good to this wine and its travelled well beyond 2008.

I tasted this at Glass in the Hilton Hotel in Sydney. I rarely care about the colour of a wine, but this Riesling had a beautiful bright golden hue. The nose was appealing, yet reasonably restrained with some toasty marmalade like notes, and just a whiff of petrol. On the palate the first thing that struck me was the vibrant acidity. It defines the wine beautifully. This acidity is balanced by developed, toasty, citrus flavours along with a touch of honey. Lovely drinking. The balance and structure of the wine suggests it could go on for another 5 years at least, though as it’s not a Riesling of amazing complexity I think it’s probably drinking at its mature peak now.

The thing that excites me is that this is typically a safe and sound Riesling that can be picked up for under $20 upon release, and hasn’t typically had any claims to greatness. And yet under screwcap it is showing beautifully at 13 years of age. What this means for many of the more premium Rieslings that have been under screwcap since the early to mid noughties will undoubtedly be a joy to uncover in the coming decade.

Rated:


RRP: $45
ABV: 12.5%
Website: www.richmondgrovewine.com


Red

2010 Clonakilla Riesling (Canberra)

Having been overseas for most of January I’ve missed much of the Summer of Riesling http://www.summerofriesling.com/ , however I’ll endeavour to attend some of the remaining events in the next week or two.

This has a floral nose of citrus, talc and an appealing note of aniseed. It seemed a touch disjointed on the palate initially but with some time and moving towards room temperature it came together nicely. Excellent line and length of generous flavor, that’s supported by a clean and prominent acidity, and a nice touch of minerality. It has just a smidgen of residual sugar, which isn’t necessarily always to my tastes, but it works pretty well here. Quality Riesling, and a nice departure from my Eden Valley and Clare Valley staples.

Rated:


RRP: $25
ABV: 12.5%
Website: www.clonakilla.com.au


Red

Face-Off: Canberra District, Tasmanian, Great Western and Frankland River Rieslings

If you have stumbled across this site even once or twice, you might get the impression that we both love our Riesling. For all the Riesling fans out there, in the next few weeks there will be a series of wine tasting events to celebrate the ‘Summer of Riesling’. A link to the Summer of Riesling Website can be found here.

For any Sydney residents who work in or around the CBD, wine bar/restaurant Fix St James is hosting the Sydney Summer of Riesling launch party and several top examples from Australia and around the globe will be available to taste. Entry to the tasting is free and I would highly commend it to you.


With the Riesling festivities about to begin, RedtoBrown decided to take a trip down an Australian Riesling road less traveled by. Being huge fans of Eden Valley and Clare Valley Riesling, we decided to run a Face-Off tasting Rieslings from regions we are less familiar with (in terms of their Riesling at least).

Included in the single blind tasting was a bottle of 2010 Freycinet (Tasmania), a 2010 Whicher Ridge (Frankland River WA), a 2010 Best’s Great Western and a 2009 Mt Majura (Canberra District).


Wine 1 (2010 Freycinet Riesling)

(Red) –Reveals itself straight away as an off-dry style with its sweet, expressive, floral nose. On the palate the sweetness is equally to the fore, though it’s matched by some nice acidity. It tastes of apples, citrus, and a touch of tropical fruit. Excellent length on the finish. Not really my thing but a very good wine in its style. Fans of off-dry Aussie Rieslings should enjoy this. – 4 stars

(Brown)- Floral, ‘feminine’ nose with a little gewurtz-like spice. Varietal lemon and lime became more obvious on the second day (with red apple and traces of lycee evident on opening). Had a pleasant slippery texture with natural acidity to the fore, but not blocking the view. With cellaring, my guess is this will shed its tropical nose and flavours and become more focused. At present an almost off-dry wine (without obvious residual sugar or a cloying finish) that would be well suited to spicy foods. – 4 stars* (Was far superior of the second day and I am confident it will be even better after 1 more year in the bottle).


Wine 2 (2010 Whicher Ridge Riesling)

(Red) - In comparison to Wine 1 the nose immediately appeared a lot more muted, but nevertheless revealed appealing aromas of citrus and talc. On the palate, it once again was less expressive than wine 1 and with more subtlety. There were citrus flavours, but the impression was more about its very fine acidity and a nice minerality. Excellent length. This was my second favourite during the blind tasting. As we then consumed it over dinner and the wine got closer to room temperature, that minerality and a sense of texture really came to the fore. The driest of the four Rieslings. Highly impressive and quite similar to the 09 Whicher Ridge Sav Blanc for its sense of texture. – 4 stars

(Brown) ¬ Obviously more flinty and mineral than the Freycinet when tasted blind, lemon and lemon rind, slate and flint flavours up front, matched to a fine chalky/wet chalk texture that combined well. More bitter lemon and citrus tang on the long finish. An austere style that uses texture and minerality as its weapons, though if I had a minor quibble it would be that the fruit could have been a little more expressive. A very interesting point of departure from the Riesling I normally consume nevertheless. – 3.5 Stars

