International Riesling Challenge 2009

It all started quite humbly for what is now the International Riesling Challenge, with some 137 entries from all over Australia participating in the first competition 10 years ago. Now a deacde on and the competition now boasts 550 entries from 10 wine producing nations across five continents.

I was lucky enough to make it to Canberra for the full tasting this year, and I’d happily call it the best tasting of 2009, if purely for the opportunity to try so many great Rieslings (the best white variety on the planet). More than just the diversity however, the tasting was also an excellent benchmarking opportunity, showcasing vintages, styles, sweetness levels, ageability, everything. I’ll certainly be back next year!

As you can see by the notes below the quality was very high, and so are my scores. Even so, with such talent on hand, many great wines got lost (or never made it to the notebook) and my notes are obviously very brief indeed (my apologies as usual).

For a full list of the wines on offer this year check out the competition website here.

Where possible, I have grouped the wines by country, region and age, though things occasionally get wobbly. I’ve also included drinking windows and the medals (or lack of) that each wine received.

The wines:

Australia

Frogmore Creek Tasmanian Riesling 2009
No Medal. Very closed and all too primal, to the point of being almost painful. Hard work. Drink 2010-2015+. 15.5/85++

Pipers Brook Pipers River Riesling 2009
No Medal. Bright & fruity, lemon & florals. Tight palate with lots of acidity, but balanced by fruit sweetness. Long & very pretty. Simply delicious. Drink 2009-2016+. 18.5/94

Frogmore Creek Iced Tasmanian Riesling 2008
No Medal. Heavy nose, heavy palate. Awkward sweetness, though I was struggling with the sweeter wines when I tasted this. Drink 2009-2015ish. 16.5/88

Pirie ‘Clark’s’ Reserve Tasmanian Botrytis Riesling 2007
Bronze Medal. Toffee & citrus in a light and clean sticky style that is long and refreshing. Tasty stuff. Drink 2009-2015+. 18/93

Nick O’Leary Canberra Riesling 2009
No Medal. Rocky and quite green nose, leading to quite fat palate and somewhat flabby back end. Just a bit disjointed. Drink 2009-2013. 16.5/88

Ferngrove Cossack Riesling 2009
Bronze Medal. Super pure & lemony with a real fleshiness to the palate. Just a tad broad through the finish. Drink 2009-2015. 17/90

3 Drops Great Southern Riesling 2009
Bronze Medal. Orange rind & perhaps some residual sweetness on the nose. Palate is clean but just a bit short. Drink: 2009-13. 16.8/89

Plantagenet Mt Barker Riesling 2004
Bronze Medal. Talc with orange marmalade development on the nose, but palate is bone dry & backward. Attractive, but better with more bottle age. Drink 2011-2019+. 17/90+

Thistle Hill Mudgee Riesling 2009
Bronze Medal. Clean & almost leafy nose with a warmer tropical palate. Soft & friendly, if somewhat unusual wine. Drink 2009-2012+. 16.8/90

Bests Great Western Riesling 2009
Bronze Medal. Pear & slate. Powerful, pear driven palate with noticeable intensity and quite dominant acid. Linear and quite attractive for a region not known for its dry Riesling. Drink 2009-2015+. 17.5/91

Delatite Upper Goulburn Riesling 2006
Bronze Medal. Very pretty & sensual style with a long, lean & quite soft palate. Serious acidity though. Sneaky good, the sort of wine that you forget how good it is until its gone. Drink 2009-16. 18.3/94

Jacobs Creek Reserve South Australian Riesling 2009
2 Trophies: Best Current Vintage Southern Hemisphere Riesling & Best Current Vintage Australian Riesling. Fleshy & very inviting. Rather less serious than so many of its competitors, but also more approachable which may well have swayed the judges. Technically spotless, if perhaps lacking real character & a bit simple. Extra marks for drinking appeal. Drink 2009-2013. 17.3/91

Jacobs Creek Steingarten Barossa Riesling 2009

No Medal. Almost undrinkable. Huge, slatey nose still dominated by ferment esters. Palate is razor like acidity which then falls short. Freshly bottled I wonder? Drink 2010-2019? 15/84++

