Howard Park Riesling Vertical Tasting 2022 - 1998

[Waiters Friend]

G’day

This is the third time I have hosted a vertical tasting of Howard Park’s Great Southern Rieslings. By sheer coincidence, they have been 4 years apart, with the previous tastings in 2015 http://forum.auswine.club/viewtopic.php?p=1 ... al#p123815 and 2019 http://forum.auswine.club/viewtopic.php?p=1 ... al#p155595. I have also separately hosted a tasting of their Porongorup Rieslings in 2021 http://forum.auswine.club/viewtopic.php?p=1 ... al#p164292

The 2015 tasting consisted of 14 wines - 2014 to 2001 with the 2005 winning the Wine of the Night. In 2019, there were 19 wines spanning 21 vintages. The 2010 got the honours that night, with the 2005 a close second.

This time, we looked at 16 vintages spanning 25 years and 5 winemakers. All but the last three wines were under screwcap. Alcohols ranged between 11.2% and 12.5% (average 12.0%) and averaged 1.6 g/L titratable acidity

As for previous tastings, I would like to thank David Stredwick from Burch Family Wines, for providing two of the wines (plus back-up bottles for the wines under cork), technical notes and his considerable knowledge of the wines and the winery history.

As always, the wines were tasted from youngest to oldest, and the notes below are a compilation of the comments from the tasting group.

Howard Park Great Southern Riesling 2022: Pale straw colour. The nose is showing lemon-lime, musk, green apple, orange blossom and talc along with some herbal notes. Some of these carry over to the palate, with mandarin / orange peel, musk sticks, green apple, more citrus. Good length and a cleansing acid to finish.

Howard Park Great Southern Riesling 2020: From a warmer year. Straw / yellow in colour. Fresh and preserved lemons (not so much lime) and lemon blossom and a touch of kero on initial pour. There’s lemon/lime on the palate (with a touch of cordial), and stone fruits (nectarine, white peach). It appears developed for a three year old Riesling, with a touch of oiliness and texture. / complexity. Zippy acid flows in a line towards a long and cleansing finish.

Howard Park Great Southern Riesling 2018: Straw / yellow in colour. Some kero on initial pour. Intense nose with orange peel, lime pith or zest, sherbet, herbs and florals. The palate shows fresh lemon juice and lemon barley water, and a feature is the mouth-watering (not tart) acidity. Very well balanced wine and highly regarded by the group.

Howard Park Great Southern Riesling 2016: Straw in colour (lighter than the 2018 and 2020). Juicy lemons and a touch of lime on the nose, with honeysuckle and musk in the background. There was also some bitumen or petrol (as compared to kero, which led to an interesting discussion on the differences between petrochemicals). The palate is showing signs of development, with lemon cordial, tart, zingy acid and some dill.

After tasting wines with two years of age between them, the next few wines were consecutive vintages.

Howard Park Great Southern Riesling 2015: Pale yellow in colour. Slight kero to start, with non-fruit characters more prominent on the nose – sherbet, lanolin and lots of florals. The palate was chalky and dry, with tart acidity, and showed nashi pear (or unripe pear), mandarin peel and lemon pith.

Howard Park Great Southern Riesling 2014: Yellow in colour. From a warm vintage and an outlier in terms of style – this wine has lime juice jumping out of the glass as you nose it. There also cut grass and rockmelon on the nose, while there’s very tangy lime and lemon on the palate along with cleansing acid.

Howard Park Great Southern Riesling 2013: Yellow in colour. Diesel (note the difference in petrochemicals!) initially, followed by lemon, lemon blossom and musk on the nose. The palate is slightly cheesy (a soft cheese like brie), with lime juice and green apples. The wine appears to have softer acid than many of the previous wines.

Howard Park Great Southern Riesling 2012: Yellow in colour. Intense and perfumed nose, with citrus, fresh cut herbs and musk. Some kero on the palate (as well as the nose), and the palate itself is complex, rich and substantial, with nuts, stone fruits and a range of citrus. For some tasters, this wine marked a point of difference between the previous wines and the more developed wines that followed. Highly regarded by the group.

Howard Park Great Southern Riesling 2011: Yellow in colour. Intense lime juice / cordial on the nose, with some lemon blossom and wet stones. A layered and complex palate, with a mix of primary and secondary characters, including tangy citrus, lime zest, and pear. There’s some minerality, and the acid is edgy and refreshing. Well balanced and well regarded by the group.

