#newwinethisweek Week 1 – Aussie Riesling
We thought we would get the year off to a bright and breezy start with a grape variety that is currently experiencing somewhat of a renaissance. As well as thrilling examples from Germany and fantastic wines from Alsace, New World countries are producing some hugely enjoyable Rieslings these days.
Last year I enjoyed bottles from New Zealand, South Africa, the USA and Chile; but in my opinion it’s the Aussies who are leading the charge. The key regions to look out for are the Clare and Eden Valleys in South Australia, and Great Southern on the West coast. The Rieslings of Australia are generally bone dry, with searing acidity and lashings of citrus fruit – I think it’s the perfect partner to a Chinese takeaway!
Tesco have come up trumps on this one with their ever-reliable Finest offering, currently on promotion at £7.99, as well as the excellent Tim Adams Clare Valley Riesling at £10.49. If you’re the M&S-type why not try their Eden Valley offering, or if an independent merchant is more your style, I’ve picked out a beauty from Wine & the Vine – check it out if you’re ever in the Radlett area:
Tesco Finest Tingleup Riesling 2011, Western Australia (Tesco £7.99 was £9.99)
Tim Adams Rielsing 2011, Clare Valley (Tesco £10.49)
M&S Eden Valley Riesling 2011, South Australia (M&S £9.99)
Larry Cherubino Ad Hoc Wallfower Riesling 2011 (Wine & The Vine £15.79)
I’m going to give the Finest bottle a chance – now you choose your wine and let us know what you think. Leave a review in the comments box, use the poll to give your score out of 10 for Aussie Riesling and/or tweet your thoughts using the hashtag #newwinethisweek.
Also if you have any recommendations then let the rest of us know… How about you guys over the pond?!
Over the course of the year we will keep a league table of the favourite wine styles and regions as we try a new wine every week in 2014.
Posted on January 6, 2014, in Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink. 10 Comments.
Confessions of a Wine Geek
Reblogged this on Please Bring Me My Wine and commented:
Here’s week one’s post for #newwinethisweek from Anthony @ Confessions of a Wine Geek. Ladies and gentlemen, we give you….Aussie Riesling!
It’s the Tasmanians that I believe are cranking out some beautiful Aussie Riesling at a decent price point. It may be hard for you guys to find but here’s a decent one I wrote about a few months ago … http://thewinewankers.com.au/2013/08/10/pairing-a-2008-frogmore-creek-riesling-with-indian/
Hi Conrad – I’ve been reading a lot about Tasmanian Riesling and Pinot… It doesn’t seem to be finding it’s way to the UK at the moment… I’ll try looking even harder! Thanks for supporting the #newwinethisweek project!
I’ve got my bottle of Finest Tingleup Riesling ready for my Chinese takeaway on Friday night… But it being week 1 and all that I had to have a cheeky bottle mid-week and it just had to be an Aussie Riesling – M&S Eden Valley Riesling 2011 (£9.99 from M&S):
I was not disappointed – that delightful blast of citrus, wet slate and just a whiff of plastic (it’s actually quite nice!). On the palate the wine is bone dry and the acidity almost blows your head off but the lime fruitiness, almost like lime sherbet, balances it beautifully and there’s even a touch of mandarin at the end – very pure and very precise. The finish is long, elegant and oh so pure. A very solid 8/10 from me!
So it’s the first proper drinking night of the year in Chez Stevens-what better excuse than to get involved in #newwinethisweek.
I went for the Tesco Finest Riesling through pure laziness of having a Tesco nearby work!
Very impressed for the price, showing the usual Riesling green fruit and loads of citrus aromas, you can almost sniff the amount of acidity awaiting you on the palate.
There was some serious mouthfeel with what seemed like creamy dairy characteristics on the end after zesty grapefruit?? Proper big hit of acidity as expected, with a great dribbling-for-more effect.
Loads more length than I expected and overall a very competent example of the variety-7/10
Great start to the year (now for a decent red!!)
Thanks for playing John – I’ve got the Tingleup lined up fir tomorrow night. Mike from pleasebringmemywine.com is selecting next week’s wine… I haven’t a clue what he’s going for!
Right – my second Aussie of the Riesling was drunk along with a Chinese takeaway and it rocked! I bought the Tesco Finest Tingleup Riesling (2011, Great Southern, Western Aus) on promotion for £7.99 (usual price £9.99) and it was seriously fab!
Amazingly tangy, refreshing lemon and lime, and lip-smacking acidity. It’s beautifully balanced with a hint of sweetness – really works with the takeaway. There’s also a delightful chalky minerality giving it a touch if complexity. Thus us a real fun wine that is bright, breezy and just plain fun. 7/10 and great value at £7.99. I’ll definitely buy this again.
Morning all, just waking up from a top evening (my last dinner party as a free man!).
So I drank the Peter Lehmann Estate Riesling from the Eden Valley, bought from Majestic Wine. I had a quick glass before dinner just to check it out. The smell was undoubtedly Riesling but that lime flavour jumped up too, as did an unmistakable almost metallic sniff too.
On the taste it was the lime that almost overwhelmed me. It was nearly very well balanced, the acidity was obvious, and the finish was pleasant and reasonably long.
Then we had it with the food. As soon as we had it with the strong oily mackerel and the sweet roasted peppers it all just made sense. It calmed the sourness of the lime right down and fit with the steely minerality perfectly.
Definitely one of those “only with food” wines, so I knocked off a couple of points just for that (maybe a bit harsh). But get the food right and it was top drawer. And for £8.49 you really can’t moan.
6/10
Try the M&S Eden Valley – great with or without food!
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