Jacobs Creek Steingarten Barossa Riesling 2007
Trophy: Best Open Class Riesling. Lots of toast on the nose, lots of acid on the palate. Very clear cut, which is obviously what the judges liked here. Should be even better in a few years time. Drink 2010-20+. 17.8/93++

Jacobs Creek Steingarten Barossa Riesling 2006
No Medal. Very backward. Lime & sherbet & talc in the typical style. Lost somewhat between primary fruit & bottle aged goodness, and obviously needing some quiet time. Plenty of stuffing though. Quite backwards compared to the 07. Drink 2011-2016+. 17.8/93++

Trevor Jones Reserve Barossa Riesling 2002
Bronze Medal. Toast & honey nose, rather sweet, rich and developed palate that is just starting to decline. Fat & very toasty, but nice enough. Drink 2009-2011. 16.2/87

Kilikanoon Morts Block Reserve Watervale Riesling 2009
No Medal. Very pretty, classic Watervale lime nose let down by limey, yet flabby palate. I used to love this wine, but the last two vintages have been forward and dissapointing. Drink 2009-2014. 16.5/88

Kirrihill Slate Creek Single Vineyard Clare Riesling 2009

No Medal. Lifted, lemon, lime and banana nose, palate though starts a bit loose, but flourishes with lovely Watervale slate & lime at the back. Good. Drink 2009-2015. 17.5/91

O’Leary Walker Polish Hill River Riesling 2009
No Medal. Forward, green pea meets lime and a smidgen of toast. Getting fatter by the minute. Not for me. Drink 2009-2015. 15.8/85

Pikes Traditionale Polish Hill River Riesling 2009
No Medal. Pretty & typical Pikes Riesling nose, opulent even, with a bit more texture going a long way here. Generous and appealing. Drink 2009-2015. 17.6/92

Crabtree Watervale Riesling 2009
Bronze Medal. Fleshy Watervale nose with super intense Clare Riesling characters. Very Watervale, with a subtle green pea flavour on the back the only distraction. Good wine. Drink 2009-2019+. 17.9/93

Wilson Vineyard Polish Hill River Riesling 2009
Bronze Medal. Quite a neutral nose over an utterly backward, yet intense palate. Hard at present but extra marks for potential. Drink 2010-2020+. 17/90+

Rise Watervale Riesling 2009
Silver Medal. Classic Watervale. Excellent flow & purity. Just a picture perfect, firmly delineated, essence of Clare Valley Riesling, in an immediate, drink-me-now style. Very, very good. Drink 2009-2015. 18.6/95

Pauletts Antonina Polish Hill River Riesling 2009
No Model. Extremely tight & brimming with sulphur. Shutdown, but serious structure lies beneath. Hold. Drink 2011-2020+. 17/89++

O’Leary Walker Watervale Riesling 2009
No Medal. Pretty nose, broad, forward and developing palate. Awkward acidity. No. Drink 2009-2012. 15/84

Brian Barry Juds Hill Clare Valley Riesling 2009
No Medal. Rich & quite sweet but with a proper slatey backbone. Nice and fresh, if a tad simple. Drink 2009-2013. 16.8/89
Leo Buring Leonay Mature Release Clare Riesling 2005
Gold Medal. Delicious mix of lemon and toast on the nose, with a palate defined by a very rigid acid backbone. Real style and flavour. Very good! Drink 2009-2025+. 18.4/94Cardinham Clare Valley Riesling 2003
3 Trophies, including ‘Best Riesling in the world’. Best Riesling in the world? Probably not, but an excellent developing Clare Riesling nonetheless. Honey & barley sugar on the full, toast & lime nose. Long palate starts toasty & developed but gets fresher and more citrussy towards the back end. It’s quite a broad style for the Clare, but you can’t doubt the rather perfect & quite delicious form. Very good indeed. Extra marks for drinkability. Drink 2009-2014+. 18.5/94Richmond Grove Watervale Riesling 1998
Silver Medal. Rich & toasty, lemon butter nose with obvious age & dominant toast on the palate, yet supported by good length and acidity. Wow! Screwcap serving this wine will indeed. Probably not getting any better, but great stuff. Drink 1998-2012. 17.8/92Richmond Grove Watervale Riesling 1999
Silver Medal. More custard & cream than the 98 with more finesse and less obvious ripeness, but with a smidgen less impact. Interesting wine regardless. Drink 1999-2012. 17.5/91Wolf Blass White Label Eden Valley Riesling 2009
No Medal. Slatey & pretty nose with a very firm, almost metallic palate. Future performer. Drink 2011-2019+. 17.5/91+Henschke Julius Eden Valley Riesling 2009
No Medal. Scalped. Like sticking your nose in a bucket of SO2. U/R

