Xabregas Riesling range

January 16, 2012

Xabregas Riesling range

With the Summer of Riesling now well underway it seems only appropriate to be looking at a range of Australians Rieslings that are pushing the boundaries a little. In this instance I’m talking about the Xabregas Riesling range, a collection of serious, off-dry and interesting Rizzas from WA’s Great Southern produced by the ‘Riesling madmen’ – Paul Hogan and Martin Cooper.

Strictly speaking Xabregas have only been making boundary pushing Rieslings for a few years (although have been producing good Riesling for considerably longer) so this little lineup represents some wines that look like works in progress (from a WA vintage that I don’t think was particularly well suited to Riesling either).

Regardless of the slightly variable results, I’m excited by the effort and passion behind these wines.

(These notes are a little stunted as were written on the run. I think you get the gist though).

X by Xabregas Spencer Riesling 2010 10.9% $40
Orange blossom, tangerine. Nice florals. Carries its sweetness on the
nose. Just a little funk in there too. Lovely solid sherbet and lemon-lime solo nose with a concentrated orange juice sweetness to the palate. Just a
little bluntly sweet but has a nice lime lifesaver tang to it. Good Riesling here. 17.4/91

X by Xabregas Figtree Riesling 2010 11.8% $40
Not quite the florals of the Spencer, a little more lime-lemonade and perhaps more subdued. Extra phenolic
seriousness here, an extra degree of tang and weight that I rather like. Sweetness balance looks better here too, even if it’s still too tight for more love. Lots of
potential here, even if it just needs more acidity to cover that orange tang sweetness. 17.7/92+

Xabregas Mount Barker Riesling 2010 11.4% $23
Lots of obvious sweetness here. Candied. Phenolic palate with seriously
obvious sweetness. Can’t get past that overt sweetness, even though it’s
commercially attractive. 16/87

2010, Great Southern, Riesling, Wine

Andrew Graham was once voted the 23rd most trusted wine critic on the planet. A WCA Journalism Young Gun now old hack with 25yrs as a buyer, judge, journalist, marketer and too much more.

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9 responses to “Xabregas Riesling range”

Cam Haskell

January 17, 2012 at 12:51 am

Nice write up of these wines (of which I'm especially fond). For me, Xabregas is pretty easily the most exciting producer in WA right now. Their determination to do things differently, but at very high quality, is refreshing, particularly within WA's (at times staid) wine culture.

For me what their wines really show up is how good off-dry and medium wines can be. My opinion is that the relentlessly dry, enamel stripping acid that is not balanced by sweetness is the perversion, and shouldn't be thought of as the norm. But Clare has cast a massive shadow over Australian riesling, to a point that wine people often aren't bothered that such wines are a million miles from being balanced. (Personally, I consider this daft: balance before ALL things in wine)

Not only that, but the entire winemaking culture is so focussed on dryness (generally a good thing), that I suspect that there is a bit of a skill gap when it comes to slightly sweeter wines, which is compounded by the fact that off-dry wines are often treated with outright contempt by those making them. 'This is commercial guff, here it is, bash a bit of conk in, bada bing, bada boom'.

To phrase it differently, what is the iconic medium sweetness Oz wine? I don't think there is one. If I'm to be really honest, I think our inability to produce good medium sweet wine is one of the clear signs of our immaturity as a wine culture.

There is not a single good reason why wines with some RS should be thought of as lesser or inferior. Xabregas, for mine, are making this case far more eloquently than I can, or most anyone else is.

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TiggerK

January 17, 2012 at 9:03 am

Totally agree with you Cam, and your posed question is a dramatically good one. The Kiwis give off-dry a good go, but I'm too often searching there for more acid to balance the sweetness on the finish (even in top examples like Felton Block 1 and Pegasus Bay). Got our annual Grape Mates Riesling tasting at my place next month so will seek these out for sure. Germans do it so well, here's hoping we Antipodeans can step up to the plate a bit more.

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TiggerK

January 17, 2012 at 9:06 am

Mind you, AG mentions a need for more acid to balance the sweetness in each review…….. Maybe not so sure now about these having re-read properly!

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Cam Haskell

January 17, 2012 at 1:17 pm

I think we don't really understand medium wines so well. To a point that we're often asking the question about where the acid is to balance. It is germane to point out that Australian acid levels are often higher than in other winemaking cultures (partly the relentless winemaking pursuit of pH <3.5, and I also have a pet theory that we come from a warm country where fruit turns quickly, and a touch of acid gets associated with fruit being in a sound state). Someone like Andrew Jefford was very keen to point out that our acids are often substantially higher than in other places. This is not to second-guess AG – who clearly sports a good palate that I agree with quite often. But it is the winemaking… milieu.

