Falstaff Magazin International 00/2021

wine / RIESLING < USA

wine / RIESLING < USA – WASHINGTON STATE AND THE FINGER LAKES, NY There are two Riesling hotspots in the United States. Most plantings are in Washington State. Its lean soils are home to 2,468 hectares/6,099 acres of Riesling. A dry climate and abundant sunlight in the inland wine regions provide the long growing season Riesling needs. Kevin Corliss, vice president of viticulture for Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery, the largest Riesling producer in Washington and the US, says: “Like it or not, we do really, really great Riesling. And we should because vast sections of our state are well-suited to it.“ Corliss describes its flavours as, “Key lime, mandarin oranges and wet rock.” Washington’s dry Rieslings pack a punch and transport the stark beauty of the landscape. The other US Riesling hotspots are New York’s Finger Lakes. The climate is much cooler and there are just 384 hectares/950 acres of BEST OF Australia Riesling POLISH HILL RIESLING 2020 96 Grosset Wines, Clare Valley Jeffrey Grosset is the high priest of Australian Riesling. Grown at 460m, this is pure thrill. WATERVALE RIESLING 2020 95 Mount Horrocks Wines, Clare Valley From a small, single vineyard, this really stands out for its texture and complex aftertaste. RIESLING 2020 94 Pewsey Vale, Eden Valley Grown at almost 500m, this expresses glorious freshness and Eden Valley charm. ISOLATION RIDGE RIESLING 2019 93 Frankland Estate, Western Australia Not from your classic Riesling region, but a total, textural wonder fermented in neutral oak. WATERVALE RIESLING 2020 93 Jim Barry Wines, Clare Valley Another iconic name in Australian Riesling, another stunningly pure, zesty expression. Peter Berry of Jim Barry in Clare Valley, South Australia, is one of Australia‘s foremost Riesling protagonists. Here he is pictured with his sons Sam and Tom. Photos: ©Don Brice Photography 2008, provided 66 falstaff summer 2021

View of the Danube from one of Weingut Hirtzberger‘s steep and terraced vineyards in Austria‘s Wachau region. Riesling. The lakes – Canandaigua, Keuka, Seneca and Cayuga – moderate what can be a harsh climate. Finger Lake Rieslings can be delicate and show best with bottle age. AUSTRALIA Riesling first arrived in Australia in 1837 and has been a stalwart of the country’s wine scene ever since. For a long time, Riesling was Australia’s most widely planted white grape and was only overtaken by Chardonnay in the 1990s. Today there are 3,157 hectares/7,801 acres of Riesling in Australia. Rieslings from Eden Valley and Clare Valley in South Australia are classics in their own right: they have a lime-driven freshness, vivid urgency, moderate alcohol and show real intensity and steeliness. With just a little bottle age, they develop a beguiling aroma that recalls lime curd and even lanolin – they are almost always bone-dry. The soils in both valleys are diverse: limestone, slate, quartz, loam, sand, clay and gravel – but it is the large difference between night- and daytime OUR RIESLINGS TEND TO BE LEAN, FRESH, LIMEY AND QUITE PURE. A LOT OF THE VINEYARDS ARE PLANTED IN CHALLENGING SITES. JEFFREY GROSSET, WINEMAKER temperatures that makes these Rieslings so distinct. “Riesling, more than any other variety to me, expresses place,“ says Jeffrey Grosset of the eponymous winery in Clare Valley. “Our Rieslings tend to be lean, fresh, limey and quite pure. A lot of the vineyards are planted in challenging sites, the vines have to struggle. The fruit is concentrated and creates an intense wine.“ Aged Australian Riesling is a joy and a collector‘s item: the wines are already intense in their youth and become even more so with age. AUSTRIA There are just 1,985 hectares/4,905 acres of Riesling in Austria – yet Austrian Rieslings are prized across the world for their intensity, brilliance and purity. Austrian Riesling grows primarily along the river Danube in Lower Austria in the regions of Wachau, Kremstal, Kamptal and Traisental. These regions are also famous for Austria’s flagship variety, Grüner Veltliner – but this is exactly what explains Riesling’s disproportionate fame. It is only planted in the most suitable sites: on the stony slopes dropping down to the Danube and Kamp rivers. Further down on those same slopes where the soil is richer, Grüner Veltliner takes pride of place, but in the poorest, stoniest, steepest sites, Riesling triumphs. It loves the ortho- and paragneiss, shale and sandstone soils. Austrian Riesling is full-fruited and of brilliant purity, usually bone-dry, often sports overtones of apricot and peach and runs the full gamut of citrus flavours. It clearly enjoys the extended growing season afforded by the deeply continental climate. < summer 2021 falstaff 67