Sadly that was not always the case with some just becoming ungraciously shrill. For all that, he still adores Riesling, though now leans to the sweeter spectrum.
Riesling can have that fascination, also making me a life-long lover of the variety, while these days both the dry and the sweeter versions really can age with grace.
2020 Astrolabe The Farm Marlborough Dry Riesling
Price RRP $30
Rating Excellent
Fragrant nose, honey
shifts to musk, a fruit
pith character, lime
accented citrus,
beeswax comes with
aeration. Dry, almost
crunchy palate, racy
acidity, red apple, sour
worms, dry honey, that
musky element
reappears. Lovely
flavour intensity here
yet remains light on its
feet, a prickly touch in
the mouth. A long,
appley, salivatory
finish.
2021 Craggy Range Single Vineyard Te Muna Road Martinborough Riesling
Price RRP $31.95
Rating Very Good to Excellent
Youthful nose, some
yeast esters, wisps of
lime cordial, spice,
flower petal, honeyed
notes with time. Some
fruit pith crunchiness
adds to the texture,
while fruit pastille-like
sweet fruit creates
contrast with the
otherwise dry palate.
Again, good flavour
depth yet lightness.
Invitingly zesty with the
flavours carrying nicely
on to the long close.
2021 Valli Waitaki Vineyard Riesling
Price RRP $34.50
Rating Excellent to Outstanding
Fascinating nose,
chalk dust, a wisp of
lanolin, apple, acid
drops, a sense of
volume, apple skin &
wet stone with time.
Depth and richness
here, countered by a
drying core, a shaft
of racy acidity
running through this.
Again, that chalky
quality, picking up
notes of dry honey
and lime zest. Long,
lime-accented close.
One to watch in the
cellar I suspect.
2019 Main Divide North Canterbury Riesling
Price RRP $20.99
Rating Excellent
Honeyed notes,
wisps of struck
match, even a touch
of kero, fruit cordial,
apple. Spritz/prickle
gives liveliness to the
palate, there’s a tiny
funky nuance before
a flood of fruit flavour
rushes in. There’s
lovely balance
between the
sweetness, acidity
and flavour intensity
that gives this super
drinkability off the
bat. Generosity of
flavour.
2021 Carrick Josephine Organic Bannockburn Riesling
Price RRP $34
Rating Excellent
A waxy quality, lime
zest, jasmine like
florality, a little shy but
opening out. The
residual sugar gives
richness and weight to
this, yet it’s not overtly
sweet. Red apple, spice,
hints of rose petal,
lemony nuances, picking
up some orange notes
with aeration. The acidity
brings freshness, quite
moreish and appealing
with some chewy grip on
the close adding interest.
2022 Riverby Estate Sali’s Block Single Vineyard Marlborough Riesling
Price RRP $22
Rating Very Good to Excellent
Apple, boiled sweets,
dry honey, developing
musk & wet stone
notes. Intriguing
palate, waxy, green
apple, stony minerality
with a bittersweet
counterpoint between
the sweetness and
acidity. Still quite
youthful but feels like
this might drink best
young. Zesty &
refreshing, the
honeyed characters
growing on the palate
as it opens.
