One of the greatest grape varieties in the world is Riesling, prized for its diversity, intensity of flavour, startling detail, quenching freshness and ability to perfectly reflect the site on which it's grown. Winemaking for Riesling is generally very straight-forward with the vast majority of examples being picked, pressed, fermented in steel, cleaned up and then bottled. However many of the more premium wines from Europe also see ageing in large, neutral oak casks, and on lees, which can lend the wines a stunning texture, and actually help purify the wines to a crystalline shimmer. If that sounds enticing then you must not miss this Saturday's tasting, conveniently timed from midday-2pm so there's still time to get home and watch a Brisbane Lions and Wallabies win!
We've organised this tasting around several mouth-watering new arrivals, including the two 100 Point Donnhoff single vineyard Grosses Gewachs (Grand Cru) which are on offer today. They must be tasted to be believed! The value on display by the best Riesling from around the world is extremely compelling and our Saturday lineup perfectly reflects the consistent high quality currently on the market.
The full tasting lineup is at the bottom of this email. We hope you can join us!
"Incredibly refined and precise, yet with Grand Canyon-like depths and layers, this incredible dry Riesling has a horizon-to-horizon spectrum of stone fruit, citrus and wild berry aromas, plus a touch of dusty hot soil as rain starts to fall on it. On the compact, medium-bodied palate, this side of the wine builds and builds to a giant crescendo in the almost endless finish. Drink or hold.”
- 100 points. Stuart Pigott, JamesSuckling.com Aug 2024
"The 2023 Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling trocken GG opens deep, pure, intense and stony on the nose that is, to be honest, much more sophisticated than the Brücke GG. The wine is finely juicy as well as savory on the palate, probably not bone dry in terms of analysis but always in tension and never settling on the palate, as if it was just an idea of Riesling and not its materialisation. This Hermannshöhle is not a cave (which it is only named after) but a bright Riesling ray to the heavens, a lasting flash of lightning from a thunderstorm that cannot be disliked or remain undrunk, even today. If you need a salty and spicy yet always seductively round palate-tickler now, please go ahead. But those who like to let the wine mature will not lose out. 13% stated alcohol. Natural cork. Tasted in August and October 2024.” - 96+ Points, Stephan Reinhardt, The Wine Advocate
"This dry Riesling has a hypnotic beauty that leaves no doubt how this wine redefines what peachy means in the context of this grape variety. As it aerates, a wealth of wild berry and flower nuances develop and expand. Given the mind-bending concentration of this wine, it is staggeringly fresh and absolutely precise. Then comes the finish, which is like a prima ballerina dancing on pointe off into the distance. Drink from release.”
- 100 points. Stuart Pigott, JamesSuckling.com Aug 2024
"At least since the magical 2020 vintage, this grand cru is becoming another Dönnhoff (and Nahe) icon wine next to the estate’s Hermannshöhle GG. The 2023 Norheimer Dellchen Riesling trocken GG is bright and clear on the elegant and finely juicy as well as spontaneously inviting nose that indicates perfectly ripe and healthy Riesling fruit that is fully intermingled with the terroir-driven flinty notes. Perfectly round and finessed on the palate, this is a full-bodied, dense and finely juicy, then utterly saline and savory as well as buoyant Dellchen that pairs purity with intensity and a long, complex and promising finish. This is superbly balanced and full of joy. 12.5% stated alcohol. Natural cork. Tasted in August and October 2024.” - 96 Points, Stephan Reinhardt, The Wine Advocate
"The fertile Rheinhessen hill country is our home. Here the vines grow on the sunny hills around Westhofen for our fresh, juicy varietal wines. Already in the fragrance it is reminiscent of fresh aromas of apple, grapefruit and mandarin, followed of yeasty notes and sea buckthorn. Elegant with a slight play of acidity and minerality, it is great on the palate Length and taste of yellow fruit. An indispensable Riesling for every day! Ideal with seasonal salads, young vegetables and white meat." - Winemaker Notes
2023 Donnhoff 'Nahe' Estate Riesling Trocken
