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Australian Riesling

Overview

Quick Pick Guide
Buying Guide
90+ Australian Rieslings

Australian Wine

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Buying Guide: Australian Riesling

In Australia, as in other parts of the world, Riesling does well in fresher, cooler climates. At this point the greatest benefactors of this have been the Clare Valley and Eden Valley, which like the cool northern French region of Alsace, create Rieslings that can be resoundingly mineral with citrus and lime aromas and bracing acidity. While Eden Valley’s grape has generous floral, citrus, and (in some years) even ripe tropical fruit overtones, Clare Valley Riesling is characterized by an intense, spiced fruit character. Most winemakers today keep wines from the two valleys separate, but others, like Wendy Stuckey, chief white winemaker at Wolf Blass, has proven they go well together, getting the best of both worlds in her top-selling Gold Medal label.

Elsewhere, the Australian Riesling has clean characteristics which usually distinguish it from the European and American Rieslings. They can be very soft, even liqueur-like, but the flavors of the fruit always dominate. Generally an ageing of a year or two will reinforce the wines flavors of apple and passion fruit, but they are also very popular as fresh wines to drink in their youth. Sweet late harvest Rieslings are also made--a classic Australian dessert wine--usually with the help of the noble rot Botrytis cinerea.

Australian Riesling Quick Pick Guide:

Delatite Riesling
Petaluma Rhine Riesling of Clare Valley
Seppelt She-Oak Spring Rhine Riesling
Tollana Botryitis Rhine Riesling
Wolf Blass Gold Label Rhine Riesling

90+ Australian Rieslings

		Marlargo Bolero Riesling Clare Valley $16
		Grant Burge Thorn Riesling Eden Valley $19
		Jacob's Creek Reserve Riesling South Australia $15
		Leasingham Bin 7 Riesling Clare Valley $15
		Jim Barry The Lodge Hill Dry Riesling Clare Valley $19
		Jim Barry The Florita Riesling Clare Valley $30
		Mount Langi Ghiran Riesling Victoria $21
		Mount Horrocks Cordon Cut Riesling Clare Valley $26
		Leeuwin Estate Art Series Riesling Margaret River $22
		Mesh Riesling Eden Valley $25
		Henschke Julius Riesling Eden Valley $30
		Ferngrove Cossack Riesling Orchid Frankland River $22
		Poonawatta Estate The Eden Riesling Eden Valley $35
		Pikes The Merle Reserve Riesling Clare Valley $57
		Grosset Polish Hill Riesling Clare Valley $33
		Mount Horrocks Cordon Cut Riesling Clare Valley $31

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Australian Riesling Buying Guide

$10 and Under

Marquee Artisan Wines Classic Riesling Victoria $10

Grapes: 100% Riesling
Tasting Notes: Pale straw green hues, with a gentle, yet focused aromatic profile of fresh grass, lime, and honeysuckle.
Comment: Sourced from a variety of cool vineyard parcels in Victoria, this is a good, reliable, basic Australian Riesling. Fine for the price and highly versatile with food pairings.
Food pairing: chicken | pork | cream sauce | rich cheese | seafood
When to drink: Drink young, keep for up to 3 years
Service temperature: 8°C | 47°F

		Wagtail Riesling Adelaide Hills $10
		Yalumba Y Series Riesling South Australia $10
		Banrock Station Riesling South EasternAustralia $5
		Rosemount Diamond Label Riesling South Eastern Australia $10
		Lindemans Bin 75 Riesling South Australia $8
		Stonehaven Winemaker'sSelection Riesling South Australia $10

$11-$20

Jim Barry The Lodge Hill Dry Riesling Clare Valley $19

Grapes: 100% Riesling
Tasting Notes: Lively green tinted straw colors, with the classic regional characteristics of grapefruits, lime, and orange blossom. Has a tough, vivacious minerality that buttresses fruit flavors of guava and strawberries.
Comment: When he first purchased the Lodge Hill vineyard in 1977, Jim Barry declared that it was sure to produce some of the best Rieslings in the Clare Valley. Thirty years later his hunch is still right on the money with this 100% estate grown and vinified wine.
Food pairing: chicken | pork | cream sauce | rich cheese | seafood
When to drink: Drink young, keep for up to 6 years
Service temperature: 8°C | 47°F

Frankland Estate Cooladerra Vineyard Riesling Western Australia $18

$21-$30

Ferngrove Cossack Riesling Orchid Frankland River $22

Grapes: 100% Riesling
Tasting Notes: Pale green, and medium in body, with distinctive lime zest and orange blossom notes. Has a firm background minerality, with flavors of pink grapefruit, but dry through the finish.
Comment: This wine has the unique character of the Franklin River Rieslings, accentuated primarily by dry lime notes and a stony minerality.
Food pairing: chicken | pork | cream sauce | rich cheese | seafood
When to drink: Drink young, keep for up to 10 years
Service temperature: 8°C | 47°F

		Pikes Dry Riesling Clare Valley $25
		Jacob's Creek Steingarten Riesling Barossa $25
		Tower Estate Riesling Clare Valley $24
		Penna Lane Riesling Clare Valley $21

$31+

Poonawatta Estate The Eden Riesling Eden Valley $35

Grapes: 100% Riesling
Tasting Notes: Light yellow robe. Ripe with herb and lime aromas, which come with crisp, minerally citrus flavors, green apples and peach. Dry, and light bodied, finishing long and with a tang.
Comment: “The Eden” is Poonawatta’s five acre vineyard which was first planted in the years between 1972 and 1978. It is elevated, and slightly cooler than their two fine Shiraz vineyards, which it overlooks on the property. There the Riesling grows comfortably on well drained, minerally soils, much like one would find in Alsace.
Food pairing: chicken | pork | cream sauce | rich cheese | seafood
When to drink: Drink young, keep for up to 3 years
Service temperature: 8°C | 47°F