Festive Season Everyday Riesling: A Compendium

2020 Gunderloch Fritz’s Riesling RRP $24
The Hasselbach family’s introduction to the Roter Hang shows why this slope is perfect for producing wonderful ripeness. Red slate soil, proximity to the river, exposure to the sun and the steepness of the vineyards combine for a Riesling with lovely stone fruit, fresh natural acidity, spice and aromatic lift. Dry, fresh and full of character.

2020 Dr L Riesling RRP $25
This crisp, refreshing Riesling represents the jumping-in point from Dr. Loosen, capturing the elegant and racy characteristics of steep, slate-soil Mosel vineyards at a very reasonable price. It’s produced from grapes from contracted growers throughout the Mosel valley who work closely with brothers Ernst and Thomas Loosen to achieve excellent quality and superb concentration in every vintage.

2021 Frankland Estate Riesling RRP $30
Pale, green and bright in the glass. Aromas of guava, brown lime juice, grapefruit pith, ginger and melon skin. Sweet, juicy fruit on entry, citrus pith, brown lime, white peach, bruised apple and tangy acidity. Long, textured and layered. 90 points. Aaron Brasher, The Real Review October 2021

2020 Wittmann 100 Hügel Riesling RRP $30
Plenty of nutty apple and quince aromas and a juicy, generous body with very lively acidity that gives this considerable appeal. From organically grown grapes. Drink now. Screw cap. 90 points. Stuart Pigott, jamessuckling.com October 2021

2020 Domäne Wachau Terrassen Riesling Federspiel RRP $32
Green pear, lime, a dusting of pepper and dried herb. Juicy, apple and stonefruit, chalky grip, a pleasant lemon zest bitterness, and a bright and tangy finish of good length. Tasty. 91 points. Gary Walsh, The Wine Front September 2021

2019 Villa Wolf Wachenheimer Riesling RRP $32
Generous and full of life with plenty of citrus and fresh herbs, the balance of ripeness and crisp acidity very attractive. Long, lemony finish. Tank sample. 91-92 points. Stuart Pigott, jamessuckling.com August 2020

2021 clos Clare Riesling RRP $32
Attractively soft fragrance here with jasmine and lime, as well as apple blossom and a white-peach edge. The palate holds a very intense and focused feel with slick, juicy acidity and rich, concentrated fruit flesh. So long. Drink or hold. Screw cap. 96 points. Nick Stock, jamessuckling.com October 2021

2020 Koehler-Ruprecht Kallstadter Riesling RRP $33
Brown lime, honey, pear, a subtle floral and mint top note. It’s fresh, but has a light honey richness, something a little like oatmeal or buckwheat pulling it a little more savoury, fine dusty texture, and a long succulent honey citrus finish. It’s a delightful wine, and a very lovely thing to drink. 93 points. Gary Walsh, The Wine Front November 2021

2020 Weaver Riesling RRP $35
Miraculously, these vines survived the disastrous December 2019 bushfire that destroyed Geoff Weaver’s sheds and equipment at his revered Lenswood vineyard. Working a new way with the Riesling in this vintage, the wine was fermented and spent 7 months in old barrels with lees contact, leaving a delicate 5g/L RS in the final wine. The barrel characters offer some cream and spice to the apple and custard apple flavours; the sugars are benign yet textural and in context. 94 points. Tony Love, Halliday Wine Companion 2022

2020 Paul Blanck Riesling RRP $36
The fruit comes from vineyards with sand and gravel soils around the village of Kientzheim. The juice is extracted with infinite care in an air-bag press. The slow, gentle pressing avoids crushing the stalks and pips. The must starts fermenting of its own accord thanks to the natural yeast present in the juice, and the fermentation generally lasts from four to 10 weeks. It is carried out in stainless-steel vats equipped with temperature control, a medium which maximises the expression of this variety’s aromas.

2019 Domäne Wachau Ried Bruck Riesling Federspiel RRP $36
Excellent value here, for something a little different, and perhaps exotic. Slightly smoky, lemongrass and lemon peel, fresh apricot, apple and spice. Pure, juicy and lively, a spicy feel to it with a smattering of citrus zest, light flinty/chalky grip and an opulent, yet tight finish showing something of an exotic character. Lovely drinking. 93 points. Gary Walsh, The Wine Front September 2021

2019 Stefano Lubiana Riesling RRP $36
It seems a good year for Riesling in Tasmania. Very pretty, all the citrus blossom, sugar dusted green apple and lime. Juicy, light chalky texture, sweet green apple and some tangy citrus, cool acidity well-threaded and a perfumed finish of fine length. It’s lovely now. Not wince inducing in style, and easy to like. Kind of Tassie-Germanic, as an afterthought. 94 points. Gary Walsh, The Wine Front October 2020

