TCA, Riesling and the 'dumb phase'
Posted: Wed Sep 24, 2003 5:03 pm
With dinner at my parents’ house, and fearful heat in Sydney last night, I took a bottle of <b>1999 Lindemans Nursery Vineyard Riesling (Coonawarra)</b> with me, memories still fresh from the wonderful bottle tasted at CD in May this year. My little stash I purchased 3 years ago – shows how slowly stocks are moving at Lindemans CD these days – or perhaps how little interest or effort goes into Coonawarra Riesling. Which is a pity.
This bottle, however, was slightly corked. At first I wasn’t sure, and wondered about the famed Riesling ‘trough’ (see below). Although the nose was slightly ambiguous, a dead palate confirmed my suspicion. It was cold and wet but had no flavour whatsoever. Had I not had the memory of the May tasting with me, I’d have been less sure. Damn these corks. The Southcorp Customer Service lady at the 1800 number sounded a bit dubious – “You bought it in May 2000?†– but has offered to replace it with a Leo Buring something-or-other. I told her my days of buying new-release riesling under cork were over...
This Riesling trough. It is commonly held that after an initial burst of fruity freshness, quality Riesling hibernates into developmental “trough†during which it becomes muted, dull and unfriendly, before transmuting magically into a glorious elixir singing with rich complexity. How deep and wide do you find this trough to be? The most common figures I’ve read say something like ‘2-5 years after vintage’. Do you find that this varies significantly? I’ve never drunk the same wine consistently from vintage --> 8+ years, so I don’t really know how to assess this. I’ve drunk 7-10yo wines – Leonays, Steingartens – that showed fresh and young and barely any development at all. Do these wines shut down for a 5-10 year window after harvest, or should I just expect 2-5 like the books say? Any experiences worth sharing?
And, anyone agree that Coonawarra Riesling is under-rated, and a match for at least your average Clare product?
Cheers,
Graeme
This bottle, however, was slightly corked. At first I wasn’t sure, and wondered about the famed Riesling ‘trough’ (see below). Although the nose was slightly ambiguous, a dead palate confirmed my suspicion. It was cold and wet but had no flavour whatsoever. Had I not had the memory of the May tasting with me, I’d have been less sure. Damn these corks. The Southcorp Customer Service lady at the 1800 number sounded a bit dubious – “You bought it in May 2000?†– but has offered to replace it with a Leo Buring something-or-other. I told her my days of buying new-release riesling under cork were over...
This Riesling trough. It is commonly held that after an initial burst of fruity freshness, quality Riesling hibernates into developmental “trough†during which it becomes muted, dull and unfriendly, before transmuting magically into a glorious elixir singing with rich complexity. How deep and wide do you find this trough to be? The most common figures I’ve read say something like ‘2-5 years after vintage’. Do you find that this varies significantly? I’ve never drunk the same wine consistently from vintage --> 8+ years, so I don’t really know how to assess this. I’ve drunk 7-10yo wines – Leonays, Steingartens – that showed fresh and young and barely any development at all. Do these wines shut down for a 5-10 year window after harvest, or should I just expect 2-5 like the books say? Any experiences worth sharing?
And, anyone agree that Coonawarra Riesling is under-rated, and a match for at least your average Clare product?
Cheers,
Graeme