Tag Archives: Riesling

Grosset Polish Hill Riesling 2008

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This, along with its Springvale sibling, is a lesson in terroir, Australian-style. There’s never any mistaking one wine for the other, with the Polish Hill often considered a more appropriate ageing style (and, perhaps by implication, the “better” wine).

Very pretty talc-like aromas that circle atop layers of minerality and lemongrass. Unlike the Springvale, this isn’t a full-on lime juice style. Instead, the emphasis is on high toned complexity. Having said that, it’s not as shy as some young Polish Hills I’ve tried, so there’s no struggle to extract aroma here. But it’s intellectual, this one, less easily read.

Interestingly, the palate reflects this evasiveness in its flow and structure. Not that there’s a lack of flavour; quite the opposite, in fact, the wine showing good intensity of flavour. Rather, the combination of detailed flavour profile and firm structure translates to a challenging experience in the mouth. Acid tingles the tongue immediately on entry, and carries a crescendo of flavour to the middle palate. Notes here echo the aroma, with lemongrass, passionfruit pith and a generally delicious sourness all socialising well. Great balance and complexity, especially for a young Riesling. Some may find the acid a little firm, but it’s a very fine acidity and personally I love its crisp line. There’s a little dip in intensity on the after palate, but the wine surges again through the long finish.

Fabulous Riesling, then, and one that would seem to have its best years ahead of it. Whether it’s a better wine than the Springvale is very much a matter of taste (and perhaps mood). It shows greater complexity and is a more angular wine, and I suspect may never be a completely sensuous style even with the luxury of bottle age. A wine to make you think.

Update: on the second night, complexity has notched up even further, with a range of musk and Turkish Delight flavours joining in the fun. There’s just so much going on here for a young Riesling. Extremely impressive.

Grosset
Price: $A38
Closure: Stelvin
Date tasted: November 2008

Grosset Springvale Watervale Riesling 2008

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There’s a good vibe around 2008 Clare Rieslings. Indeed, the Grosset newsletter suggests this is the best Watervale since 2002, which is music to my ears.

An aroma that initially reminded me of Sauvignon Blanc not so much for its profile as its impact and immediacy. A punch of lime and leafiness hits you each time you sniff this wine, and it’s a great antidote to an army of insipid “classic dry whites” and Pinot Grigios invading our bistros. I can’t imagine anyone not having a strong reaction to this based purely on the nose. More importantly, this is a really positive wine, one that wears its flamboyance on its sleeve. It’s the Versace of Australian wine — flashy, but immaculately tailored.

The palate’s greatest feature is its intensity of flavour, which is frankly remarkable. It strikes early and builds almost instantly to a climax of lime juice and sherbet-like notes that wash through the mid-palate. There’s so much impact that it takes a moment to realise the wine’s structure is really quite restrained in the context of the style. There’s acid, no doubt, but it’s fine and supports the wine rather than overwhelming it. The flavour profile becomes more complex on the after palate, with some herbal notes introducing themselves. A gently tapered finish with just the slightest hint of fruit sweetness closes the wine well.

I’m a huge fan of our dry Riesling styles and this wine both justifies my taste and provides great sensual pleasure. It’s a win-win. Brilliant value.

Grosset
Price: $A31
Closure: Stelvin
Date tasted: November 2008

Pewsey Vale Riesling 2007

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A little late to the party with this one, I know. 2008 Rieslings have hit the shelves in a big way by now, but 2007 editions are still widely available.

Pretty aroma of soft talc and lime juice. For those allergic to our aggressively aromatic Rieslings, this may well please. Still, there’s something simple and marginally disappointing about the aroma profile. It comes across as compromised, somehow, even a little bland. In the mouth, quite full with some minerality clawing its way into a core of lime juice. It’s quite full and tends towards tropical fruit on the sides of the tongue. For all that, it’s generously flavoured and undeniably tasty. A softer acid structure encourages the impression of full, round fruit character, but there’s still some sizzly acid to keep things lively. Things die a bit on the finish.

Very much a “drink now” proposition, this one. In its own way quite drinkable, but lacking a bit of bite for my taste. Would be a good choice to serve to a casual, mixed crowd.

Pewsey Vale
Price: $A15.20
Closure: Stelvin
Date tasted: October 2008

Bay of Fires Riesling 2007

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Clean, somewhat powdery nose of crisp fruit (think nashi pear) and citrus, with edges of more blatantly aromatic tropical fruit. There’s a lovely savoury note that seems like flint by way of cashew nut. Overall, the aroma profile is focused and coherent, though its level remains subdued.

The palate is a different story. Explosive, really, even when quite cold. Acidity is the wine’s most immediately noticeable element. Though not especially fine, it contributes fantastic impact and excitedly announces the wine’s fruit flavours. In terms of these flavours, the wine is quite full, with round, intense apple and passionfruit, plus more of that fascinating mineral-like note. This is not a lean wine and its flavour possesses a generosity that translates in part as fruit sweetness, though there’s a degree of residual sugar too. No chance of flab here, as acidity continues to underline the wine’s line and moves things along at a brisk clip. Good thrust through the after palate onto a lengthy, tingly finish.

