Australian Riesling: Panel tasting results

This joint project from Yalumba’s Robert Hill Smith and Grosset Wines’ Jeffrey Grosset was first released in 2002. Mesh signifies their ‘weaving together of ideas and combining skills and knowledge’. The grapes, from two blocks, are ‘pedantically divided’ into differently coloured buckets for each winemaker and sent to separate wineries. Grosset and Hill Smith each make a wine according to personal style, and the two halves are eventually meshed together to create the final blend. Roger Jones: Incredible purity of ripe stone fruit. The palate is seamless and the mouthfeel immense, all kept in check by perfect acidity. Sarah Knowles MW: Intense lime and struck match. A precise, linear wine, with toasty development underneath classic lemon and lime fruit. Anthony Rose: Evolving well with classic honey and butter notes behind the citrus fruits, lightly infused with complex toastiness. Fresh and dry

Neil Paulett graduated from Adelaide’s Roseworthy oenology course in 1971 and began working as a winemaker for Penfolds. After 10 years he and wife Alison established their own family vineyard in the Clare Valley, growing Riesling, Shiraz and Chardonnay. Today, the estate encompasses 147ha with 25ha under vine in the Polish Hill River area. Vineyard manager duties have now been taken over by their son, Matt. Roger Jones: Honeyed and toasty aromas with a reductive quality but in a good way. Tropical nuances linger on the palate and then it finishes clean, ready for another taste. Sarah Knowles MW: Toasty lanolin and vanilla notes on the nose, flowing into lime and lemon curd flavours, with brioche, honey and wet slate. Intense, complex and developed. Terrific value. Anthony Rose: Seductive sweet toast and vanilla nose, while the palate is super juicy and evolved. With its glossy texture, it is approachable now and still remarkably fresh thanks to its cool-climate streak of acidity.

Having previously sold grapes to smaller wineries, Rhythm Stick Wines began making its Red Robin Riesling in 2009. The company only grows Riesling and makes 10,000 litres a year from its Clare Valley vineyards at 420m on limestone, shale and slate hillsides which capture rainwater in underground reefs. This creates a unique site to shelter the vines through the harshest conditions. Roger Jones: Clean and precise on the nose, evolving gently. Wet stone characters and a lovely feminine, gentle palate showing great purity. Sarah Knowles MW: Intense struck match and toast comes through on the nose, unfolding onto lime curd and grapefruit on the palate, with a long finish. Anthony Rose: Seductively fresh lemon and lime aromas with a juicy lime fruitiness that shouts Riesling in all directions. Mouthfilling and delightfully dry.

Kilikanoon, in the hamlet of Penwortham, was founded in 1997 by winemaker Kevin Mitchell. Mort’s Reserve – only made in the finest vintages – is mainly from the Mort’s Block vineyard, named after Mitchell’s father who tended the vines there for more than 40 years. It is also blended with fruit from the higher-altitude Khileyre vineyard. Roger Jones: Great aromatic purity of wild flowers, minerality and wet stones. A voluptuous texture in the mouth, where citrus and white stone fruit shine. Evolving beautifully; savoury and sweetness in tandem. A star! Sarah Knowles MW: Grapefruit and lime peel on nose and palate, then lanolin and gun smoke on the finish. Complete and complex, retaining youthful fruit. Anthony Rose: Attractive, smoky sweet pepper nose – a nicely evolved, classic style, with a charming texture, balance and a beautiful bone-dry finish.

O’Leary Walker was created in in 2000 by winemakers David O’Leary and Nick Walker. After long stints with some well-known companies, they decided to create their own small-batch wines from varieties that excel in different viticultural climates, including Chardonnay from the Adelaide Hills and Shiraz from McLaren Vale. This Riesling is sourced from Martin and Joan Smith’s biodynamically farmed vineyard in Polish Hill River, where soils are grey loam over sandstone and slate. Roger Jones: Full-flavoured honey, toast and lime curd are complemented by a vibrant spritz that leaves a clean, fresh finish. A zippy and exciting wine. Sarah Knowles MW: Complex kerosene and lemon nose with lime and grapefruit on the palate. Savoury notes come through too, backed fresh acidity. Lacks just a little intensity on the mid-palate, but this is great value. Anthony Rose: Fine, evolved nose of citrus, petrol and toast and also suggesting sweetness, which translates onto the palate as ripe roasted apricots. It’s all underpinned by firm acidity and a fine, dry finish – fabulous!