Mountadam Eden Valley Riesling 2009
No Medal. Piercingly fresh & slatey nose. Wow length and structure with brilliant acidity. Long termer & such an impressive wine. Brilliant. Drink 2009-2020+. 18.5/94

Dandelion Vineyard Wonderland of the Eden Valley Riesling 2009
Bronze Medal. Rocky, slate nose. Palate is extremely tight & stern with blinding acidity. Wow wine, if in need of bottle age. Drink 2011-2019. 17.7/92+

Poonawatta Estate The Eden Riesling 2009
No Medal. Forward, developing quickly and short. No. Drink 2009-2013. 15/84

Heggies Eden Valley Riesling 2009
No Medal. Fleshy & quite soft & pretty nose, similarly stony but soft palate in a quite pretty, if slightly honeyed through the finish. RS? Drink 2009-2018+. 17.6/91

Wolf Blass White Label Eden Valley Riesling 2002
Silver Medal. Sexy, essence-of-maturing-Eden-Valley-Riesling nose with milky richness/bottle age with lovely definition. Just a bit overt, but much to like. Drink 2009-2012. 17.5/91

Poverty Hill Eden Valley Riesling 2004
Bronze Medal. Relly fresh & inviting nose, with a clean, pure & quite backward palate. Softened, but still with such crispness. Yum. Drink 2009-2015+ 18.2/93

Bethany Eden Valley Riesling 2001
No Medal. Just the first hint of marmalade fatness of the downward spiral on the nose, with the chubby palate pulling up short. Drink 2007-2009. 15.5/85

Leo Buring Medium Sweet Eden Valley Riesling 2009
Bronze Medal. Ripe & pretty, opulent & very soft, this is bound to make friends but really lacks the acid to balance out the sugar. 16.0/86

Germany

Schloss Johannisberg Erstes Gewächs Rheingau Riesling 2007
Bronze Medal. Pure, slate and talc nose over a richly, phenolic backed palate with great texture and length, highlighted by just a hint of peach fruit richness. Powerful and ripe dry Riesling of real style. Drink 2009-2019+. 18/93+

George Muller Muller Stiftung Hattenheimer Wissel Brunnen Erstes Gewächs Rheingau Riesling 2008
No Medal. Beautifully clean & crisp wine that is all about acidity. Perfectly dry and firm young Riesling. Long. Quintessential dry German Riesling. Wonderful. 18.5/94

Langwerth Von Simmern Hattenheimer Wisselbrummen Erstes Gewächs Rheingau Dry Riesling 2008
Bronze Medal. Now that’s a wine name! Bright, if quite neutral and very young, with a stony nose leading to a very tightly restrained, yet still ripe palate that is refreshing, if just a little severe. Future improver. Drink 2011-2021. 17.7/92++

Kloster Erbach Berg Schlossberg Erstes Gewächs Rheingau Riesling Trocken 2008

Bronze Medal. Tight, beeswax nose over very long palate and fiery acidity. Long & very powerful dry Riesling of certain appeal, but not quite as magical as some examples here. Very good regardless. Drink 2009-2015+. 17.5/91+

