Just One Question For U Gurus

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 5:59 pm

Hi mates

Visited Australia, love it thoroughly....but Aussie wines? - utterly new to them. Need some advice and please correct me if I am wrong.

Is there an Australian Riesling that's quite similar to a typical mildly
sweet, food friendly Riesling Spatlese or Auslese? Dessert wines like
Sauternes, TBAs, Ports, Sherries etc not to be considered. One who's
been drinking the stuff from the Rhine regions like Rhengau or MSR will understand what I'm trying to say. Taste: extremely fruity, very mineral, not too high in alcohol (7~8.5%), good acidity with some residual sugar (15~20gms/l). Don't like the one from Alsace very much...too dry and strong (13.5%alc.) though aromatic. Prefer one that's made with taste and finesse in mind and not strength and power. Personal feeling...the dry style simply doesn't go with very spicy Asian cuisines particularly one that's cooked with chili padi (tiny but ridiculously HOT!). A bone-dry Chardonnay for instance, explodes in the mouth whereas a hint of sweetness will put out the fire and set your palate ready for the next bite of say...Black pepper padi crabs. The image of the Rhine wines here in Singapore is really bad. They are dismissed as candy coated plonks and not at all available in common places like supermarkets. Despite the unpopularity, they are somewhat pricy...say a bottle of Robert Weil Spatlese costs as much as S$70. An Aussie Auslese medium sweet would be great. Reckon only the steep slopes and chilly climate of the Rhine can yield such wonderful grapes.

Davo · Post by **Davo** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 6:40 pm

Guess what, Europe makes great European wines. If that is what you are chasing go there for your holiday.

We make great Aussie wines, in fact Australia make the best Australian style wines in the world. Come with an open mind and try everything, If you can't find anything you like head back to Europe for your next hols.

Simple really.

Red Bigot · Post by **Red Bigot** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 7:34 pm

Anonymous wrote: Personal feeling...the dry style simply doesn't go with very spicy Asian cuisines particularly one that's cooked with chili padi (tiny but ridiculously HOT!). A bone-dry Chardonnay for instance, explodes in the mouth whereas a hint of sweetness will put out the fire and set your palate ready for the next bite of say...Black pepper padi crabs.

What Davo said. And get yourself some nice full-bodied sweet-fruited, lightly oaked Aussie shiraz, goes with almost any spicy food...

BTW, I get a small hint of this from Davo's response, so maybe it's not just me, but I have a big urge to ignore/dismiss anonymous posters who offer (sometimes contentious) opinions and/or ask for (or "require") information. I'd like to be helpful, but even if you don't join up and login, it would be polite (and useful for future reference) if you would at least give your name (or a consistent alias), and possibly where you come from, it's not always obvious. This forum is a lot more open than some others in allowing "guest" posters, but you will get a lot more and more serious responses if you use a consistent name, otherwise you may be just another background noise from the rabble.

Kieran · Post by **Kieran** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 7:59 pm

Try Wellington FGR Riesling (Forty Grams Residual, or F... Good Riesling.)

Kieran

Chow Chow · Post by **Chow Chow** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 11:05 pm

Me no guru but Confucious said..."don't confused yourself, why look for ice in the Sahara or sand in the Artic"

btw. I don't use Kylie Minogue as a benchmark for a S'pore gal.

Raymond · Post by **Raymond** » Sun Mar 13, 2005 1:09 am

Hi Guys

Thanks for the info. Sorry for the anonymity. It was unintentional. I did type a name but I screwed up somewhere. Will try what Kieran suggested... Wellington FGR. Reckon 40gm/l is really sweet. Don't mind if the acidty is equally high. I don't suppose you guys think I am silly looking for German style wines in Australia. I read that Riesling was introduced by early German migrants to the continent for that reason I thought I could find a cheap alternative to the costly Ausleses. Weird guy you may say I am that I dislike red wines. I just don't have the palate for those tannins. My tongue feels as if it has been scoured with soap.
Nice chatting with you guys.
Raymond

Ian S · Post by **Ian S** » Sun Mar 13, 2005 2:19 am

Raymond
If you're looking for something maybe a bit nearer the German style, perhaps New Zealand might have some interest. I'm thinking in particular of Fromm Auslese, BA, TBA's. Maybe Dry River Rieslings as well. I'm only going on tasting notes read though, as I've not tried either range.

I really like SAust rieslings (& those from Alsace), but they have their own unique style, which I can accept you're not looking for in this instance.