A really nice Riesling. A long way from the Clare/Eden style, this wine is less chiselled, structurally, but with considerably more generous fruit flavour and weight. Consequently, a wine to pair with robustly flavoured food (we had it with pasta/ricotta/bacon) or to drink alone in preference to highly aromatic styles such as Sauvignon Blanc.

Bay of Fires
Price: $A24.70
Closure: Stelvin
Date tasted: October 2008

Peter Lehmann Barossa Riesling 2008

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Riesling has provided me and many other wine lovers with a fabulous hunting ground for labels that vastly outperform their price points. Consider: the pinnacles of Australian Riesling; singular styles recognised internationally; routinely sell for $20-40. Even Hunter Semillon costs more at the top end. Here, though, is a $9.50 Riesling from the Barossa Valley, a region not renowned for the variety. On the plus side, Peter Lehmann is a winery that has a history of solid, well-priced wines.

A forward nose of candied pineapple and other tropical fruits, plus a bit of spice. I’m not getting the “crisp citrus and floral” notes referred to on the back label. Instead, this seems a broader Riesling style. In the mouth, some initially welcome acidity fades as lemon and candied fruit notes take over. These flavours are assertive but lack intensity at the same time. I suspect a level of residual sugar contributes to this flavour profile, though there’s nothing overtly sugary about the wine. A dip in intensity through the after palate precedes some bitterness on the rather chalky finish.

Clonakilla Riesling 2005

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It pays to check on wines now and then. The slightly old Rieslings I’ve tasted lately are proof enough, and this wine continues the trend. I remember tasting this at cellar door and finding it a steelier, more austere style than the usual Clonakilla. I loved it and bought several, expecting it to age slowly.

Hence, I was quite surprised to smell this and find savoury toast the dominant aroma component. But it’s not a static wine, and the initial aroma soon disappeared, only to emerge half an hour later as a more complex profile comprising more toast, aggressively sour lime and a hint of honeyed opulence too. It’s beguiling, perhaps forceful, definitely characterful.
The palate is even more surprising. As an aside, people always say aged wines, and aged white wines in particular, are a matter of taste, and perhaps they are right. But there’s no doubt older wine is an education, and for my money a good aged Riesling (or Hunter Semillon) is worth cellaring purely to see how much it changes. This Clonakilla, for example, still shows powdery acidity, but a whole spectrum of bottle aged complexity overlays this firm structure. It’s not a very old wine, for sure, but hints of honey and savoury edge (the unkind might call it slightly kerosene-ish) push their way into the dominant blanket of lime marmalade and floral talc. Quite unexpected in terms of the austerity of the young wine. Intensity is dramatic and, although part of me is tempted to think of this wine as vulgar, I’ll settle for “confident.” Lovely and clean through the after palate, with a finish that lingers very well without undue weight or clumsiness. 
Quite a masculine Riesling style, and oh-so distinctive. It’s interesting to see various Australian regions offer alternatives to the mainstream Clare/Eden Riesling style. A wonderful thing from the drinker’s perspective. 
Price: $A22
Closure: Stelvin
Date tasted: July 2008

Helm Premium Riesling 2005

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Some time ago, a lovely visit to the Helm cellar door resulted in the purchase of this wine amongst other things. Interestingly, Helm’s top Riesling isn’t made from estate fruit, but rather from that of a nearby grower who is reputedly fastidious in his viticultural craft. On release, I remember this wine as a tight, floral/powdery/slate type of Riesling, and one that struck me at the time as designed for cellaring. Time to check on its progress.

Youthful colour that doesn’t betray any significant change through bottle age. The nose is similar to what I remember, with aromas of flowers, talc and so on. There is, however, a fullness to the aroma that seems new and reminds me of spicy, lightly tropical fruit. Quite pretty. The palate shows greater intensity than anticipated and confirms the nascent development of this wine. Clean, lemon flavour registers soon after entry and becomes richer towards the mid-palate. Although acid provides adequate shape, it’s relaxed enough to enable a generous flow of flavour over the tongue that widens along the line. A hint of honey and an interesting savoury edge become more prominent on the after palate and create an impression of rich, spicy preserved lemon. Excellent drive through to the finish, where a sweetly floral note, combined with delicious sourness, lingers on for quite some time.

Clonakilla Riesling 2003

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I retrieved a mini-vertical of Clonakilla Rieslings from storage recently, and have already tasted the 2002. Here, now, is the 2003, of which I have several bottles but no recollection of tasting on release. A poor memory of one’s own wine collection is more advantageous than it sounds, as it allows for the wonderful experience of discovery multiple times per wine. Now that’s value.