Because it is still relatively untrendy, riesling is great value. Without exception, all the wines in this tasting developed over two or three days, indicating their potential for cellaring. Although they are all exciting now, if you are patient, you'll find a more delicious, integrated wine two to five years after you buy it.
BEST VALUE
$28
Five stars (out of five)
Good value
At three years old, this is about as delicious as riesling can be, fragrant with hints of sweet lime and grapefruit, suggestions of buttered toast, concentrated, with a beautifully balanced, crisp intensity and a long aftertaste.
$19
Three and a half stars
Good value
With lively floral and herbal notes and a burst of attractive fruit sweetness, this medium wine is nicely balanced with a crisp shaft of acidity on the finish and a lingering aftertaste. A stylish, lower-alcohol (10%) style of riesling.
$22
Three and a half stars
Average value
Fragrant with attractive aromas and a well balanced, crisp, dry finish, this wine lacked charm when first opened, but the following day it had developed into a charming, delicate but intense, off-dry wine that danced in the mouth and lingered on the aftertaste. Well worth a year or two's bottle age.
$26
Four stars
Average value
Another wine that developed from something slightly clumsy into a zesty, fragrant wine, mouth-filling and intense with a searingly dry, powerful finish. Give it another couple of years' bottle age to show its best.
$27
Four stars
Average value
A young wine that developed layers of complexity and charm with exposure to air. Lovely floral, citrus and mineral characters along with a slightly nutty suggestion almost like dry toast, a lively intensity and shaft of acidity with lingering fruit on the aftertaste.
Riesling 2012
$28
Four stars
Average value
Another wine with the structure and balance to benefit from bottle age. The aroma hints of lime but there's lots of fruit intensity and weight in the mouth, a lively dry finish and a lingering aftertaste. Made from 30+-year-old vines, this is becoming a cult wine among aficionados.
ANOTHER GLASS
Neudorf Moutere Riesling 2012
$29.90
Four stars
Average value
This wine was picked from the same vineyard on the same day as the dry riesling, reviewed bove, but the contrast is remarkable. This soon-to-be released wine is in a sweeter style, oozing lime, lemon and other citrus notes, but with a shaft of acidity that holds it together and gives t the structure and the balance to develop deliciously over a few years. It was picked on the same day as the dry riesling (reviewed above) and made in a similar way but the fermentation stopped when it was judged at the right balance.
Georges Road Block Three Waipara Riesling 2012
$23.50
Three and a half stars
Average value
Little aroma reveals itself at present, but this wine is mouth filling with citrus and grapefruit notes, a lively intensity, and a suggestion of marmalade on the dryish, lingering aftertaste. It too will develop with bottle age.