Wine 3 – (2010 Best’s Riesing)

(Red) – This wine sat in between wines 1 & 2 in terms of style. It’s a dry Riesling with some noticeable residual sugar. It’s a good wine but it didn’t show up well against its 3 competitors on the night. Apple and citrus flavours were supported by a gentle acidity that just seemed a touch disjointed and didn’t really match the sweetness in the way I would have liked. I was surprised when it was revealed as the Best’s, given that it has been rated highly by a number of critics and reviewers. 3.5 stars

(Brown) – Not a bad wine by any means. Probably came across as rounder and sweeter following the quite austere and mineral Whicher Ridge. On the night it had tropical roundness, sweet fruit and soft acidity and was a little sweet for my liking. There is pleasant and ripe apple fruit on the palate to complement the tropical fruits and citrus, and the finish is pleasingly drier than the nose and front palate would suggest. Once again, curious to see if this develops with more bottle age, as it composed itself on day two of tasting and might develop more focus in that time. Will report back next summer!. 3.5 stars+ (for pure, populist enjoyment and quaff factor, this gets a +).



Wine 4 – (2009 Mount Majura Riesling)

(Red)– My favourite Riesling during the blind tasting (the Whicher Ridge drew alongside it over the course of the dinner), and perhaps not surprising given that I find that an extra year makes a big difference with young Riesling. An almost savoury nose with aromas of citrus, bath salts and something that I wrote down as a “nuttiness” to it. On the palate everything is nicely balanced and proportioned. Nothing sticks outs awkwardly, and instead the citrus flavours, the minerality, the acidity and just a tiny amount of residual sugar all fall in beautifully. Excellent Riesling. 4 stars.

(Brown) – If Paul Keating’s 1988 Federal budget was the one that brought home the bacon, the Mount Majura was the Rizza that pleasingly ‘brought back the funk’ on the night (relatively speaking). After two wines leaning towards apple/tropical, and one in the austere lemon and slate camp, this had some funk, possibly due to bottle age. The nose smelt of citrus, yeast, and a slight whiff of kerosene, and the wine tasted primarily of lime (almost reminiscent of a savoury version of Schweppes Lime cordial (a positive in my view)). The fruit was balanced nicely with tight, pleasant acidity, a dry chalky texture and at the finish there was a bit of smokiness and traces of lemon zest. Nice balance and focus. 4 Stars.

In conclusion, all 4 wines had their strengths and weaknesses. The styles on display showed that there are definitely emerging and lesser known wine regions in Australia that are producing nice Riesling, and also that this grape can be crafted into wines that can and should please most tastes. The Summer of Riesling is here – crack open a bottle!!


Winery Websites:
Freycinet: http://www.freycinetvineyard.com.au/
Whicher Ridge: http://www.whicherridge.com.au/
Best’s Great Western: http://www.bestswines.com/
Mount Majura: http://www.mountmajura.com.au/

Knappstein mini Riesling vertical tasting - Ackland Vineyard, Hand Picked etc - Summer of Riesling Part 2

A quick search of the RedtoBrown Wine Review will reveal that we are fans of Riesling. Despite being the commercially dominant white wine variety of the 70s and early 80s, sales of Riesling have remained relatively static for decades as Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and even Pinot Gris/Grigio have attracted most of the commercial attention. Though Riesling is not dominating sales and wine shop shelf space, the overall quality of Australian Riesling has never been better.
Furthermore, we are increasingly seeing slight stylistic deviations from the traditional dry lemon-lime-chalky-mineral wines we know and love (personally at least). These deviations, including off dry, Riesling blended with other grapes and the use of some oak when aging the wines are now becoming a bit more common on wine shop shelves in Sydney. The risk that these new styles could muddy the waters between dry, off dry and sweet Riesling styles in the minds of consumers has been discussed in another post. However, despite this potential problem, if quality and ‘something new’ have any effect on influencing consumers, Riesling is as well placed as any grape to carve out a greater market share.

Recently, RedtoBrown were treated to a tasting of several Rieslings from Knappstein winery (Clare Valley) hosted by Knappstein winemaker Julian Langworthy. Joining us at the tasting were Andrew Graham of the Ozwinereviw, Kate Parry and a cameo from Mike Bennie. The mini vertical included a number of aged and current release Rieslings yet also some of the ‘experiments’ and small run new blends that are emerging out of Knappstein.

The highlight of the evening (unsurprisingly), was the Ackland Vineyard Watervale Rielsings – from the 2010 and 2005 vintages.

The 2010 arguably needs another few months to settle in the bottle before showing at its youthful best, though it was still an impressive wine. The first and lasting impression were the attention-grabbing florals on the nose, combined with passionfruit and even lychee scents.
On the palate the 2010 there were some melon and almost tropical fruits and a trace of passionfruit accompanying the more typical lemon flavours.  Given time to settle, I can envisage it remaining a powerful, flavoursome young wine for a year or two, before continuing on for several years developing more restraint and complexity.