2018 Ansgar Clüsserath Vom Schiefer Riesling RRP $40
A pungent, zesty impression of lemon and lime is allied to one of crushed stone, almost dusty on the nose and then expressed as suffusion on a flatteringly silken, alcoholically buoyant (at 11.6%) but palpably extract-rich palate. Suggestions of almond and hazelnut lend richness; bright citric juiciness serves for animation; while a dose of mineral salts triggers salivary action on a refreshing- and invigoratingly sustained finish. The extra textural allure here is probably attributable to the wine’s having been bottled later than usual – at the end of July 2019 – and rested on its lees until just before that. 90 points. David Schildknecht, Vinous Media November 2020

2020 Dönnhoff Estate Riesling RRP $43
Lemon zest tang, lime and apple sorbet, a firm chalky feel, a pleasant amount of bitterness and grip, and a juicy finish of good length. Lots of crunch and energy. And flavour. Very good. 92 points. Gary Walsh, The Wine Front November 2021

2020 A. Christmann Estate Riesling RRP $43
For a basic dry Riesling this is very cool, mineral and herbal with a compact core. Attractive white and citrus-fruit character on the medium-bodied palate. Serious, dry finish. From biodynamically grown grapes with Respekt certification. Drink or hold. Screw cap. 92 points. Stuart Pigott, jamessuckling.com July 2021

2020 Gunderloch Als Wär’s ein Stück von Mir Riesling RRP $43
For Johannes Hasselbach’s “A piece of me”, he decided to push an imaginary reset-button and look back at how his grandparents made wine. The focus is on the grapes and he wants to use every part of them (e.g. long maceration time on fully crushed grapes up to 72 hours; minimal clarification; natural yeast fermentation; long time on lees) but he also wants to make sure not to lose or alter anything (no artificial yeasts; no fining; no aromatisation of any kind). 100% healthy fruit comes from young vines in the top site Nackenheimer Rothenberg, blended with grapes from a parcel of 35-year-old vines from Hipping in Nierstein to create a tautly strung wine with extraordinary aromatic expression.

2020 Wittmann Estate Riesling RRP $43
Peach, citrus, mint and dried flowers. It’s juicy but also firm and chalky, grilled lime and green apple crunch, fetching mouth-perfume, and an intense and very long finish. Dynamite. 94 points. Gary Walsh, The Wine Front November 2021

2020 Bründlmayer Kamptal Terrassen Riesling RRP $43
Almost German style, this dry Riesling has a great balance of citrus and stone-fruit aromas, as well as some nice fresh-herb notes. Juicy and well-structured with plenty of minerality, this is a delightful and complex wine that’s just beginning to give its best. Long finish. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold. 93 points. Stuart Pigott, jamessuckling.com May 2021

2020 Dönnhoff Nahe Riesling RRP $36
Cornelius Dönnhoff’s off-dry Riesling is a great introduction to the Nahe, with cool and juicy citrus and stone fruits flowing light and pure on a perfectly balanced palate.

2020 Gunderloch Jean-Baptiste Riesling Kabinett RRP $36
Jolly indeed. Sweet apple and lime with floral notes thereabouts. Juicy as all get up. Soft in the mouth, grapey, long-enough through the finish. The pleasure is ours. It drinks a treat, in an easy-but-persistent way. 91 points. Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front September 2021

2016 Charteris Hunt Vineyard Riesling RRP $40
Delightful approach with honeyed apple notes, faint pastry characters, lemon blossom, lemon barley water notes. Palate has freshness, more precise citrus and green apple flavours, zingy acidity, clean lines and a good, long, mouth-watering finish. Pristine kinda deal. Delicious. 92 points. Mike Bennie, The Wine Front April 2019

2018 Ansgar Clüsserath Trittenheimer Kabinett RRP $43
The 2018 Trittenheimer Riesling Kabinett is super pure, fresh and slatey on the bright, fresh and crunchy nose. Bottled with 8.5% alcohol, this is a charmingly round and fruity Kabinett. It doesn’t have the mineral-piquant thrill of the outstanding 2017, but it serves all those who like their Riesling more graceful and less challenging. Or let me put it this way: You don’t need to be a Viking to love this wine. Tasted from AP 0219 in May 2020. 92 points. Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate May 2020

2020 Dr Loosen Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett RRP $44
Sweet lemon, florals, tight and juicy crunch, a slight Disprin flavour (which I like), precise and poised, steely and sweet, with an almost spicy finish of good length. Light, energetic and excellent. Feels like it will push ahead with a little more time in bottle. 93+ points. Gary Walsh, The Wine Front August 2021