GH Von Mumm Rudesheimer Berg Rottland Erstes Gewächs Rheingau Riesling 2008
Silver Medal. Phenolic & very dry but just too firm to like right now. Have to appreciate that structure though. Drink 2012-2019+. 17/89++

Georg Muller Stiftung Hattenheimer Engelmansberg Rheingau Riesling Spatlese feinherb 2007
Silver Medal. Another brilliant Georg Muller wine. Very correct, well delineated nose. Fresh palate carefully balanced by dancing sweetness. Excellent length, superb drinkability, just a great wine really. Yum. 18.5/95

Schloss Johannisberg Rheingau Riesling Spatlese 2008

Bronze Medal. Open yet pure nose, with obviously more residual sugar. The palate is long and quite opulent, fleshy even, with an apricot mid palate. The kicker though is the length – it just goes on and on. Superb tension between acidity and sugar. Glorious. Drink 2009-2019+. 18.7/95

Georg Muller Stiftung Hattenheimer Hassel Rheingau Riesling Spatlese Trocken 2007
No Medal. Brilliant. Honeyed, rich fruit on a palate that starts quite rich & full, but finishes limey and dry, showcasing ripe fruit and acidity. So refreshing! Awesome. Drink 2009-2019+ 18.7/95

Langwerth Von Simmern Hattenheimer Hanberg Rheingau Riesling Auslese 2003
Bronze Medal. Sweetly toffeed but just a bt hard and dense. Decaying back end. Not going anywhere particularly good. Drink 2006-2009. 15.5/84

Georg Muller Hattenheimer Nussbrunnen Rheingau Riesling Auslese 2007
Bronze Medal. Floral nose but obviously very tight. Mineral water & slate. Long, refreshing, shrp palate that is full of structure that the Auslese level sweetness hits as an afterthought. So dry for an Auslese! Huge future ahead. Awesome wine. Drink 2009-2020+. 18.5/95+

Schloss Vollrads Rheingau Riesling TBA 2003
Bronze Medal. Honey & brown toffee. Very sweet and heavy brown sugar style that’s just too sugary & heavy for real enjoyment. Could well support a vertical spoon. Drink 2009-2012. 16.0/86

Staffelter Hof Krov Steffensburg Moselle Riesling TBA 2005
Trophy: (shared) Best Museum Class Riesling. So much fresher than the 03 above, this has a grapey beeswax nose overlaid with heavy botrytis characters which continue right through the palate. Lightness through the backend though gives some real refreshment. Should get even better with bottle age. Good stuff. Drink 2009-2020. 17.5/91+

New Zealand

Seifried Sweet Agnus Iced Nelson Riesling 2009
No Medal. Sweet & pretty if not the most intense wine, its lively & fresh with good acidity and maximum refreshment. Lively & good. Drink 2009-2016. 17.5/91

Forrest Estate The Doctors Riesling 2009
Bronze Medal. Surprisingly simple given the high standard of the normal Forrest Estate sweeter styles. Light & crisp & not too sweet, but perhaps missing out on some generosity in the process? Drink 2009-2016. 16.5/88

USA

Chateau Ste Michelle Waussie Limited Release Columbia Valley Riesling 2008
No Medal. Very tight, young and just a bit hard. Good length though. Drink 2011-2018+. 16.9/89+

Chateau Ste Michelle & Dr Loosen Eroica Washington Riesling 2008

No Medal. Much more Germanic style, but less stony & more pretty. A bit of a hole in the back end but certainly attractive enough. Drink 2009-2015+. 17.0/89+

Chateau Ste Michelle & Dr Loosen Eroica Single Berry Select Washington Sweet Riesling 2005
No Medal. Like attempting to drink quince jam. Rich & really too sweet, this is a tooth killer of a wine that I found just too heady to be enjoyable. Drink 2009-2015+. 16.2/86

Pacific Rim Selenium Vineyard Vin de Glaciere Washington Riesling 2007
Bronze Medal. Stinky and heavy nose but with a really clean and limey, acid driven palate. Unusual and very fresh considering the absolute sweetness on offer. Drink 2009-2017+. 17.5/91