The results

With impressive consistency, identifiable regional styles, notable older vintages and terrific value for money, the panel found plenty to praise, reports John Stimpfig

LOOking AT The results, there wasn’t much doubt about the success of this two-day tasting of 133 Australian Rieslings. equally, the post-match analysis and comments of the judges were just as positive. Roger Jones described it as ‘an absolutely amazing tasting’. Sarah knowles and Anthony Rose agreed, praising the quality and ‘phenomenal consistency’.

For Rose, Aussie Riesling’s recognisable style is as impressive as it is important. nearly all the wines were dry with no obvious oak, he noted. They were also crisp, with good lemon and lime fruit, terrific balance and moderate alcohol. ‘So if you like dry, fresh, aromatic white wines, you should be drinking Australian Riesling.’

Within that overall stylistic frame of reference, the judges were keen to point out the various regional differences. Sadly, not many Tasmanian Rieslings were entered. nonetheless, knowles enjoyed their distinctive and characteristic ‘touch of sherbet’.

Jones was just as taken with entries from Western Australia’s great Southern, reserving particular praise for Frankland River, Pemberton and Mount Barker. ‘The wines have lovely steely minerality with great freshness and salinity,’ he noted.

Unsurprisingly, South Australia’s Clare and eden Valleys performed well in similar but slightly contrasting styles. knowles described Clare Valley Rieslings as having ‘more white peach and apricot notes, with very firm acidity when young. Whereas eden is much more lemon and citrus, with perhaps softer acidity in its youth.’

With so many wines entered, there were several vintages on show. The new 2017 is clearly a stand-out year across the board, with some to be enjoyed now while more serious wines will benefit from time in bottle. however, there was a slight concern that some 2016s were starting to evolve earlier than expected.

Of the older vintages, 2009 showed very well, as did a couple of 2010s. knowles noted that the 2014s and 2015s all seemed to be in a good place for drinking. ‘And surprisingly we had a great 2011, which was a difficult vintage generally for South Australia.

This raised the question of the optimum time to open an Australian Riesling. Jones felt that some 2017s from Clare were perfect already. ‘it’s personal preference as they’ll change completely in three or four years time,’ he said. ‘That’s very different from Alsace or german Riesling, which can take up to 20 years to evolve.’

Rose added, ‘This tasting showed that there are three ages for Australian Riesling. There’s the young, fresh, wonderfully fruity and floral style, which you can drink straight away. There’s the middle-aged style, with four or five years of age, where you’re beginning to see secondary elements of toastiness, enhanced lime and brioche. And then there are even older wines with 10 years’ bottle age that are also drinking delightfully well.’

As if this wasn’t enough incentive to buy Australian Riesling, the panel had more encouragement to offer. According to Rose, ‘These wines are incredibly foodfriendly and versatile. You can match them with classic european dishes, Asian cuisine or tapas.’

Last but by no means least, the panelists were keen to point out the terrific value of these wines. Looking at the top-scoring wines, 73 out of 81 of them are less than £30 a bottle. And 14 of them are less than £15. no wonder the advice from Jones is to ‘buy, buy, buy!’ Entry criteria: producers and UK agents were invited to submit their latest release, 85% minimum, dry Riesling from any Australian region

,‘ If you like dry, fresh, aromatic white wines, you should be drinking Australian Riesling’ Anthony Rose