Robert Stein Half Dry Riesling

Robert Stein Half Dry Riesling 2010 (Mudgee, NSW)
12%, Screwcap, $20
Source: Sample
www.robertstein.com.au

Has a gold and trophy from the 2010 Winewise Small Winemakers Show, an award which is something of an achievement for an off-dry Mudgee Riesling. I’m not feeling the same way, but it’s a good result for the winery and the region (which deserves more attention). Still – and I hate to bang a well used drum – I think this would be much more enjoyable if it was fermented to dryness (particularly given how good the dry Reserve Riesling is).

It smells green this, of a cool ferment and careful handling. There’s a melon edge to it too, a broad, citrussy developing chub that looks just a bit ill-defined, a character which shows all too often when off dry styles start developing. It’s the same on the palate too, the sugar muddling what looks to be a rather well proportioned, fuller (warmer clime) style of Riesling. Not convinced. 15.8/87