A Love Affair In Aromatics – Riesling.

Riesling is one of the ‘noble’ varieties of grapes used to make wine. I believe it to be the King (or should I say Queen?) of the aromatic whites. It is found in most wine producing countries over the globe, and if made by someone with a passion for the variety, they will usually have success. However, Riesling seems most at home in Germany, Austria and Alsace where its ability to transmit the terroir shines through. The best wines of these regions, indeed the best Rieslings from outside these regions too, seem to develop and display personality and soul.

It appears that Riesling as a variety doesn’t seem to capture the attention of the greater drinking public. It seems the domain of ‘wine people’ (heaven forbid we use the term connoisseur). I feel there is a lot to like about Riesling. And of course I’d say that, I’m a wine person! Even a basic Riesling can be lovely. The perfume, elegance and understated nature of the wine with its lovely structure underneath punctuated by fresh and lively acidity. Add to that the lack of oak to mask these graceful characters and all of this adds up to a clean and fresh drink that enlivens the palate. The very best though can charm, intrigue, beguile. They don’t always jump out of the glass and instantly grab your attention like a Sauvignon Blanc may do. But there are layers and nuances that become apparent the more time you spend studying the wine.

One barrier to people enjoying Riesling is that they can range from bone dry through to lusciously sweet. And generally it is hard to tell from looking at the label what you are going to get. When thinking of Riesling its best to consider it in three broad styles; Dry, ‘Dry’ and Sweet. The Dry Riesling styles are truly dry. As in they have little to no residual sugar left after fermentation, high acid, very crisp and clean. Most Riesling from Australia and especially Clare and Eden Valleys fall into this category. So to do Germany’s ‘Trocken’ Riesling. ‘Dry’ Rieslings tend to have a touch of residual sugar that is used to balance high levels of acidity. They are refreshing, fruity and really lovely drinks that you should not be scared of tasting. Kabinett Rieslings, a lot of Alsace and New Zealand Rieslings tend to fall into this category. In Australia we tend to use the term ‘off-dry’ to describe these wines. Sweet Riesling is sweet, can be late picked, botrytised or even ice wines (left to freeze on the vine in winter). The best are truly complex and almost seem too pretty to drink. Like all great wines, the key to sweet Riesling is the balance. No matter how sweet it should have acidity that balances the sugar to make a clean and refreshing wine.

Riesling is a wine that can be drunk on its own, matched with white meats, pungent cheeses, spicy foods and it has been known to out shine even Pinot Noir when you are faced with a plate of lovely duck. It is a wine that is cheap for the quality you get and it is a must for any serious wine cellar. How can one grape bring so much joy? It just proves that there is a lot to love about Riesling.

Riesling Cheat sheet

Flavours

Tropical fruits, citrus, white flowers, stones, slate, white chocolate, pork fat/sausage meat.
With age it can add toffee/caramel, dry biscuits, kerosene, undergrowth, crème brulee.   

Styles

Dry, off-dry, sweet, occasionally sparkling. Does not like oak.

Regions Germany – Mosel (esp sweeter styles), Rheingau (dry styles), Pfalz

Austria – Wachau, Kremstal
France – Alsace
Australia – Clare Valley, Eden Valley, Frankland River, Henty

Aging

Drinks well on release to 12 months then goes into a dip from 2 years from vintage until about 7 years. In this period all the fruit drops off and the wine looks flat and disappointing. Afterward though the fruit returns as does the bottle aged characters that are so desired in Riesling.  

Ready to try some Riesling? Why not check out some of TWD's current offers:
Alsace Riesling

Old World Riesling

Australian Riesling

Pinot Noir Tasting 05/05/12

Over the past few months I've been asked to host numerous private tastings for customers. The most recently run event was about a month ago near Heathcote and it involved educating a group of 14 people about Pinot Noir.

Grasping a chance to drink a handful of my most favourite Pinots from around the world, I looked forward to this event and the attended to the notes and wine selection with particular vigour. Of course having a willing and eager bunch of participants makes it all the more entertaining. Thankfully the attendees had that in spades.



The warm up act. Seriously good for the price.

The event was structured into four brackets, which built from entry level wines and graduated up to tasting the pinnacle of Pinot Noir - Burgundy.

Bracket One. Flavours of Pinot Noir.
Bress Vineyards Silver Chook Yarra Valley & Macedon 2010 $22 Showing the easy, cherry/red berry and rose petal notes. Excellent value and highly recommended.
Hungerford Hill Tumbarumba 2009 $25 Darker, plums and a hint undergrowth. Riper fruit and more generous mouthfeel.
Faiveley Bourgogne Rouge 2008 $32 Great entry point to Burgundy, showing the minerally, structured and more savoury styles they tend to make. If drinking water was impossible, this is what I would turn to.


Bracket One under way.

Bracket Two. Regionality and the wide world of wine.
Pegasus Bay Canterbury 2008 $63 From the South Island of New Zealand. Showing the typical style of great NZ Pinot. Bold with perfume, subtlety and restraint.
Apsley Gorge Tasmania 2008 $69 East Coast of Tassie based producer. A bit stinky when first opened, but possessing great texture, balance and silkiness. Beautiful wine.
Bernard Huber Baden 2009 $43 A Spatburgunder (aka Pinot Noir) from Germany. Showing perfume, oak, balance and nice refreshing acidity.
Britten Vineyard Willamette Valley Pinot Noir  The host added this wine so the USA got a jersey.  It has great pedigree with the owner being a former member of the Stags Leap team. This tasted slightly oxidised on the day sadly.



You can always tell a Curly Flat family.

