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Two more highlights from this week’s press tasting at Majestic: a couple of lovely Alsace whites from Schlumberger. I love these wines, and at the offer price they are a steal. But they illustrate why Alsace remains a nightmare for consumers. One is dry, the other quite sweet. But nowhere is this indicated on the bottle. [...]
We really should be drinking more German Riesling. It’s fantastic. Nowhere else quite does Riesling like Germany, even though I am partial to expressions of this variety from Austria, Alsace, New Zealand and Australia. Here are two that I have enjoyed today – both from the Rheingau. We are experiencing unseasonally warm weather here in the [...] It’s Riesling weather. Warm and spring-like. Here are two that I’ve recently enjoyed. Fritz’s Riesling 2009 Rheinhessen, Germany Here’s another classic Aussie Riesling, from the Eden Valley. It’s a wine that is held back before release, which is great, because few consumers have a chance to cellar wines properly. Pewsey Vale ‘The Contours’ Riesling 2004 Eden Valley Traditional Australian dry Riesling is quite unique. It’s very different from Riesling grown elsewhere, and it’s remarkably consistent. I know there are supposed to be regional differences between wines from the two top regions – Clare and Eden Valley – but I’m not sure I’d pick them blind. Here’s a really good example of an [...] Isn’t Riesling wonderful? And Germany’s top properties seem to be able to achieve things almost effortlessly with this grape, and at reasonable prices, when compared with most other regions worldwide. This wine is from Roman Niewodniscanski’s Saar estate, and it’s a really superb example of complex dry Riesling that’s drinking well now. I don’t think [...] This is a really impressive dry Riesling, made from grapes harvested in November. Must drink more Austrian wines… Franz Hirtzberger Spitzer Singerriedel Riesling Smaragd 2004 Wachau, Austria Framingham, who I’ve reviewed before here, are one of New Zealand’s most underrated producers, I reckon. All their wines are good, but it’s Riesling for which they are best known. This is their top Riesling, and it’s pretty serious. It’s the oldest vines on the estate (this is Marlborough, so they’ll be 30 years old [...] This is a strong contender for one of the best value whites of the year, at the discounted price of £7.99. It’s from a producer I reviewed a short while ago, Prinz von Hessen. Prinz von Hessen Riesling Kabinett Trocken 2008 Rheingau, Germany Nick Oakley popped round on Thursday and brought with him some new releases from Lisbon-region producer Quinta de Sant’ana, who he represents in the UK. I visited in March (report here), and tried cask samples of these three whites. It’s nice to see them in bottle – I think they are really good. UK retail [...] |
 This is the blog of wine journalist Jamie Goode, online since 2001. Feel free to nose around; your comments are welcomed.
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