Goundrey Reserve Riesling 2008 (Mt Barker, WA)
$25, Screwcap, 12.5%
Winery Website

A gold medal winner at the WA Wine Show last year in what would have been a very tough class (all those delicious 08 Great Southern Rieslings). As soon as I ‘did the twist’ and got the first waft of Rieslingy goodness, I just knew this was a winner. Good Riesling just has that affect – its so piercingly pure and direct, especially from the Granitic soils of Mt Barker, that it renders other grape varieties as also-rans.

Green, watery green in colour, it looks like very bright, green water, very young & just settling for a long life ahead. The nose has talc, lemon & stones, all smelling fragrant & is longingly deep, like a lemon lime edged waterfall on a stony creekbed, its that pure & utterly Rieslingish. Just the teensiest bit of age entering on the nose too (which is doing this wine no disservice).
The palate follows with a tight, Lime Margarita & lemon juice palate that has wonderful acidic grip, the palate moving from searing dryness to limey intensity and back to acidity again.

All up its a wonderfully intense, direct Riesling in the beautifully powerful mould that Mt Barker does so well – Pretty, but powerful. This was ‘tasted’ as opposed to ‘drunk’ and it was rather a challenge to spit out.

Wonderful stuff. 18.8