For something low in alcohol, with some residual sweetness, but a genuinely interesting flavour profile, it might be worth trying Moscato D'Asti from Italy. Muscat grape, which gives it a nice floral touch. Alcohol at c. 6% I think.

Don't worry about not liking red wines - there's a preponderance of interest on this board in red wines, but there's stacks of great white wines out there as well & that leaves more for those of us that enjoy them! However if you get the chance to try a mature red, then it's worth giving it a taste - it sounds like you struggle with young aggressive reds, which is understandable.

Ian

p.s. Welcome to the board!

Red Bigot · Post by **Red Bigot** » Sun Mar 13, 2005 7:42 am

Raymond wrote:Weird guy you may say I am that I dislike red wines. I just don't have the palate for those tannins. My tongue feels as if it has been scoured with soap.

Welcome Raymond, you are perfectly entitled to like and drink whatever you like, you just happen to prefer sweetish white, I happen to drink almost exclusively red. FWIW when I started drinking wine way back in about 1964 I used to drink mostly sweet whites too, but rapidly moved on to dry whites and reds and then decided that reds were much more exciting for me.

I eat a lot of spicy/chilli hot food, often Thai style, sometimes Szechuan, Indian, Mexican, etc and seldom have trouble finding a red (still or sparkling) to go with the dish. Last night with a seafood paella-style salad, with prawns, mussels, squid etc a medium-bodied not too rich sparkling red hit the spot.

Wizz · Post by **Wizz** » Sun Mar 13, 2005 8:34 am

Raymond, a couple of producers in the Barossa make low alcohol sweeter styles from white muscat, I think Hewitson and Two hands both do one, 5-6% alcohol and a little bit sweet. Also in the Barossa, a number of producers make white frontignac, again a little sweet, and I think they might work well for you.

All these are inexpensive.

regards

Andrew

Craig(NZ). · Post by **Craig(NZ).** » Sun Mar 13, 2005 8:50 am

Raymond.

I agree with the above re NZ rieslings

General rule of thumb I think is Aussie does better dry rieslings, NZ does better off dry rieslings

Labels you may like to try include Fromm La Strada either the medium or the Auslese as described above. Also Pegesus Bay.

C.

Muscat Mike · Post by **Muscat Mike** » Sun Mar 13, 2005 12:32 pm

Bullers make a light Muscat. About 6% and a light, sweet taste. Lovely when cold on a summers day.
MM.

Davo · Post by **Davo** » Sun Mar 13, 2005 2:25 pm

Wizz wrote:Raymond, a couple of producers in the Barossa make low alcohol sweeter styles from white muscat, I think Hewitson and Two hands both do one, 5-6% alcohol and a little bit sweet. Also in the Barossa, a number of producers make white frontignac, again a little sweet, and I think they might work well for you.

All these are inexpensive.

regards

Andrew

Yeah, I think they are labelled as Le Gopener. :lol:

Alex · Post by **Alex** » Sun Mar 13, 2005 3:20 pm

Raymond, I had to look thru my tasting notes, but you can try Mr. Riggs Riesling 2004. Its made in a Kabinett style. Agree with above that its worthwhile trying moscato d'asti and frontignac.

Cheers,
Alex

rchhchan · Post by **rchhchan** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 1:54 am

Hi guys

Really appreciate the suggestions and information. Will see if I can find them here in Singapore. The problem is our Supermarkets do not carry too many names. Vast majority of whites are Chardonnays. I'll try Carrefour.

Regards
Ray

Gavin Trott · Post by **Gavin Trott** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 9:46 am

Alex wrote:Raymond, I had to look thru my tasting notes, but you can try Mr. Riggs Riesling 2004. Its made in a Kabinett style. Agree with above that its worthwhile trying moscato d'asti and frontignac.

Cheers,
Alex

Agree entirely, probably hard to find now, but delicious.

GraemeG · Post by **GraemeG** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 9:51 pm

Ooh, ooh, chance to ram crown of 'guru' on my head!

I think Craig has it about. NZ does that style of wine better than anyone here (at presetn at least).

Having said that, there are some rieslings that approach the style a bit. In another post I TN'ed the 2004 Delatite riesling. The nose is almost Gewurz-like, and there are some of those apple-sweet qualities on the palate initially, but it doesn't finish like a Mosel wine at all.

You'd like to think that if a style isn't appreciated in a market you could buy it cheap, rather than struggling to find it at all!

Good luck,
Graeme

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