Neil Paulett’s wine philosophy has been to focus on making consistent, high-quality wines that have distinct varietal character and regionality. The fact that he has been making wine here for 30 years is a key to his success. This aged-release wine is made from holding back a small parcel of Riesling from the most successful vintages for an extended maturation in the winery’s cellar. Roger Jones: Honeyed, savoury nose of wild herbs beautifully balanced by fruit and gentle, cooling wet stone flavours. It is luscious yet controlled – the gentle toasty flavours enhanced by lime curd and buttered brioche. Sarah Knowles MW: Appealing reductive aroma with lemon, lime and grapefruit. Toast, kerosene and lanolin flavours with tart green apple on the long finish. Anthony Rose: Intensely aromatic evolved Riesling with gentle notes of toast and honey behind the lime. This still has finely textured fruit and enough vigour to carry it through to a lingering finish, underpinned by firm yet refreshing acidity.

In 1978 Australian wine pioneer Peter Lehmann founded a wine company, securing finance for growers whose livelihoods were at risk after a fruit surplus a year earlier. In 1979, the winery was built and Lehmann named it Masterson Barossa Vignerons, after Sky Masterson, the gambler from the musical Guys and Dolls. The gamble paid off, and in 1980 he made his first wines; and in 1982 Lehmann was convinced to put his name to the now successful company. This Wigan Riesling is named after winemaker Andrew Wigan, who has had a hand in every Peter Lehmann wine since the very first vintage. Roger Jones: The savoury-spiced nose denotes pure class, with that seamless honey on toasted brioche character and a flash of lime zest. Awesome! Sarah Knowles MW: A waxy nose with lemon curd notes. Deep development of petrol and wet stone with a lemon and grapefruit seam running through it. Anthony Rose: Classic evolved Eden Riesling with toast and lime aromas and a light-bodied but juicy and fresh palate. Remarkable!

Alkoomi is one of Western Australia’s largest family-owned and -run wine producers. Sandy and Rod Hallett’s vineyards are on gravelly loam soils, and grapes for this Black Label Riesling come from the oldest vines, planted in 1971, through to the the most recent (2003). The free-run juice from each parcel is fermented separately then blended. Roger Jones: Precise, with a touch of spritz that will diffuse with age. The pure, focused minerality is like a wet sea breeze. A delicate wine that will evolve well, yet is already very good; I’d love to see it in a decade. Sarah Knowles MW: Tight white peach, lemon and lime fruit with bright acidity. This has real vibrancy, precision and direction. A great wine with great potential. Anthony Rose: Fine, intense citrus fragrance, with a hint of spice and a floral note. The fruit quality is still youthful – elemental and yet to unfurl – but there’s a firm spine of acidity behind that lengthens and broadens the palate, leading to an appealingly dry finish.

Alkoomi started in 1971 with just 1ha of estate vines; today it has 105ha. Melaleuca is a single block of Riesling from that 1971 planting. The Hallett family’s philosophy has always been to favour quality over quantity, and to farm the land in an environmentally sustainable way. The fruit is harvested in the early morning, immediately pressed then left on its lees for some time after to enhance its flavours. Roger Jones: Elegant sweetness on the nose, while the palate is full flavoured with saline notes and a depth of fruit. It is complex and layered yet controlled; a racy wine that is exuberant now but will evolve beautifully. Sarah Knowles MW: Searing and intense acidity, showing sherbet aromas and tart lemon on the palate, with a wet-stone finish. Precise, intense and lengthy. Anthony Rose: Youthful, tight aromatic profile with intense sweet and sour fruit and an almost Rheingau-like character. Good length and flavour, even though still young, with weight and intensity and a long, bone-dry, mineral finish. Still needs plenty of time to unfold.

Winemaker Simon Gilbert started Gilbert Family Wines in 2004, but this family business has a wine history that goes back six generations. Joseph Gilbert left London for South Australia, acquiring land in Eden Valley. In 1842 he not only planted the first grapes in the region, but established the first vineyard and winery. The Gilbert + Gilbert label is a testament to that legacy, focusing only on three Rieslings: this single-vineyard wine, an off-dry style and a museum reserve. Roger Jones: This is so clean for a 2015! Extremely bright, fresh, vibrant and juicy with a textured and lively palate. White stone fruit of lovely purity and wet-stone precision. Sarah Knowles MW: Still youthful and fresh, brimming with lemons and grapefruit in a light, dry, elegant style. Anthony Rose: Evolved and quite broad on the nose, showing delicious apple and citrus fruit with good tangy, clean acidity and an overall seamless, refreshing balance.

Jeffrey Grosset founded his eponymous winery in 1981 in the historic township of Auburn in the Clare Valley. He is Australia’s most celebrated Riesling winemaker, as well as a leading proponent in the introduction of screwcap closures. Grosset produces nine organically certified wines each vintage, capping production at 11,000 cases to focus on quality and purity of fruit from his 22ha of estate vineyards. Roger Jones: Focused and linear, but also layered and textured. This is beautifully made and will age well. A stunning wine that has everything to take it on its journey: minerality, fruit, hidden spices and texture. Pure genius! Sarah Knowles MW: Grapefruit, lime and bitter orange notes are balanced with piercingly high acidity in this mouthwatering style. Anthony Rose: Fresh nose with a degree of complexity to it, yet still elementally youthful in structure with a floral note and juicy fresh apple and citrus flavours. The lean, mouthwatering streak of acidity, sinewy texture and dry, stony minerality suggests a promising future.