The 2005 Ackland was an even more powerful wine in its youth than the 2010: big boned and filled with ripe apple, lemon, and enough acidity and tannins on the finish for it to be a pleasurable wine to drink young. Tasting it with 4-5 years of bottle age, the 2005 has grown up and matured, and has not fallen in a heap (unlike me!). The nose was a more of what I would consider a 'typical' of the Clare Valley  though it still gave off a lovely floral perfume (for me a common Watervale characteristic). In addition, there was a whiff of kerosene and spice to add complexity, framed by rounded lemon, fine, chalky tannins, refreshing acidity and a focused finish. Though the 2005 is not a wine to cellar for another 20 years, it was by no means on its last legs – with more air it evolved further complexity. All-in-all a pleasant surprise given it was a well respected crowd pleaser when young yet is still winning over the fans in middle age (and I think both Red and my favourite wine on the night).

Knappstein Hand Picked Riesling 1994, 2002, 2005 and 2010.
The handpicked is Knappstein's entry level Riesling. With the 2010, once again, the nose is what held my attention the most – riper lychee and passionfruit than the Ackland, mixed with the previously encountered florals and lemon. As with the Ackland, the 2010 Hand Picked probably needs a few months to settle as the acid is a bit nervy and some of the flavours more rounded and ripe.

Under Langworthy's watch, the Hand Picked is made in a ‘drink now’ style and not necessarily for contemplation or long term cellaring.  It is one of an increasing number of affordable Rieslings that are in a more popularly accessible style – while not being a Sauvignon Blanc killer/competitor, I would argue fans of Sauv Blanc would also like this wine (I would argue they would love 80% of Rieslings if they bothered to try them, but that is a rant for another post). The 2010 Hand Picked is more in the more ripe apple, lemon and passionfruit flavour spectrum than the steely, taut lime and lemon style I prefer. It still has the structure and balance of flavour, acidity and tannin to make it a versatile wine to drink alone or with food.
The 2005 Hand Picked had undergone a similar development to the 2005 Ackland (more complexity, more developed flavours), though with the intensity and length turned down a fair few notches. It was not ageing with as much grace as the Ackland, though still had primary lemony fruit intermixed with some harsher kerosene complexity and decent acidity.

The 2002 Hand Picked was arguably fresher and more vibrant than the 2005 – one to hang onto a bit longer if you like your aged Riesling.

Unfortunately, the Magnum of the 1994 Hand Picked we tasted was slightly oxidised and probably not a typical example. It had a golden/green hue and had a waxy, toasty, oily texture, with toast and almost woodchip flavours over the top of gentle, soft lemon. Nevertheless, an interesting curio on the evening, with the bottle being a funky retro 'bottle green' that reminded me of the 1970s.

Finally, to round off the wines tasted, we tried the 2010 ‘Three’ – a blend of 72% Gewürztraminer, 18% Riesling and 10% Pinot Gris and the 2010 'Insider' - one of a number of experimental wines Langworthy is developing.
In regards to the Three, this is a style of wine that goes hand in hand with asian food - spicy asian food at that.  Coming from Sydney, I find myself at an Asian restaurant every second weekend in summer, and the Riesling is the wine weapon of choice more often than not.  However, I have purchased the odd lower alcohol Gewurtz when the chilli and spice is turned up to 11.
The alcohol level (13%) and residual sugar (4.8g/l)  in the Three are both low enough to allow the sweet, spicy/lychee aromatics and clean drying acidiy on the finish to come to the fore without the harsh, short, phenolic finish and oily alcohol heat that I find with many Australian Gewurtz/Gewurtz blends.
The use of 10% of Pinot Gris adds some texture to the wine that differentiates it slightly from a straight Gewurtz or Riesling (once again, without the oily, flabbiness I find unappealing with some Pinot Gris). The Three is not a thinkers wine, it is a wine for enjoyment.  I could see white blends like it replacing a Moscato or Sauvignon Blanc on the restaurant table without too much trouble.

Finally there was the 2010 'Insider' (though tasted near the start of the evening). Julian has considerable resources to experiment with at Knappstein (hectares of old vine fruit and various varieties) and the yet to be officially named or released 'Insider' is one of the end products of this ongoing experimentation. The Insider consisted of machine harvested fruit that had underwent a wild ferment and was then aged on lees.
The 'Insider' was an advanced release sample and was probably not showing at its best/most representative (exuberant youth, bottle shock, culture shock from being in Sydney :-)). Suffice to say it still had clean lemon / honey dew melon flavours and a perfumed floral aspect that would be well suited to a warm summers day in Sydney. An approachable style that aims to show another side to the Clare Valley many would not get to see and one that would win over many mainstream punters, if not the traditional Riesling drinkers.

