Wittmann Rheinhessen Trocken Riesling 2010

Its 35.6°C in Melbourne right now. Its midnight. Its 35.6°C!! Fairdinkum, this is just wrong. In these wrong times I'm drinking the Wittmann Rheinhessen Trocken Riesling 2010 because its wet and its cold and its just plain yum; honey, candied lime, persistant acid and repeat. I love it.

Now chill-out Melbourne!!!!!!

Drink with left over pork and fennel sausages

Drink till 2020+

95

Screwcap 12%v/v $37 Seddon Wine Store

Top of the tree in 2012

No, the world did not end. The Mayans sort of got it wrong with December 21st 2012 being cupitski for all of us mortals. Word is the Mayan's also predicted Beta VCR's would be the greatest invention since poncho's, the Spice Girls to collectively cure cancer and Corey Worthington to win a Noble Peace prize. Stick to human sacrifice next time Mayan's!!

What 2012 did bring to me was some pretty schmick wine positioned neatly in my glass. Last year saw just 6 wines for my top list. This year there are 10; 1 sparkling, 3 whites and 6 reds. Last year saw 5 whites and 1 red.  More awesomeness in 2012 than 2011 I guess.

So without delay and in no particular order, here is the pick of the the 2012 tasting crop.

Viñero Macedon Ranges Pinot Noir 2010 - a new label from super-sommeliers Matt Brook and Liam O'Brien, the 2010 hit all the right notes from a cracking vintage; very cool climate and not too far off soft and sexy Chambolle-Musigny.

Between 5 Bells Geelong Red Wine 2010 - a whacky blend that just so beautifully worked; who'd have thunk that we could find a use for Zinfandel? No offense California (sic).

Albert Mann Alsace Pinot Blanc Auxerrois 2011 - continuing on my love affair with Pinot Blanc, the recent winery of the year according to Wine Spectator (I think) delivers a magestic little quaffer that delivers so much more that the price suggests. Just beautiful.

Bindi Macedon Ranges Cuvée V Chardonnay/Pinot Noir -  I told you that this was going to be here. Bias or no bias, this wine just rocks.

Reichsrat Von Bulh Pfalz Riesling 2011 - I love Riesling, but what I loved about this beauty is its very unlike Rieslingness that just grabs you by the scruff of the neck and screams,' JUST DRINK ME!!!!!!!'

Fletcher Adelaide Hills Nebbiolo 2010 - my wine notes for this one were quite simple, 'Awesome. Breathtaking. Oursum. Captivating. Orsum. Sexxy.' You get that?

Best's Great Western Dolcetto 2010 - definitely bringing sexy back to Western Victoria, and definitely giving new world Dolcetto a voice.

By Farr Geelong Sangreal 2009 - Erin and I enjoyed this on Bastille Day last year in Perth. Enjoyed quite the understatement. Such brute power with such gentle force. Gary Farr knows his shit.

Sébastien Brunet Vouvray Arpent Sec 2010 - like my love for Pinot Blanc, my love affair with Vouvray also knew no bounds. I will make it a task this month to get this down at Seddon Wine Store, perhaps by the glass.

BK Wines Adelaide Hills Cult Syrah 2011 - just goes to prove that when you have a crap vintage, doesnt mean you have to make crap wine.

There you go, the top ten for 2012. And for the record, the By Farr Sangreal and BK Wines Syrah were the definate standouts. Cannot wait to see what 2013 has install.

Reichsrat Von Bulh Pfalz Riesling 2011

Its taken me about 6 years to give this wine a go again. So when I saw this in the fridge at Seddon Wine Store, and also glimpsed the price; a meager $24 if you don't mind, then yes, it was long enough to have another wee look at this German dandy. The Reichsrat Von Bulh Pfalz Riesling 2011 is quite simply a knockout!

In the back of most peoples mind just before sipping a Riesling, certain flavours leap out such as lemon/lime and tart minerality rounded out by sharp acidity. And sometimes it is all about sweet primary fruit with glycerol. This wine was, and is, somewhat of a leap from the two previous styles. The nose starts full of fresh white peach with lanolin wafting around the longer in the glass. The palate is where it gets funky. My first sip was full of dried green herbs very reminiscent to the Vadiaperti Falanghia tasted earlier in the year, with fresh green fennel being the standout.

The surprising bit about this wine is that I was not disappointed because I did not get the massive citrus and acid whack, nor the sweet stewed pineapple affect; quite on the contrary. What I love about this wine is it is not one dimensional. Its Original. Its a winner!

Drink with chicken with buttered sage
Drink till 2016
96
Screwcap 12%v/v $24 Seddon Wine Store

Gustave Lorentz Bergheim Altenberg de Bergheim Grand Cru Riesling 2005

There is no way I saw a 4-0 drubbing by Germany this morning – no way! Sigh goes my lamentable heart.

Anywhoo, its Madge’s birthday, or it was her birthday but we seem to have far too many holidays in April so we are celebrating today (geez, thanks heaps Germany). Now the question is what you would honour the Queen on this day of celebration (sleep in); something grand perhaps, and something to take our minds off this morning’s thumping. The obvious answer is down at the pub, but because I am a responsible dad it will have to be Gustave Lorentz Bergheim Altenberg de Bergheim Grand Cru Riesling 2005 – thanks for pointing that out Henry.

