Pfeiffer Riesling

[Mahmoud Ali]

This evening we stopped off to pick up a few bottles of red vermouth and while browsing the shelves I spotted some 2012 Pfeiffer Riesling (12%) from Victoria. I was sure that I hadn't seen it before but the clerk said it had been there for quite some time. Naturally I couldn't resist a 10 year-old wine, particularly one whose back label said "Enjoy now and over ten years until 2022". Like most people looking at a 10 year-old wine in a bottle shop I fully expected it to be either ready to drink or past its prime. I was wrong.

We got home and put it in the freezer to cool it down for dinner. Upon opening and pouring (it was under screw cap) it looked youthful and pale, the nose bright with white flowers, and the palate limey and crisp. What ten years? This drank like a current vintage just off the boat. I have to say I was disappointed as I was hoping for a mature Riesling.

Then, cursing the blight that is the screw cap, I thought about experimenting with two bottles of the Pfeiffer Riesling, one bottle unopened and under screw cap and another opened and stoppered with a cork, both to squirrel away for about 5 years to see how each develops.

Has anyone tried this before?

Mahmoud.

[paulf]

I can't say that I have tried that.
The closest I have come is having a shiraz bottled under diam and screwcap from 2006 I think, so it might be time to open up another couple of bottles side by side and see how they looked. I probably have a couple of each closure left.

Pfieffer aren't really known for their Riesling. I think the fruit normally comes from the Strathbogie ranges as Rutherglen is a bit warm. I've had 2012 Rieslings under screwcap which have developed so you'd assume that the liner in those keeps the oxygen ingress to an absolute minimum. Maybe the cold weather in Canada also contributes?

[WineRick]

This evening we stopped off to pick up a few bottles of red vermouth and while browsing the shelves I spotted some 2012 Pfeiffer Riesling (12%) from Victoria. I was sure that I hadn't seen it before but the clerk said it had been there for quite some time. Naturally I couldn't resist a 10 year-old wine, particularly one whose back label said "Enjoy now and over ten years until 2022". Like most people looking at a 10 year-old wine in a bottle shop I fully expected it to be either ready to drink or past its prime. I was wrong.

We got home and put it in the freezer to cool it down for dinner. Upon opening and pouring (it was under screw cap) it looked youthful and pale, the nose bright with white flowers, and the palate limey and crisp. What ten years? This drank like a current vintage just off the boat. I have to say I was disappointed as I was hoping for a mature Riesling.

Then, cursing the blight that is the screw cap, I thought about experimenting with two bottles of the Pfeiffer Riesling, one bottle unopened and under screw cap and another opened and stoppered with a cork, both to squirrel away for about 5 years to see how each develops.

Has anyone tried this before?

Mahmoud.

I wouldn't, for a few reasons, probably better to give it another 3 - 5 years.
Firstly, white wines, with no tannin, wouldn't be able to handle the aeration that would occur when removing the 20 or so mls to make room for the cork. Capped wines are filled pretty full!
Next, you would lose any inert gas that might be in that head-space.
Most importantly, when a white is bottled SO2 levels are usually around 30 - 35 free and 125 - 150 total. Over 10 years, a lot of the free would gradually be lost, so when you introduce fresh air, the wine would quickly begin oxidising and you would have basically pre-mox conditions. Yes, the 'kero' would start to raise its ugly head!

[ticklenow1]

Mahmoud,

I can't agree with you on "the blight that is screwcap" line. While I don't want to start the age old cork vs screwcap debate, another poster from here and I were talking (over a bottle of aged screwcapped Australian white) about how good Australian white is under screwcap. Too much variation under cork, especially since Australia was probably a dumping ground for crap corks for many years. Australia is making some incredible Chardonnay, Semillon and Riesling that is world class.

As someone who drinks a bit of aged Chardonnay, screwcaps are amazing. 5-10 year old Chardonnays are wonderful. I recently opened 2 bottles of a 2012 Eden Valley Riesling under cork and the difference in the wine was chalk and cheese. One was dark in colour and was like a 20+ year old wine, while the other was light bright and still youthful and great to drink.

I'd rather age them for longer and have no variation than join the cork lottery on white wines. Red wines on the other hand.....

Ian

[Mahmoud Ali]

Hi Ian,

I did hesitate when I wrote those words about the screw cap but continued in the hope that people would understand it in the context of the first paragraph wherein I had hopes of a mature Riesling, egged on in no small measure by the statement on the back of the label. Believe me I am not against screw caps. A couple of weeks ago I had a screw-capped 2002 Wynn's Riesling that was most enjoyable so I am alright with aging them 20 years. Basically it was an expression of disappointment that perhaps was a little too colourful.

I'm no expert on screw caps but your caution and advice seems most intuitive WineRick. Cellaring the Pfeiffer longer is likely the best strategy. As Paul said Pfeiffer is not known for Riesling, and since neither is Wynn's, and since it traveled 20 years, as mentioned above, then why not the Pfeiffer.

Mahmoud.

PS: Oh, one more thing, I have no problem with a bit of the petrol or kerosene.