Riesling can be an exciting variety with its lively backbone and bright flavours ranging from apples, lime and lemon, to more complex ones suggesting kerosene, dried apricots, honey, and buttered toast and marmalade. Some have a steely backbone taut as a violin string with a dry finish, while others can be gentle and delicate with some sweetness.
The difficulty, as always with riesling, is figuring out the style which is not often obvious from the label. Most will develop more complexity with a year or so's bottle age.
BEST UNDER $20
about $19
A lively wine, fragrant with hints of lime and lemon, mouthfilling richness and concentration and marmaladey intensity. Off dry with a crisp, well balanced finish. www.tohuwines.co.nz
Good value
Four stars (out of five)
about $18
Hints of buttered toast and lime marmalade, zesty lime and a suggestion of honey give charm and intensity to this nicely balanced, lively, off-dry wine.
Average value
Three stars
$29
A new Central label that specialises in riesling rather than pinot is an exciting venture, with two inaugural releases (see www.odt.co.nz for a review of the other). This is charming and delicate,initially with suggestion of ripe apples, but the following day had deepened to reveal floral, honey and mineral characters. A dryish but ripe and beautifully harmonious wine, this is worth cellaring for a few more months or a year to let it reveal its best. Riesling aficionados should watch this label.
Below average value
Three stars
$25
Hawkes Bay rieslings are not common, but they can be good, and often are a bit more weighty than southern versions as this is. It hints of lime and citrus with undertones of honeysuckle and herbs, and is taut as a violin string, but with deeper, mouthfilling undertones and a crisp, dry finish. Good with food.
Average value
Four stars
$28
Grant Taylor has been making riesling from 27-year-old vines on Black Ridge Vineyard in Alexandra, for a few years and it's becoming a classic. At present it hints of grapefruit and lemon marmalade with undertones of buttered toast and a long, intense, dry finish. Give it a year or so's bottle age to show its best. Another wind for aficionados
Average value
Four stars
$32.50
Floral aromas and ripe fruit contrast with the steely structure that races through this wine like a taut, steel guitar string, but despite this it's a delicate wine with a lingering finish and great potential for development. Rippon is one of the leading makers of riesling in Central.
Below average value
Four stars (out of five)
ANOTHER GLASS
Montana South Island Riesling 2008
about $18
Fragrant with hints of lime and citrus, a lively crisp finish and a hint of sweetness on the aftertaste, this is a simple but easy to drink wine widely available. Look for it on special.
Average value
Two and a half stars
Wild South Marlborough Riesling 2009
$18.90
Suggestions of lime, lemon, starfruit and ginger backed by a zesty hint of mineral make this an attractive off-dry wine.
Average value
Three stars
Waimea Bolitho Nelson Riesling 2007
$22
With three years bottle age, this is showing an attractive hint of petrol among the lime and citrus overtones. It's a mouthfilling wine with sweetness on the palate but a crisp, dryish finish.
Average value
Three and a half stars
Auburn Lowburn Riesling 2009 CO
$29
A delicate, harmonious wine with definite aromas and flavours of apple on the first day, but after being open 24 hours it developed richer hints of lime and lemon with a mineral backbone suggesting that it will develop further with bottle age. With low alcohol (9%) it is crisp and charming rather than assertive. It's worth keeping an eye on this new Central Otago producer who plans to specialise in riesling.
Below average value
Three and a half stars
Although wine sent for review is tasted blind to eliminate preconceptions, all wine tasting and evaluation is subjective. These are personal recommendations. charmian.smith@odt.co.nz
Two stars - simple, clean, enjoyable wine; three stars - good wine with varietal characteristics; four stars - very good wine with some outstanding characteristics; five stars - outstanding wine with balance and harmony that leaves you with a sense of wonder.