Stupid round ball game! Starting to yellow in the glass, the nose has an instant hit of stewed pineapple followed by the very obvious kero smell. The palate was quite a surprise with what seemed to be a granny smith malic acid hit. This was only for an instant as lavender and lanolin flowed over prickly acid, which by the way was bolt upright for the five hours (no Viagra was used for this acid, and no you filthy animals I’m not talking about getting it on!) we drank it over. Really racey, yet really developed all at the same time.

So thanks Madge for letting us have a sleep in two months after your birthday. And for Germany, well all I can muster up is well done and Sod Off! Nice wine but.

Drink with Lyonnaise sausage and chargrilled eggplant
Drink till 2016
91
Quality cork 13%v/v $70 http://www.gustavelorentz.com/

Keller Rheinhessen Trocken Riesling 2008

“We have a natural right to make use of our pens as of our tongue, at our peril, risk and hazard.” -Voltaire

It seems that I somehow stirred the hornet’s nest with my last post on Australian Rieslings. At the end of the day though, the words that you read on my blog are put there by me to share with the ‘you’s’ out there in cyberwine land. That is why on any given day, thousands of people around the globe sit down in front of their Dells and plug out whittascims on all matters of wine speak; some may have weight while others may just be the ramblings of just a very drunk scribe – what will be will be.

So, while we are on the subject of Rieslings, may I present the Keller Rheinhessen Trocken Riesling 2008 from Germany. Brimming with a full nose of flint – river bed pebble, honeysuckle and candle wax, this wine really hits its straps with perfectly balanced acidity which effortlessly integrates with the minerality. I must add that the glass that was left for the following day was even better than the first with the candle wax on the nose and flinty river bed pebbles really standing up tall. A super wine and well within reach of someone who does not want to go nuts on a bottle of Riesling.

Drink with kingfish sashimi
Drink now for minerality, drink in 2018 for kero and stewed pineapple
94
Quality cork 12%v/v $29 @ Blackhearts & Sparrows

Larry Cherubino Ad Hoc Mt Barker Wallflower Riesling 2009

If you haven't noticed, pretty much all of the Riesling in Australia tastes exactly the same, and thats not me being uber generalist; tight harsh lemon/lime acid with acid and more acid. From Clare Valley to Geelong to the Great Southern and the Derwent Valley, Riesling has been produced in a way where it should be labeled 'Australian citrus wine'. Its a harsh call, but its all I have seen in a bottle for quite some time now.

Enter Larry Cherubino with his Ad Hoc Mt Barker Wallflower Riesling 2009. He has pretty much taken to this sterotype with a crossbow and gone whack; not that you would whack something with a crossbow of course. Yes, there still is the citrus about the wine, but it is not the dominant character, with the minerality of a German Trocken the most appealing character here.

Brimming with soft floral notes, this wine is a lot more feminant than the garden variety Riesling I was talking about at the start, with gentle white oliander prominant on the nose. There is no harsh ascerbic acid up front, instead a lovely and clean addition of river bed pebble - yes, minerals, but I like to describe it as river bed pebble! As with the nose, there is a little citrus, but it does not strip the palate like so many other Rieslings. A seriously good wine.

Drink with pickled octopus
drink till 2014
92
Screwcap 12.1%v/v $22 @ Blackhearts & Sparrows Brunswick

Dr Bürklin-Wolf Wachenheimer Riesling 2007

“Behold! The beast who soars with needle tail
through mountains, shattering shields and city walls!
Behold! The beast that stinks out all the world.”

Canto 17, Commedia Cantica I: Inferno
Dante Alighieri

By golly it is hot! Right now most of south east Australia is sweltering in a very unseasonal heat-wave, and though I will concede that we have not quite got the conditions of Dante’s Inferno, it is only November and all we have to do is think back to what happened in February this year in Victoria.

There are a few measures we can take this summer for cool respite; the beach or pool, midnight showers, icy cold beer and mouth watering Riesling. So it is Riesling I have been turning to lately (there is always room in the fridge for beer as well!) and one of those has been the brilliant Dr Bürklin-Wolf Wachenheimer Riesling 2007 from Germany. This is a wine that I had on the pour at The Point Albert Park and was a wine that was greeted very well by the dining public while it was on.

Though it is probably not the current vintage, this wine has fantastic minerality and flintiness that make it perfect for lazy summer day salads and seafood. In the glass the wine has a very yellow gold colour to it, which is very deceptive to what is to follow on the palate. The nose throws up a very distinct stewed pear and lime aroma, with, as I just said, a very surprising palate following of crisp, clean acid holding together a bright linear feeling of flint and river stones. A massive contrast to the colour and nose but one that is rewarding none the less!

Super balance, gorgeous length with complexity I have not seen for a long time. Dare I say mucho fantastico!

Drink with sashimi
Drink till 2013
98
Quality cork 12%v/v $35 from King and Godfrey Cellars, Carlton

Georg Breuer Terra Montosa Rheinghau Riesling 2007

Plenty to like about this wine. Straw appearance with river stones coming through on the nose – very mineral. The longer in the glass a faint hint of lime cordial was also noticed. The palate is very lean and dry with acid being the dominant attribute with lime again being noticed at the end.

We had this with some pan seared Rockling over dinner, but I opened this at lunch and had a wee glass with some twice cooked eggs, or slow cooked eggs and it was a dead-set Susan match.

Great balance, super length with layers of complexity.

Drink till 2014
Drink with slow cooked eggs or sushi
92
Quality cork $35 12%v/v