Howard Park Great Southern Riesling 2010: Yellow in colour, but lighter than the 2011. A complex nose, with lemon-lime, bergamot, thyme, florals, rhubarb, soft cheese, wax and lanolin. There’s signs of development on the palate, with a caramel taste, (this becomes more prominent in later wines) and softer citrus / citrus oil. The wine was described as ‘coiled’ and was highly regarded by the group (but not as much by me, who preferred the 2011).

Howard Park Great Southern Riesling 2009: From a warm year. Yellow in colour. Similar to the 2011 but a little one dimensional by comparison. Lime cordial, talc, caramel and dill on the nose, with an intense, tangy palate of citrus, honey, nougat and a touch of minerality. The (relatively) higher residual sugar was noticeable.

Howard Park Great Southern Riesling 2008: Significantly paler in colour than the previous 3 wines. Has some commonality with the 2010, and included gardenia and dried flowers in the mix. Surprisingly young tasting, with lots of primary fruit on the tongue, some lemon and green apple. High acid and a very clean and refreshing finish. Well regarded by the group.

The last four wines were all 20 years of age or older:

Howard Park Great Southern Riesling 2003: In some ways, an older version of some of the previous wines, with citrus predominant but softening, lime cordial on the palate and acid keeping the wine fresh. Definitely into the secondary development phase.

Howard Park Great Southern Riesling 2000: Under cork. Deep gold in colour. The nose shows caramel, aniseed / liquorice, vanilla and honey. The palate shows signs of age (oxidation and rancio) with intense lime cordial, some salinity, balsamic strawberry and leather polish. Manzanilla sherry was also mentioned by more than one taster.

Howard Park Great Southern Riesling 1999: Under cork. Deep(er) gold in colour. Caramel, dried peaches and pears, quince and sultana on the nose. Some residual sugar on the palate, with lime marmalade and muscadelle grapes. Sherry was further discussed with this wine. Highly regarded by the group.

Howard Park Great Southern Riesling 1998: Under cork. Deep gold in colour. This was the first (and only) wine that was fading – orange marmalade, burned or cooked orange were the dominant characters.


For the last three wines, they are definitely into their tertiary development, but we were pleasantly surprised at the depth, intensity and palate richness they showed.

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For this tasting as a whole, and like previous tastings, some general comments apply:
• There’s a consistency of style to these wines, across 5 winemakers and 25 vintages, with only a couple of outliers.
• Development takes many years (approx. 10-11) to make its presence felt. Particularly, the colour of the wines generally belie their age.
• Preferred drinking windows are subjective, and this time the group was not able to agree on one. Anywhere from 1 to 24 years were eminently drinkable, and it comes down to personal preference.

Wine of the night was the Howard Park Great Southern Riesling 2018, closely followed by the 2012.

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My thanks go again to David at Burch Family Wines, and to all of those that shared the wines with me. An excellent and fascinating tasting.

Cheers
Allan

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[mychurch]

Allan

How do you rate this against the top Rieslings elsewhere in the country ? Is it up there with the top wines, like Grosset or Crawford Hill ?

[Waiters Friend]

Allan

How do you rate this against the top Rieslings elsewhere in the country ? Is it up there with the top wines, like Grosset or Crawford Hill ?

Difficult to answer, mychurch. I've never tried a Crawford Hill. I've had some sublime Grossets, and some that didn't do it for me. So, I can only speak about the Howard Parks, and Great Southern Riesling generally. I'm rating the Great Southern rieslings on a par with Clare and Eden Valley, and possibly more consistent given the better run of vintages that GS has had.

I would rate Howard Park in the top flight of Great Southern riesling producers, and I think few could match their quality and consistency over the last couple of years. I also note that riesling was the first wine HP produced, and it was their flagship white for a long time. Not too many Great Southern producers could match that track record, with the exceptions of Forest Hill and Plantagenet.

Cheers
Allan

[phillisc]

Is it Crawford River, at Hotspur in SW Victoria? Cheers Craig

[mychurch]

Yes, it’s Crawford River - hard to keep track of the Rivers, Hills and Valleys.

[kaos]

I happened to put a 2007 in the fridge for tonight. I can report back...

[Mike Hawkins]

I really like the HP rieslings. Perhaps a bit fruitier when young than some of the age worthy CV Rieslings I often drink. And David is a good bloke, and very generous.