Overall, the evening was a very informative experience.  Talking to Julian it was clear that Knappstein are increasingly prepared to tinker with their previously established wine making formulae in order to seek out new approaches, styles and perspectives on Riesling. This shows promise for the future as I would argue Knappstein had previously underachieved and somewhat lost its way in the early 'noughties', despite its substantial resources.  Newer Riesling/riesling-based wines like the Three and the recently released Grosset off dry might be just what Riesling needs to increase its profile and  sales in the very image consicous and fickle white wine market. In saying that, the more traditional 2005 Ackland reminded me why I like Clare Valley Riesling and Riesling so much in the first place!

Thanks to Dan and Fiona for arranging the tasting, Andrew, Kate and Mike for the company and many thanks to Julian for the informative chat and run-through of the wines.

Winery Website: http://www.knappstein.com.au/

St Hallett & the Barossa Valley

The Barossa Valley is on the nose amongst a number critics and aficionados. As a region it has become a bit of a whipping boy for many of the apparent ills of Australian wine. Over-oaked, overripe, and too alcoholic are the general criticisms of many Australian wines and of the Barossa in particular. Andrew Jefford has recently even gone so far as to say that the Barossa isn’t a suitable environment for Shiraz (a notion I find laughable).

While I think many of the above criticisms were quite valid in plenty of instances 5-10 years ago, I also think there is an ever increasing number of Barossa producers who judiciously use oak, and whose wines are lower in alcohol, are very much in balance, and are of genuine interest. In particular there is a growing focus by many on sub-regions and single sites.

St Hallett is a winery that definitely fits into this positive trend. I was fortunate enough to go to a tasting earlier this week put on by Fine Wine Partners with St Hallett’s winemaker Toby Barlow. Along with some partners in crime in this wine blog malarkey (www.ozwinereview.com, http://sarahwinehouse.com, www.winemuse.com.au) I tasted through a number of wines in their range, and RedtoBrown will do some fuller tasting notes at a later date. What I wanted to discuss were some of the broad, positive trends in the Barossa and how St Hallett is a great example of this.

Wines of genuine interest – many Barossa wineries are doing some unique things with their wines, including exploring the potential of different varietals, different sites, and different techniques. The line-up that we tasted through included

- A single-site Riesling that has undergone malolactic fermentation (the only Riesling I’m aware of that has this treatment). This was St Hallett’s first attempt at this difficult technique with Riesling and it’s an undoubted success.
- A single varietal Touriga Nacional as a table wine (as opposed to a fortified wine). It was a unique and highly enjoyable wine to taste and one of the aroma descriptors was “Orange Tang” (courtesy of Ozwinereview)!

Cellarability – One of the wines tasted was a 2004 Gamekeeper’s Reserve Shiraz Grenache Touriga. It’s drinking beautifully now having developed some savoury, gamey notes, and has got at least another 5 years in it. As a wine that retails for about $15 this is an impressive effort and underscores the ability of Barossa reds to age well, particular in the better (cooler) vintages like 2004. We also tasted the 2009 version of this wine and I found it to be similar in profile to the 04, but obviously a lot younger and still dominated by primary fruit. It’s a steal of a wine for both enjoyable drinking now, as well as cellaring for a bit more complexity and interest 5 years down the track.

Judicious use of oak – St Hallett’s wines range from the Gamekeeper’s Reserve SGT (above) which sees no oak at all, through to the Blackwell Shiraz which uses American oak, and everything in between (French oak, old oak etc). There is no low oak regime across the board, nor an approach of lavishing up everything with new oak. Oak is matched to the variety as well as the sub-region and vineyard, and tasting through their range of wines, oak had been used intelligently for each of their wines.

Alcohol – Barossa reds are never shrinking violets when it comes to alcohol levels, but the key for me personally when it comes to alcohol is whether there is any noticeable heat, and whether the fruit can match the alcohol levels and provide a sense of balance. All the St Hallett wines that were tasted on the day provided that sense of balance with no noticeable heat.

St Hallett is a traditional Barossa winery that exhibit all the positive traits outlined above. The result is a range of wines of true quality and genuine interest. Importantly, there are plenty of other wineries in the Barossa following a broadly similar path, belying many of the current clichés about the Barossa.

Website: www.sthallett.com.au


Red

2009 Mesh Riesling (Eden Valley)

Minerality is this wine’s thing.

The Eden Valley has a varied terrain but much of it is rocky with ironstone and quartz gravels, and the Riesling from this region often has a distinct sense of minerality on the palate. Is this sense of minerality a direct translation of the terroir or just a coincidence? It’s an ongoing scientific debate as to how much the sense of minerality that a wine delivers is a result of the soil that the grapes are situated in. The romantic in me would like there to be a direct correlation but at this point in time the science doesn’t seem overly supportive of this. Whatever the case it’s a trait I love in Eden Valley Riesling and this wine in particular.

