Grand Cru (Perth) Wine Tasting group. Riesling 2018

[Waiters Friend]

G’day

Riesling is arguably the most 'noble' of grape varieties - and not just because you can make noble Riesling from it. It's generally the purest expression of the grape also, as the winemaker generally tries to intervene as little as possible - just crush, ferment, stabilise, filter and bottle.

I also believe some heretics are experimenting with new-ish oak, and the Alsace, German and Austrian winemakers have matured their Rieslings in old large oak for centuries.

A bunch of us descended on Mayfair Lane in West Perth last Wednesday for one of the larger tastings we have done recently. Riesling was the theme, in all of its guises, and we were not restricted by country of origin, winemaking style, level of sweetness or any other factors. We ended up with 16 wines of varying styles.

As usual, the notes here are a combination of the comment s made by the tasters, and do not necessarily reflect my views (although they’re in there too). The wines were tasted blind, with only the vintage known, and we tasted from youngest to oldest.

The first one was definitely a non-traditional style: Skigh Strange Brew 2018 (Frankland River WA). This was yellow / orange in the glass and very cloudy. Apparently unfiltered (yep, we got that), and fermented in amphorae. The nose offered dry cider (apple and pear), burnt orange, beeswax and lemon citrus. The palate was almost beer-like, with a leesy texture, orange peel, apples and a phenolic grip. An interesting start.

The Pichler-Krautzler 2017 (Austria) was in the off dry style. Pale yellow and clear/bright in the glass. Mostly lime with some lemon, some talc and “wet pebbles”. This led to a palate of juicy lime, good acid, lanolin, peach, nectarine, and lanolin. There’s a lick of residual sugar to accompany the fruit intensity. Well regarded by the majority of tasters.

I didn’r realise Ferngrove (Great Southern, WA) was making an off dry style, but here it is the Ferngrove Aromatic Off Dry 2017. Very pale straw in colour, almost water-like and there was some spritz also. The initial kero cleared off with some air/time, and there’s lemon, musk, lanolin and key lime pie (no, I didn’t know what that was either). It’s softer on the acid than some other Rieslings, and it’s possible that the acid is masking the residual sugar (or vice versa). A couple of tasters reckon this showed “sherbet lemons” (lollies, apparently) and I reckoned this finished a little short.

Pewsey Vale 2017 (Eden Valley S.A.) is a baby. Pale straw colour, with talc and lemon blossom on the nose. There’s a slight sherbet twist before the zingy lemon lime kicks in and there’s good supporting acid. A little lean for most tasters at this point in it’s evolution, and should improve with time.

Singulier Vignoble Di Reveur 2016 (Alsace, France) was a dark orange in colour, and very cloudy. There’s burnt caramel, old apple cider, and sherry on the nose, which indicated an oxidative style of winemaking. The palate is bitter and tart, with savoury notes, orange pith and rind. One or two tasters detected some brett as well.

Flor Marche “The Malabre” 2016 (Great Southern, W.A. ) is a pale straw in colour. The nose shows intense lime after a touch of kero, and some lawn clippings. There was a pronounced spritz (I got the first pour and it was almost lemonade-like) . Some tasters got a bit of tar/asphalt, and there were definitely some sulphides present. Regardless of was different tasters sensed, overall there was lots of good stuff on the front palate, but that’s where it finished.

Best’s Riesling 2016 (Great Western) Pale yellow. A hint of kero and initially quite a dumb nose. There’s some slate, minerality, honey, lanolin, pear and white peach (depending on who was tasting it) and this hints towards adolescence in Rieslings (Australian rieslings can go through a dumb patch between 2-4 years of age). The palate was also modest to some degree, some lemon-lime and honeysuckle. Strong acid helps give this wine a probable 10 year lifespan.

A.J.Adam Riesling Trocken (Mosel, Germany) 2015. Pale yellow in colour, with musk, pure lime juice and a touch of lime marmalade on the nose. The palate had a touch of spritz, with searing acid, zingy lime, some glace pineapple, lychee and minerals. Some tasters questioned if there was a touch of botrytis in the wine.

Wolfberger 2015 (Alsace, France) Yellow colour (as were most of the 2015s we tried). Lots of kero on the nose, along with lemon rind, some florals, a touch of honey and unripe peach. The palate was searingly acidic, with spiced pear and cinnamon. Good length.

Pewsey Vale 2015 (Eden Valley S.A.) was muted i=on first pour, but evolved into everything you would expect from an Australian Riesling. Lime juice, a touch of lime cordial, talc, florals, all led to a palate that showed a hint of limoncello, a touch of chalk, some floury green apples, all supported by acid, leading to a medium finish.

Dominio IV (Rogue Valley Oregon USA) 2014 was likely to be a very interesting wine. Alas, the wine was judged (by the owner) to be cooked, and therefore too faulty to evaluate.

Bests Foudre 2014 (Great Western Victoria). This is a riesling that is fermented with wild yeasts in a 2500L old oak barrel (foudre). The wine showed orange/chocolate, a very smoky/kero and honeyed characters. The palate was rich with some residual sugar, but lacking in acid to support this.

Kilikanoon Morts Block 2013 (Clare Valley S.A.) Still pale yellow. Sherbet / lemon with the aromatics diminishing with time. This is a wine that is starting to come out the adolescence or “dumb” phase, with the palate showing bracing acid, lemon, lime, a touch of tropical pineapple, and a slightly sour back palate. This has years to go.

Pewsey Vale 2011 (Eden Valley, S.A.). The palate showed tropical fruit, dried apricot and marmalade characters. The palate was surprisingly good, with lime cordial and strongly supporting acid. Given 2011 wasn’t the best year in S.A., this wine received considerable support from the tasters.

Pewsey Vale 2009 (Eden Valley, S.A.). From a warm year, this shows honeyed lime cordial, and toast with marmalade. There’s good acid supporting the lime cordial, and there’s some perfume and a touch of soap.

Duke’s Magpie Hill 2008. (Porongorups, W.A.) We suspect this was faulty in some way. Burnt caramel and mango slushies competed with honeysuckle and beeswax on the nose. The palate was stripped – super high acid and the fruit dropping out meant that the wine was showing mead-like characters. Normally, this is a 20+ year wine.

Wine of the night (by a small margin) was the A.J.Adam Riesling Trocken (Mosel, Germany) 2015. It was good to see a large-ish turnout and a wonderful variety of Rieslings.

Cheers
Allan

[Mark Carrington]

AJ Adam’s 3025s are very good or better across the range. He’s a decent bloke & well worth a visit, if you’re in the Mosel.