It’s only a matter of time before Australians stop drinking labels and start drinking flavour again. Then they will return to riesling in droves. The average chardonnay can’t hold a candle to this reliable old German grape, for in Australia riesling produces something quite unique. Well-known South Australian winemaker and Petaluma’s managing director, Brian Croser, says that “Australian riesling is so idiosyncratic in a world sense. It’s fresh and tastes like the grape it’s made from. It’s bone dry, un-oxidised and it’s usually quite full-flavoured by international standards. All these things add up to something not made anywhere else, in Alsace, Germany, California or Oregon”, he says. Winemaker at his family’s well-known South Australian winery, Stephen Henschke, says that riesling will always be a better food wine than chardonnay, particularly with seafoods. “It has more acidity, freshness and crispness on the finish. Australians have always drunk wine with food, especially dry table wines, and riesling fits perfectly into that category. Chardonnay got the big p.r., but people still drink riesling.” Dry Australian rieslings vary enormously from the delicate, steely, floral and citric wines from cool regions and seasons, to broader, meatier and less aromatic wines from parts warmer. Riesling, also incorrectly known in Australia as ‘Rhine Riesling’, is historically associated with the South Australian wine areas of Clare and Eden Valley, for very good reason. While producing distinct and different styles, both are characterised by their freshness, fineness and flavour. Both are able to be enjoyed while young, both able to be cellared for a decade or more; at least as long as a decent Australian red. The riesling affectionado is fortunate that in South Australia 1990 was such a remarkable vintage, and that 1991 was such a fine successor. 1990 produced big, almost unusually punchy flavours in riesling, whereas the 1991 wines are elegant and restrained, but ever so flavoursome. So, if like many others you’re finding that one chardonnay is just too much like the next, pick a riesling for a change. It’s certainly cheaper and much less monotonous that the standard pedestrian chardonnay. Petaluma’s 1990 Rhine Riesling, from Clare, is a brilliant blockbuster of a wine with an ethereal essence-like quality almost too good to be true. It’s nothing short of exemplary riesling, with an almost pungent floral nose with typical lemon-lime flavours and sweet aromas. The palate’s intensity is almost outside the limits, but its supple balance and pristine fruit holds it in check. It’s the nearest thing to a red wine I’ve ever seen in well-made riesling, and could be cellared for ages. The 1991 is more restrained but equally complex. If anything, it could last even longer. Other Clare rieslings of note from 1991 include the Jeffrey Grossett, Tim Knappstein, Wolf Blass Gold Label, Skillogalee, Pikes and Mitchell. The Sevenhill is a very full, soft and slightly sweeter example. Leo Buring is synonymous with Clare and the Eden Valley and the remarkable longevity of its rieslings from these areas is legendary. Although it’s unlikely to travel the length of some of its predecessors, Leo Buring’s Leonay Watervale Rhine Riesling 1988 DW R13 is a generous, flavoursome wine beginning to show the complex toasty and honeyed qualities expected of bottle-aged riesling. The Eden Valley and Barossa Ranges, high above the floor of the Barossa Valley, are responsible for some of Australia’s most consistent and affordable Australian rieslings, including several made by Yalumba but marketed under the vineyard labels of Pewsey Vale and Heggies. Both are particularly sound and consistent wines which after around five or six years of bottle-age develop complex varietal flavours. Perhaps the most idiosyncratic wine from the high Eden Valley is the Mountadam Riesling, which Adam Wynn makes in traditional Germanic style with a malolactic or secondary fermentation. The result is a softening and a broadening of the palate and the introduction of creamy and butterscotch flavours, which combine to do remarkable things with food after a few years in the bottle. Victoria is responsible for two intensely-flavoured and reliable riesling wines. At Delatite, near Mansfield, Rosalind Ritchie has been joined in her winemaking by brother David. The pair has some of Australia’s best riesling grapes at their disposal. The Delatite vineyard, which eyeballs the Victorian ski resort of Mount Buller, has an aspect and ambient air temperature reminiscent of the Black Forest’s Kaiserstuhl, and gets the Germanic sap of their riesling vines flowing in top gear. Delatite’s Riesling often shows an almost musky floral quality backed up with tremendously fresh flavour and long finish. Don Lewis correctly rates his 1991 Mitchelton Rhine Riesling as one of his best yet. It’s also been given a snappy new package and is being promoted as a stand-alone wine – not a component of some range or collection. This sort of recognition has hardly been given to riesling until recently, although some individual vineyard wines like Orlando’s Steingarten have helped redirect the public interest to this top-quality variety. Like the Delatite, the Mitchelton is intense, lemon-limey, with a fragrant floral nose that quickly fills a room. Both wines are suited to at least a decade’s cellaring. A significant chapter in riesling’s future is unfolding out west, as the youthful wine industry of the surprisingly cold Mount Barker and Frankland River areas (WA, and now united as the Great Southern area) get to grip with the class of their riesling grapes. Names to watch include Howard Park, Chatsfield, Castle Rock, Alkoomi, Scotsdale Brook, Jingalla and Frankland Estate. These new rieslings combine the immediate appeal of the Victorian wines mentioned with the longevity and finesse of the best from the Eden Valley. It would be no surprise at all if in twenty years time the rieslings of the Great Southern were regarded as the best in Australia. The newly-released Howard Park 1992 is a stunner and its maker, John Wade, is consultant- winemaker to many of the very small and already sought-after riesling producers of the region. Riesling surely has a bright future in Australia. Even if it’s not all consumed within our expansive shores, the rest of the world is fast waking up to it. It’s knocking the European competition for six.