The nose of this wine is classic Eden Valley with aromas of lime, apple blossom, slate and talc. On the palate however, it’s somewhat atypical. It doesn’t have as much of the crisp acidity as other 09 Eden Valley Rieslings that I’ve tried, and instead delivers a rounder and fuller mouthfeel. Lovely, pure fruit with flavours of lime and apples along with a touch of spice. The finish is long and is underpinned by an overall sense of minerality. As the wine moves from chilled to closer to room temperature this sense becomes more pronounced and more appealing. It’s not exactly like having pebbles in your mouth but near enough (in a good way).

A quality Riesling that I am looking forward to seeing age over the next decade.

Rated:


RRP: $26
ABV: 12.0%
Website: www.meshwine.com

2008 Bellarmine Riesling Auslese (Pemberton)

I was in a rush to get to a Japanese restaurant the other day and quickly popped in to my local bottle shop to grab a bottle of Riesling. I saw a Bellarmine Riesling in the fridge, and having heard good things about Bellarmine wines decided to grab the bottle.

Once I got to the restaurant I pulled off the brown paper bag and looked at the wine a bit more closely at which point I felt a bit crestfallen . . . the label said Riesling Auslese . . .

Auslese is a sweeter style of German Riesling from late picked grapes. It's a style of wine that defies definition in a way in that it's not quite sweet enough to be a proper dessert wine but is nevertheless sweeter than what would normally be consumed as a table wine.

As it turned out, while I don't think it was the perfect match for Japanese, it nevertheless ended up going down very well.

The wine has a nice golden colour. The nose was rich and aromatic with aromas of apples, lime, and honey. On the palate it is sweet, but it is a lovely intense sweetness that then actually finishes relatively dry on the back palate. The sweetness is importantly matched by lovely acidity. Nice balance and length. Everything is in place to suggest this will age pretty well.

An enjoyable and interesting wine that strikes as a very good Aussie interpretation of a classic German Riesling style. One of the best things about this wine, and Auslese more generally, is the low level of alcohol. At 7.5% ABV, my wife and I polished off the bottle with little fuss. If I was drinking this wine again I would have it with some Thai food or maybe as a pre-dinner drink with some nice nibblies. If you want to try something a bit different, at $18 I recommend picking up a bottle of this.

Details
Rated:


RRP: $18
ABV: 7.5%
Website: www.bellarmine.com.au


Red

Eden Valley or Clare Valley Riesling?

I was reading an article by Tyson Stelzer in Decanter magazine recently about Clare Valley and Eden Valley Riesling. Of his top 15 picks from the 2009 vintage, 11 were from the Clare Valley. This preference for Clare Valley Rieslings over the Eden Valley is something I’ve noticed more generally amongst critics. Halliday’s best Riesling lists generally have about double the amount of Clare Valley. Jukes’ latest top 100 wines has 7 Clare as against 3 Eden, while Nick Stock’s Penguin Wine Guide has 40 odd Clare reviews compared to only 4 for the Eden.

The reason this broad trend has caught my attention is my preference for Eden Valley Rieslings. The lovely floral bouquets, and the minerality and acidity on the palate of the Eden generally does it for me just that bit more than the rounder, more citrus flavours of the Clare. Eden Rieslings from Pewsey Vale, Poonawatta, Torzi Matthews, and Peter Lehman have all tickled my fancy of late. Before I get into this further I want to say that I love Clare Rieslings. Recently I’ve had the 09 Grosset Polish Hill, as well as the 09 Petaluma Hanlin Hill, and both were absolutely stunning. However, in nominating a preference between these two wonderful Riesling regions, I fall on the Eden side of the ledger.

But I guess my question is what is the reason for the clear dominance of Clare Rieslings amongst wine critics? Is it people’s opinion that Clare Rieslings are definitively better than those of the Eden Valley? Is it possible that in the slightly more objective elements of wine like length, structure, and balance, that the Clare produces better wines.

Do people prefer the flavour profiles of Clare Riesling?

Is it the history of the Clare and the fact it there are possibly more historic wineries of real pedigree? Wineries like Knappstein and Grosset produce truly iconic Riesling, but are they given higher regard than a Pewsey Vale Contours or a Leo Buring Leonay?

Or is it nothing more complicated than the fact that there are more wineries in the Clare with more hectares of Riesling?

Whatever the case it’s an enjoyable conundrum. Both regions occupy a loving place in my cellar but for the minute the Eden has the edge for me . . .


Red

2010 Sydney Royal Wine Show Tasting Part 1 - Riesling and Semillon

Saturday 13 February saw the annual Sydney Royal Wine Show held at the Sydney Showgrounds in Homebush. As usual it was an overwhelming tasting, with in excess of 2000 bottles open in the one room. This is the first of 4 posts we will make summarising some of the wines Red and I tasted over the course of the day. Notes are a mix between the both of us (consensus and democracy at work) and were hastily jotted down on the iPhone, so more a snapshot than a considered tasting.