Jim Barry started making wine under his name in 1959. The Lodge Hill vineyard, bought by Barry in 1977, is one of the highest points of the Clare Valley, at 480m, planted to Riesling and Shiraz on brown loam over a layer of clay and slate bedrock that allows water to drain freely. Roger Jones: Love the perfumed nose packed with buttercups and wild flowers, then a vibrancy that lifts the wine to another dimension. Delicate yuzu and candied citrus palate leading to a precise finish. The depth of flavour is great – there’s a touch of reduction but who cares; its superb! Sarah Knowles MW: An intensely aromatic profile of lime and grapefruit showcases this wine’s elegance and youthfulness. It needs time, but it is still juicy, citrussy and drinkable now. Anthony Rose: Youthfully fresh, this is still in its first flush of development. Notes of apple, pear, citrus and peach on the palate with a salty, mineral edge to the fruit and a mouthwateringly dry, crisp finish that promises much in the future.

Larry Cherubino and wife Edwina bought their first parcel of vines in Frankland River in 2004 and in 2005 released their first wine. Today they make 48 wines and this Riesling is from the Laissez-Faire range, named for the hands-off approach used in making these ‘post-natural’ wines from estate vineyards. Roger Jones: Perfect Riesling character on the nose and palate. It is evolving beautifully but will keep longer. A great reflection of Porongurup. Sarah Knowles MW: Showing some toasty development and a waxy lemon and orange character on the palate and a long finish. It has developed perhaps a little early, but still has time to go. Anthony Rose: Deliciously toasty and full of lime marmalade notes. It finishes with refreshing acidity in a style that suggests greater evolution to come, yet is nonetheless distinctive right now, with lots of character.

Casella Family Brands, makers of Yellowtail, acquired Peter Lehmann Wines in 2014, appointing Nigel Westblade as chief winemaker in 2017. The H&V (Hill & Valley) range aims to show the diversity of regions around the winery – such as this Riesling from high-altitude sloping vineyards in Eden Valley, where the sandy soils on shallow rock and shale are ideal for enhancing the natural acid balance of the wine. Roger Jones: A beautifully classic Eden Valley Riesling, full of texture and flavours of lime marmalade on toasted brioche, spice and amazing white peach purity. Very long, with a touch of reduction – but in a good way. Sarah Knowles MW: Toasty, waxy and honeyed nose mingles with a struck match and lime curd character. A full-flavoured, developed and intense example. Anthony Rose: This is a wine characterised by pronounced and attractive lemony fruit and fresh acidity, showing good varietal character and a bone-dry, mineral finish. Lovely and great value.

RockBare is a project created by winemakers Shelley Torreson and Peter Fraser, who are both based at Yangarra Estate in McLaren Vale. ‘Winemaking without frontiers’ is how they term it – ‘free from the constraints of owning our own vineyards, we are able to make wines that each have their own unique story’. Grapes are sourced from local growers, with this Riesling from a single vineyard in the Watervale sub-region of Clare Valley. Roger Jones: Juicy guava combines with citrus acidity and more candied lemon zest. White stone fruit and an uplifting texture gives it lovely dimension. Sarah Knowles MW: Tight lemon and wet-stone aromas with a precise, linear and mouthwatering palate. Lacks some complexity but will be great in time. Anthony Rose: An opulent, medium-bodied Riesling with great richness of fruit – lots of classic Clare Valley lime-cordial flavours here, on a fine-textured and well-proportioned palate. It is zesty and refreshingly dry with a fine mineral background.

The ancestors of David Clarke and his wife Cheryl (nee Thorn) were pioneers in the Barossa Valley, going back six generations. The pair, and their son Sam, are among the region’s biggest grape growers, with 270ha across the Barossa and Eden Valleys. Having sold fruit to other wineries for several years, they first released wine under their own name in 2001. Eden Trail is one of three Rieslings made, this one in a low-intervention style, from free run juice with minimal fining and filtration. Roger Jones: Restrained yet full of delicate, refined flavours. I love the minerality, texture and yin-yang balance of juicy sweet and savoury fruit and great citrus acidity. Sarah Knowles MW: Aromas and flavours are dominated by lime and wet stone, well balanced by firm mouthwatering acidity. A proper Riesling. Anthony Rose: Aromatically very fresh and youthful, unravelling with nice weight on the palate. It is still elemental but finely textured, with an apple and citrus fruit quality and a dry, clean finish. Classic and great value.