I'm actually excited to see how we solve the riddle here – I think Asia will prompt us doing so. Which will leave bubbly as the great unlocked realm for us. (I've had the EJ Carr a coupla times – great wine, ambitious price). Anyways, these are just my garbage theories. Cheers.

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David B Hemmings

January 19, 2012 at 3:06 am

Thanks Andrew, I will have to seek out these Rieslings and give them a try. I love a good off-dry Riesling.

Cam – some fascinating thoughts. I suspect that the iconic medium sweetness Aus wine doesn't exist because Rieslings with residual sugar are only just coming back into fashion after being 'unfashionable' for a long time.

Personally, I don't really understand why this is the case. For example, the number of good Thai restaurants in Sydney has grown dramatically over the past 10-15 yrs. An off-dry Riesling is a perfect match to a thai curry because the residual sugar can stand up to the palm sugar that is a standard ingredient. When I look around to check out what everyone else is drinking at my local Thai, I am always amazed to see that they are typically drinking Sav Blanc or worse still, Shiraz!

I agree, it may be a sign of our immaturity as a wine culture – Australian wine consumers do need alot more education. But, I also think that wine companies are too influenced by what appears to be 'in fashion'. In any event, I would love to see some more wine makers trying to achieve 'icon status' with an off-dry Riesling.

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ozwinereview

January 19, 2012 at 3:33 am

It was quite interesting to look at a brace of (good) off-dryish Kiwi Rieslings up against a similar brace of (good) off-dryish German Rieslings at the Summer of Riesling tasting recently. As well-made as the Kiwi wines were they simply couldn't match the purity and sweetness/acidity balance of the equivalent German wines. In fact the difference was stark, especially considering that the quality and price levels of the Germans was entry level QbA and Kabinett and priced accordingly.

The question then is about whether this is strictly a terroir thing (possible) or as much to do with methods, styles and techniques as anything else (more possible). If the latter is the case then surely it is just a matter of time before off-dry styles from NZ (and hence Australia) catch up, however if it's the former then we may never hit those German heights. Only time will tell…

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Winehammer

January 20, 2012 at 12:38 pm

Great conversation. Only your expectation that "Southern Hemisphere" will catch up with Germanic Kabinett etc is barking completely up the wrong tree, we will never make German Riesling Off Dry or botrytis effected, in the same vein Germans won't make bone dry Riesling. Great Southern, Tasmania Grampians and South Is NZ have an opportunity to forge fruit intense new versions of these styles I'd expect with layers of complexity through light lees, heavy press cuts and slow natural fermentation Please stop looking for burgundy, rhone, German imitation rather open your mind to emerging styles that take inspiration from Europe but understand their own terrior in particular the limitation of our unique soils and climatic conditions.

Ps Clare can't make off dry, there style is defined and they should concentrate on perfecting it regardless if it is niche at best.

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ozwinereview

January 22, 2012 at 2:23 am

I'd have to say that you're off the market just a little there Winehammer. For starters, Germans make quite a bit of bone dry wine these days (and within Germany it's mainly dry Riesling that is drink), largely under the auspices of Grosses Gewächs and Erstes Gewächs (and the drier Trockens).

Secondly I think that the 'catching up' that needs to be done with Aus/NZ etc is one of balance and quality rather than trying to emulate the German styles directly. There is no need to try and make Mosel Spätlese everywhere, but instead aim for the level of inherent equilibrium between acid, sugar and fruit that said Mosel styles show.

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Cam Haskell

January 22, 2012 at 3:17 am

Indeed AG. Balance and quality is the name of the game.

Winehammer: I'm not arguing that we should be directly emulating Germany. I'm saying that the relentless pursuit of dryness has been – and probably continues to be – the most limiting factor in Australia's riesling production. And what is, to me, weird, is that it's a mindset that says 'sweet is bad', never mind that: a) millions of years of evolutionary biology tells you to like sweet things, and b) Asia generally – the nearest and in many ways most viable market right now – is largely characterised by cuisines that use a heckuva lotta sugar throughout the course of a meal, rather than just leaving it for dessert as western food tends to.

Let me phrase it differently: what is so good about wine that is dry, but way out of balance?

Should add, I don't think the absence of sweetness in wine is a problem solely for riesling. Chenin springs to mind as the grape that has been made carelessly and as though it is for strictly for soon-to-be-diabetic morons who want anythin sugary – never mind that GOOD chenin, often with residual attached, is a terrific drink.

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