These Rieslings and Semillons were a pleasure to taste. Most still had many years left to develop further in the cellar, though are delicious now. RedtoBrown has banged on about how good Riesling is (not alone in that view, thankfully), though you can also add NSW (and some Barossa) Semillon to the list of great value whites.

Riesling
2004 Pewseyvale Contours a bit of developing kerosene on the nose, obvious lime/lemon profile, some weight on palate, intense, ok length, typical Eden flintyness, years left.

2005 Leo Buring  Leonay Eden Valley - lightly golden yellow, colour, less obvious horsepower/ weight on
palate, finer style to the Pewseyvale. Nice length with spice on middle and back palate.
2005 Peter Lehmann Wigan - sweeter on nose and palate, light and fine. Finishes powerfully strong, good length.
2004 Crawford River Henty  - unique/atypical nose, honey, oily wax, spice, nice acidity. Interesting departure point from the SA Rieslings. Deserved Gold.

Semillons
2004 Thomas Wines Braemore Semillon -  colour bright and clear. honey, toast, butter, but crisp lemon acidity in mouth - still has years ahead.
1999 Tyrrell's HVD - Suprisingly light yellow given age, sawdust-like woody smells, lovely lemon citric sourness on finish. Still years ahead of it.
1999 Tyrrell's Vat 1 - Toasty, nice light golden yellow colour, length good, not as intense as HVD,
savoury with great level of natural acid.
2003 Mount Pleasant Lovedale - spice Ginger? Hazlenut? Aged golden yellow colour – random oxidisation?  There is a party going on in this bottle that needs to be shut down. Would like to try another bottle of this before making any judgement.

Summary: Our first tasting of the day, and most of the wines were superb. The fact all of these wines will cellar adds to their appeal.

Imported Whites: 2008 Domane Wachau Gruner Veltliner, 2008 A. Mano Fiano Greco, 2008 Dr Loosen Riesling

I’ve spent the past week lying on a beach in true Aussie summer holiday fashion, while also consuming plenty of summer quaffers. Three of these quaffers were imported white wines

2008 Domain Wachau Gruner Veltliner – Austria - $22 – I haven’t had many Gruner Veltliners, which is an Austrian variety that has plenty of similarities with Riesling. On the basis of this wine I’ll be looking to stock up on this variety. The wine had a lovely aromatic nose of apple and floral notes that had me confident the palate would be equally good . . . and it was. A juicy palate, with some nice fruit sweetness on the front palate, before finishing long and dry. Flavours of lemon, grapefruit, and pepper along with a nice sense of acidity and minerality. I’d assume it will age well over at least the next 5 years. Lovely drinking.

2008 A Mano Fiano Greco – Italy - $20 – Once again I haven’t had many Fianos, and don’t think I’ve ever had a Greco. Both are Italian grapes and this wine is from Puglia. A blend of 50% Fiano and 50% Greco. To enjoy this wine you’d have to enjoy a bit of sweetness in your wines. It’s in no way too sweet or cloying, but the overall impression is of fruit sweetness. It has a reasonably aromatic, intense nose of tropical fruit with hints of lychee and pears. On the palate it continues with the sweet, tropical fruit favours. The finish is of reasonable length and has a very interesting and enjoyable sweet and sour finish. If you are looking for a sweet summer quaffer that is a bit different then this is worth checking out.

2008 Dr Loosen Riesling – Germany - $23 – Always on the look out for good Riesling, and I’d had the 2008 Dr Loosen Blue Slate Riesling a while back and really enjoyed it. The Blue Slate was a dry style, whereas this wine, their other entry level Riesling, is a sweeter wine. Once again It’s not cloying or too sweet, but compared to the average Aussie Riesling it is definitely on the sweet side. It has a nice fruity nose, and is tasty on the palate with flavours of apple and lemon. If you like your Riesling a bit sweet then this might be for you, but personally for the same money I would be buying Dr Loosen’s Blue Slate Riesling or one of the many fantastic Aussie Rieslings you can get for $15-$20.

Red

Multiple Wine Tasting: 2004 Seppelt Drumborg Riesling, 2005 Clayfield Grampians Shiraz, 2006 Mt Langhi Ghiran Billi Billi Grampians Shiraz

There is currently a poll posted on one of the leading Australian wine websites (http://www.winefront.com.au/) asking which State you would pick to fulfil your wine drinking needs if forced to choose only one. While being a wonderful poll that really makes you think about how diverse the Australian wine industry is, the results have surprised me; Victoria is a clear leader. Personally I might have chosen South Australia or Western Australia, but there is undoubtedly a lot of quality wine coming out of Victoria.

So it seemed somehwat apt that last night I had friends over for dinner (including Red) and every bottle of wine we consumed was from.......Victoria. Furthermore, with the exception of a non-descript and passed-its-best vintage Sparkling from the Pyrenees, the wines were all superb in their own way.