$46 on special this week ($52 RRP)
"So much stone fruit and such a juiciness for the extreme vintage, this is a generous introduction to the riesling wines of the Nahe. Just a hint of floral honey, but also citrusy acidity. Just a hint of tropical ripeness. Put your feet up and enjoy now. From organically grown grapes with Fair’n Green certification." - 91 Points, Stuart Pigott, JamesSuckling.com
NV Dreissigacker 'Vintages' Riesling Trocken
$64 on special this week ($72 RRP)
"Dreissigacker Vintages is the result of a fascinating process that begins in the vineyards around Bechtheim, continues in the cellars of the winery and culminates in an outstanding Riesling cuvée. A wine that demonstrates the diversity of flavours of the Riesling grape. Born from the idea of recreating the magic of the Champagne Grand Cuvée in a Riesling still wine. Achieved through assemblage, the method used by the great Champagne winemakers to harmoniously combine the complexity of different vintages in one bottle. Dreissigacker Vintages is a wine bottled with dedication and passion for Riesling and the constant pursuit of innovation and progress, with the first edition in spring 2018." - Winemaker Notes
2015 Frankland Estate 'Isolation Ridge' Riesling
$79 on special this week ($89 RRP)
"The 2015 Isolation Ridge Riesling is a different proposition altogether. It is intense, concentrated, firm and savory. It offers wafts of sandalwood, beeswax, crushed shells, paperbark and even cloves. There's a brown spice aspect: cinnamon cassia and star anise, even. It has a sapid mid-palate and long, drawing length. This is a jolt into the next phase of Isolation Ridge Riesling. The alcohol remains modest, at 12.5%, but the sheer intensity of this wine initially indicates that it must have been significantly different in its numbers. Yet, no. The 2015 vintage here was dry and cool and allowed for long hang time on the vine, which is how this has built up so much of its flavor. This vintage is the first time that a barrel component was brought into this wine—large format, neutral oak" - 95 Points, Erin Larkin, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
2005 Sons of Eden "Freya" Eden Valley Riesling
$32 on special this week ($36 RRP)
"The 2005 Freya Riesling has been hand harvested, chilled to 6ºC and whole bunch pressed. It was our intention to make the finest example of an Eden Valley Riesling. The emphasis was on retaining only the purest of free run juice and fermenting it cool to savour the delicate aromas. The ferment was taken to dryness after which the wine was gently fined, filtered and bottled. This vintage was a stand out mainly due to the extended ‘Indian summer’ which saw near perfect warm dry sunny ripening conditions from February through to the end of May. Great colour and flavour was achieved among all red varieties and great flavour and natural acidity achieved with most white varieties particularly Riesling in Eden Valley." - Winemaker Notes
2023 JJ Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett (off-dry)
$129 on special this week ($145 RRP)
“Super elegant and super filigreed, with ravishing aromas of honeysuckle, white peaches and Asian pears, this is a very sophisticated and polished wine for this category. Incredibly refreshing, but also incredibly silky on the light-bodied palate. Then comes the extremely long and precise finish in which floral and wet-stone elements are almost perfectly interwoven. Drink or hold.” - 96 points, Stuart Pigott, Jamessuckling.com
2023 JJ Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spatlese (sweet)
$139 on special this week ($159 RRP)
“The sensuous curves of Art Nouveau design and joyful flourishes of rococo both give an idea of what Mosel riesling elegance means, but in a masterpiece like this it takes on a totally distinctive feeling unlike anything else on Planet Wine. The white peach fruit, white flower aromas and slatey minerality all tingle on your palate, then flicker on and on in a totally fascinating manner in the nearly endless finish. The touch of sweetness is already beautifully integrated, although the wine just began a decades-long life. Drink or hold.” - 97 points, Stuart Pigott, Jamessuckling.com
If you wish to purchase any of the wines from this newsletter, please use the link above
Otherwise, if you have any questions, please contact us on (07)32521117 or email sales@thewineemporium.com.au
// Special prices valid until Thursday 2nd October