Bracket Three: Terroir and aging.
We used two wines made in almost the same way to highlight how much a region or vineyard (ie Terroir) can affect the taste of a wine.
William Downie Mornington Peninsula 2010 $71 The more floral, red berry and vibrant style. Showed really well upfront. Beautiful balance and lovely to drink.
William Downie Gippsland 2010 $71 Darker, more brooding and darker fruits. Needed a bit more time in the glass to show its best. But definitely had that hallmark Downie balance and texture (and drinkability).
Then we used two wines from the same producer and different vintage to show how a wine can change with time in the bottle.
Curly Flat Macedon 2008 $56 Dark, powerful, generous with a lot of depth and great mouthfeel.
Curly Flat Macedon 2001 En Magnum The host once again donated this wine to the tasting. It showed more savoury/undergrowth/truffle and was a lot more silky and supple. I would say at its peak now in the best possible way.


Pouring the 95 Pruliers.

Bracket Four: Burgundy.
Nicholas Potel Vosne Romanee Les Petit Monts 1er Cru 2000 $105 The budget didn't quite stretch to Grand Cru but this high quality Premier Cru certainly showed the best of the region and why it is the pinnacle. Supple, savoury, minerally, perfumed, vibrant, spices, depth, layered, intense and thrilling. Great balance, depth of fruit and plush but with fine tannins and great length.
Dom Laurant Nuits-St-Georges Les Pruliers 1995 Because more is more, yet another bottle was taken from the cellar to be shared. This wine really showed up the difference between communes and vineyards in Burgundy. This wine reflexed the denser, more chunky style of Nuits compared to the refined, elegance of Vosne.



Expert host and wine waiter... me.

Additional Wine.
Roda I Rioja Riserva 2004 This wine was pulled out just as we took our leave of the group but I stuck around long enough to have a glass. I have included it because Tempranillo is often described as tasting like Pinot with a bit of age. It does share the red fruits, floral notes and spicy notes. Along with the silk and purity you would expect.

All in all a great tasting. If you are interested in hosting a tasting like this, we can work together to find a theme, budget and venue that suits. Email philip@thewinedepository.com.au 

Riesling To The Occasion

Imagine coming back from holiday and a supplier asking if you'd like to attend a large Riesling tasting featuring some of the best German producers (with a few ring ins). Well that is what happened, and of course I said "Oh God yes!". It is after all the best way to ease back into the working cycle (don't believe me? Try it for yourself).

This is what the grape in question may look like.

In my mind Riesling is the ultimate terroirist - it transmits the flavours of the soil it is grown so faithfully. Couple this with the fact that Riesling tends to reject outright any wine maker influences that could cover these natural characters (think new oak or malo) and you've got the a pretty unstoppable force.

Might I also add to this that Riesling is delicious!

So many highlights... So much lovely Riesling.

JL Wolf -Dr Loosen's sister estate in Pfalz. Brilliant wines. Wachenheimer Riesling 2009 was so amazing. Pure, clean, mineral, great perfume and great balance. Just so drinkable, but the balance points to a long and healthy life ahead of it.

Donnhoff Nahe based, they make trocken (dry) styles and also QMP wines (ask what this is). Their mango and tropical, off dry, fleshy and intense Norheimer Kirschheck Spaltese 07 was excellent and certainly lingered in my mouth after I had spat. Equally good was their dry Niederhauser Hermannshole Grosse Gewaches 08, spices and herbal, tight young, citric and texturally appealling.

Heymann-Lowenstein Making dry wines from the Northern part of the Mosel known as the Terrassenmosel (not surpringly the vineyards are terraced in this area). These guys make some truly amazing Riesling!. The entry level Schieferterrassen had it all. Very expressive wet stones (in a good way), pepper & spices, stonefruits. It is long, dry, intense, silky and just a hint of bitterness.  The Von Blauem Schiefer was the next step up in intensity and presence. The Rottgen was dense, grapey and appley, floral. The perfume dances over your palate. Superb wine! Their Kirchberg was similar to the Rottgen but had more of everything and great length. The best was last for sure. Uhlen Rothlay showed floral, apples, grapes, spice. So young and pure. It's youthful simplicity coupled with an amazing mouthfeel made this wine a pleasure to taste.

This is what they mean by Terrassenmosel.

A. Christmann Another of the Pfalz brigade (it is a really great and underappreciated region!). The whole line up of trocken wines were perfumed, and full of finesse and class. The Grosse Gewaches in particular are worth mentioning. However we were treated to a very small (but still, extremely generous) taste of his Idig #1 Eiswein. A wine made from grapes left to freeze on the vine. Sauternes like concentration and intensity. Really complex, really satiny mouthfeel. A little taste is often enough because the flavours lingers for so long. Beautiful!

Wittman calls Rheinhessen home. their wines are pure and direct. Some good perfume lift with some more 'funky' sort of notes too. They had an interesting Silvaner on tasting too. Nice to try some of these quirky varieties.

Brundlmayer So these guys are Austrian, not German. But the wines are really, really good. A couple of pretty Gruner Veltliners (Yum!) and some mineral laden, clean and fruitful Rieslings.

Georg Breuer Those who are paying attention may remember we've sold some of these wines before. I do love the wines from Breuer. This time there was only the Berg Roseneck to taste, but it showed all the hallmark pretty florals and fruits with the underlying structure and power.

Berg Roseneck in all its glory

Ring ins

Huber Germans making Pinot Noir? And Pinot Blanc? Yep, that is what we have here. They were brilliant too. The Noir was like a light and minerally Mercurey and the Blanc was spicy, white fruited and citric with and oaky/creamy finish.

Pittnauer Austrian Reds Zweigelt and St Laurent. Hard to compare to other varieties. They are both dense, savoury, meaty with a savoury undergrowth character. The St Laurent is more silky and dense. The Zwiegelt leaner and more savoury.

Sadly I did not get to taste everything, but I was easing myself back in after all...