Seppelt 2004 Drumborg Riesling (retail)
As you can probably tell from some of the reviews on this blog, both Red and I are big fans of Riesling – Eden Valley Riesling in particular, but also Clare Valley and any other top example of the grape. I had never tried a Seppelt Drumborg despite almost universal acclaim from critics, so decided to see what the fuss is all about. After almost 6 years in the bottle, this wine is still has years ahead of it – clear, light yellow with the slightest green tinge. On the nose it has strong floral notes. There were slight hints of burnt match upon opening (which almost gave the wine a kerosene smell), but these died away when the wine was exposed to the air. The wine has crisp lemon at the front and middle palate with mineral notes more prominent on the finish. The structure is tight and it has focussed line and length. This wine will develop for another 10-15 years with ease, and I would love to get some more of these babies.
Red's take: Similarly enjoyed the wine. Definitely got that kero smell that aged riesling starts to develop! Very very long


Clayfield 2005 Grampians Shiraz (retail)
For many Victorians (and wine enthusiasts in general) it is an article of faith that Great Western/The Grampians produces some of the highest quality Shiraz in Australia (in the more traditional, continental, spicy cooler climate ‘Syrah’ style). I have been impressed with most of the reds I have had from this region at all price points and will be investing in more in the future. Red invested in a case of this wine a few months ago and generously donated one of the bottles not destined for 10 years in his cellar to the evenings wine list. In the mouth the Clayfields Shiraz had ample waves of ripe plum and dark cherry with subtle lashings of soft sweet liquorice and spice thrown into the mix. The tannins were ripe and soft though still firm enough to assist the impressive structure. In short: a lovely, elegant medium bodied wine that is full flavoured, spicy and with great length and intensity of flavour. It should last another 5-15 years in the cellar (depending on how you like your wine).
Red's Take: As Brown says, it is a lovely, elegant medium-full bodied wine, and yet it still has wonderful volume and power on the palate. A sensuous wine that I absolutely love drinking. Looking forward to the other bottles I have in the cellar as they age gracefully

Mt Langhi Ghiran Billi Billi Grampians Shiraz (retail)
As luck would have it, there was a bottle of the Billi Billi in the wine rack and there was enough interest in tasting back-to-back bottles of Grampians red (well a glass of the second wine at the end of a relaxing evening). Tasting the Billi Billi after the Clayfields provided the opportunity to better identify regional Grampians characteristics and also effectively assess the differences in flavour and style between a $15 bargain and an elegant $45 wine with a capacity to age from the same region. On the nose and in the mouth, the Billi Billi had the same black fruits (less plum) with less intense/obvious spice and a mere hint of liquorice. The tannins were harder edged and there was nowhere near the same level of complexity as the Clayfields (as you would expect given the price difference and 2 less years in the bottle). However, for the price there was definite ‘bang for your buck' in terms of fruit flavour and approachability. There were clear regional similarities between the two wines – to paraphrase Len Evans, both smelt like a wine from the Grampians and not like generic glasses of Australian Shiraz.
Red's take: It was great to taste these wines back to back. While there were differences in terms of quality and complexity, they were so obviously both from the same region. Both wines, given their respective price points, are great expressions of Grampians terroir, and it's a flavour profile I love . . .

Summary: 3 great value wines at differing price points.
#Note: While being a casual dinner, there were no food-wine matchings per-se, though the main meal was Bavette Pasta with Pancetta, cream and rocket sauce (compliments to my wife, LB, the cook).

Red’s Xmas Eve – Bellussi Prosecco, 2008 Grosset Watervale Riesling, 2006 Martinborough Vineyard Pinot Noir

Christmas eve was a wonderful family dinner, with a mixed plate of fresh oysters, prawns, and tuna and salmon sashimi for the entrée, and then a prawn gnocchi for the main. Would love to tell you more about the food but this is a wine blog. Stay on message they always say. Suffice to say the food was beautiful.

Now to the wine . . .

Bellussi Prosecco di Valdobbiadene – $25 - My wife is a big fan of Prosecco so we kicked off the evening with this . . .
On the nose it had that subtle bit of yeastiness which I like. On the palate it had good fruit, a hint of pear, with a bit of sweetness, but from mid to back palate was dry, and you’d definitely put it in the dry style of prosecco. Very tasty and drinkable, and at $25 a bottle would happily purchase more.

With the seafood platter we had a 2008 Grosset Watervale Riesling ($35). A somewhat developed colour for an ’08, this is a wine that is dominated by lemon and lime flavours. Nice and juicy on the palate. Quality wine that will undoubtedly age, though also highlights to me my personal preference for the Eden Valley Rieslings. This wine had none of the floral nose and minerality on the palate that I love in my riesling. Not a criticism just my preference. If you love your Clare Valley riesling you'll certainly enjoy this.

With the prawn gnocchi we had the 2006 Martinborough Vineyard Pinot Noir ($80). I’m not someone who has drunk a lot of pinot noir (not compared anyway to what I have put away in terms of cabernet and shiraz), but I’m certainly coming around to the variety and starting to drink more of it. This wine has done a mighty service to that cause.

I’d say it’s the best Pinot I’ve drunk this year. It combines power and hedonism, with complexity and elegance.

Firstly it’s a dark pinot that foretells of the power and hedonism of the wine. Secondly it has a wonderfully aromatic nose. While there are descriptors I could mention, none of them to me stand out or are obvious, but rather all blend together to produce a wine that you could just keep on smelling (for the record I got strawberries, game/meaty aromas, and spice).

On the palate it is all class. It is silky and smooth, and while there is some sweetness on the front palate, the flavours are predominantly savoury. In fact the front palate provides the yum factor, while the middle to back palate provides a complexity of flavour that you keep coming back to. It has great length, structure, and tannins, and I’m sure it could age at least another 5 years.

I could feel a bit guilty having drunk it when it still had some ageing left in it, but it was just such a beautiful wine that I see no reason to feel that way. It was a superb way to finish off the night.


Red

Heggies Eden Valley Riesling 2009

Proclaiming that the 2009 Heggies Riesling is great value and a delicious, reliable drop is definitely stating the obvious. Indeed, one of the cruellest ironies when it comes to Australian wine is that as tertiary white varieties (in my ignorant opinion) like the all-conquering Sauvignon Blanc dominate the best sellers lists of the bottle shops of Australia, noble and delicious varieties like Riesling suffer a consumer / popular backlash.

The cruel aspect to this commercial reality is that wine makers who are persevering with Riesling are not getting as much kudos from the general public or financial returns they deserve for making high quality wines. This is despite the best efforts of the wine critics and bloggers I follow who repeatedly discuss the ‘Riesling revival’ (which makes sense to me, but is not reflected in wine drinking trends).
The irony of this situation is that the (seemingly) small minority of wine consumers who love good quality Riesling have choice aplenty when it comes to wine at a low price point. For example, I am able to purchase top quality bottles of several 90+ rated Riesling for well under $20.

In the lead up to Christmas, the much better half (LB) and I are trying to save money (or build up a festive season war chest as I like to put it). On a reasonably frugal budget, we decided to kick it old school and have fish and chips on Coogee Beach as the sun went down on a warm late spring Sydney Saturday night.
In my humble opinion (and the late Len Evans’ deservedly not as humble opinion), nothing goes better with freshly shucked oysters than young Semillon. However, when it comes to other white wine/ seafood matchings, no other wine comes close to paring as neatly with fresh fish and chips as a well made, affordable young dry Riesling. Therefore, we purchased a bottle of Heggies, ordered two serves of fish and chips and settled down on Coogee Beach for dinner.
Most wine drinkers have heard of Heggies and/or consumed a bottle or two of their Riesling, Chardonnay or other white varieties (plus their sometimes very good Merlot).
As their wine is affordable, and has always been a dependable drop, I had wanted to try a bottle of the 2009 vintage for some time..
Whilst on a wine tour in the Barossa/Eden Valley in October, Red and I had heard from a few wine makers that the Eden Valley did not suffer as much heat damage as the Barossa Valley floor during the killer heat wave in late 2008/early 2009. We also heard that the weather was much more even in February to March, which led to even ripening of the fruit (and I assume increased natural acidity – but don’t quote me on that!!). To support this, the 2009 Rieslings I tried in the Barossa were almost universally more floral, light, and pleasantly more acidic than the very good, but not amazing (and early ripening) 2008 vintage.



Due to the lovely, laid-back setting, my ‘tasting notes’ for the Heggies are not comprehensive – the wine had a typical floral and lime nose, but I found it a bit more developed than other Rieslings of the same vintage with a hint of melon and even passionfruit (an earlier drinking style despite the seeming longevity if EV 2009 vintage?). I found it a more forward wine, a tad ‘ballsier’ than I expected, though with a crisp, refreshing acidity. I thought it was more Clare than typical Eden Valley, but was crisp and clean on the palette.

It matched superbly with fish and chips – the acidity cutting through the batter, the lemon/lime notes of the wine complementing my lemon-soaked fish fillets.

Combine the wine and food with a family friendly Coogee Beach setting, at twilight at the end of a scorching late spring day, and it was a very enjoyable – and affordable night out.



Why people do not bring more bottles of sub $20 Riesling to summer BBQs and seafood dinner parties is beyond me. However, with people coveting the Sauv Blancs and Pinot Gris of the world, I cannot complain that there are several cheap Riesling options available to me at most bottle shops in Sydney at any given time that can give me a similar value for money experience.



#Footnote – I repeated the same type of evening only a week ago, this time with a Jim Barry Watervale 2008 Riesling. Similarly great value wine, though with less lime and lemon. It was a fleshier wine with not as much crisp acidity. Still, for the price a great wine that complemented the food. You cannot go wrong with a bottle of Pewseyvale, Heggies, Jim Barry, Leeuwin Estate or Peter Lehmann Riesling, to name but a few.