Home Winners > Winners 2019 > NEW WORLD: Riesling - Australia

Winner Details

 New World: Riesling

2019 Gold 3        Silver 3                 Bronze 3             Commended 7
2018 Gold 3        Silver 7                 Bronze 1             Commended 7

Australia has dominated the Riesling section of this competition over the past few years, and its three Golds (and nine medals) saw it continue that trend. Our tasters were very happy with what they saw here, praising the country for its consistency and quality. There’s a definitive Aussie style, and they do it regularly.

Although not especially cheaply. You might think that the lack of oak in these wines would mean a stream of great wines around the £10 mark. But in fact, the majority of our medal winners here were more expensive than that – often significantly so.

Was that a problem? Not really. Anyone ordering Riesling without a recommendation probably knows the pedigree of these wines, while a food-match recommendation from the sommelier (an area where these score highly) is less price sensitive in any case.

FROM THE TASTING TEAMS

‘All were very good: flavour, texture, richness, acidity. I’ve never had a bad Australian Riesling.’ Laurent Richet MS, team leader

‘German Riesling is a bit more popular, but New World Riesling is a good competitor.’ Gabriele Bertotti, Maze by Gordon Ramsay

‘Very consistent flight. Around the middle price they were really well made.’ Guillaume Mahaut, ETM Group

‘Compared to German Riesling, they’re more succulent, juicy… they didn’t have the lightness that you get in German Riesling – more apricot and peach, stone fruit flavours. Not exactly graceful and light on their feet, but all had succulence.’ Nigel Lister, team leader

‘Very good quality throughout, showing true typicality of Aussie Riesling, all tart lime and racing acidity. A few stand-outs, with more complex lemon verbena and thyme notes resonating in the best examples.’ Claire Love, Loves Consultancy

Award winners

Found 16 wines

New World: Riesling, Australia

Clos Clare, Riesling 2017, South Australia, Australia

Gold medal winner

Restrained elegance and refreshing minerality earned this a place on the Gold List, with Ieva Markaityte of Portuguese Concepts admiring the ‘delicate, floral nose, with its warm hints of ripe white peach’, adding: ‘The palate is well balanced and crisp with some stony minerality coming through and really good length.’ ‘Classy and balanced,’ thought Tanguy Martin of New Street Warehouse, while Guillaume Mahaut of ETM Group noted: ‘Restrained complexity with flowers and honey and soft acidity.’

£18.67 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

Peter Lehmann, Wigan, Riesling 2013, Eden Valley, South Australia, Australia

Gold medal winner

For Tanguy Martin of New Street Warehouse this was an easy Gold Lister. Suggesting that it would be a great choice to pour by the glass, he described ‘a top-class Australian Riesling… this ticks all the boxes, with notes of lime, orange and grapefruit; there’s lovely evolution on the palate and a lingering finish’, before adding: ‘It’s exciting, value for money and would be a classy match with ceviche scallops, pomelo slices, and a lime and ginger dressing.’ Clearly a gastronomic wine, Michael Moore of The London Cookhouse upped the ante with ‘Dover sole’; while for team leader Nigel Lister, its classic aromatic notes of petrol and rubber, balanced with spiced pear and apple acidity suggested sushi.

£13.02 Liberty Wines

Petaluma, Hanlin Hill, Riesling 2016, Clare Valley, South Australia, Australia

Gold medal winner

Awarding a Gold medal, team leader Tom Forrest admired this wine’s ‘petrol-nosed minerality, with its distinct lemon pith and apple skin notes’, and its ‘spicy, honeyed palate’ tempered by ‘a laser-like acidity and a long, stony, mineral finish’. Chiara Sieni of Bottles Group, meanwhile, found the wine ‘dry and smoky; rich and refreshing’, adding that the palate was ‘nutty and creamy, with almond and bready notes’. For Guillaume Mahaut of ETM Group the palate was full, with ‘apricot and orange’, and the nose brought ‘camomile, flowers and honey’.

£18.61 Matthew Clark

Allegory, Riesling 2017, Western Australia, Australia

Silver medal winner

For Ieva Markaityte of Portuguese Concepts, this Silver medal-winning wine offered ‘orange zest and pineapple’, as well as a ‘warm and bright freshness on the palate, paired with a well-balanced acidity’.

£8.40 Berkmann Wine Cellars

Magpie Estate, Rag & Bone, Riesling 2018, Eden Valley, South Australia, Australia

Silver medal winner

Tanguy Martin of New Street Warehouse described this wine as having a ‘soft, delicate palate’ and thought it ‘manages in a way to lighten the sweetness with fresh acidity’, describing it as ‘very well balanced’.

£8.90 Boutinot

Howard Park, Mount Barker, Riesling 2017, Western Australia, Australia

Silver medal winner

Team leader Tom Forrest loved the ‘balance between the lime and apple blossom higher notes of the aroma paired with the more petrolly mineral notes on the palate’, describing it as ‘a more saline Riesling yet with a refreshing lime zing towards the finish’.

£15.95 Enotria&Coe

Egon Muller, Kanta, Riesling 2015, South Australia, Australia

Bronze medal winner

For Alonso Abed of Hide Above this wine had ‘salty, petrol, lime and smoky notes’ and ‘a mouthfeel of stone fruit, white pepper, dry leaves, green fruit and a long mineral finish’.

£16.75 Top Selection

Josef Chromy, Delikat SGR, Riesling 2016, Tasmania, Australia

Bronze medal winner

‘Lighter mineral flavour, yet a definitive honey and apple nose,’ said team leader Tom Forrest, adding: ‘The honeyed character carries on through the palate with sugar levels balanced with fresh acidity.’

£13.68 Bibendum

Chaffey Bros Wine Co, Tripelpunkt, Riesling 2016, South Australia, Australia

Bronze medal winner

Tanguay Martin of New Street Warehouse enjoyed this wine’s ‘very classy nose of potato, lemongrass and lime’ and thought it had ‘a delicate palate that was round and easy-drinking’.

£11.92 Enotria&Coe

Langmeil, Wattle Brae, Riesling 2017, Eden Valley, South Australia, Australia

Commended medal winner

Jim Barry, The Florita, Riesling 2016, South Australia, Australia

Commended medal winner

Mount Langi Ghiran, Billi Billi, Riesling 2015, Victoria, Australia

Commended medal winner

£9.34 Bibendum

Chaffey Bros Wine Co, Not Your Grandma's Riesling 2017, South Australia, Australia

Commended medal winner

£9.92 Enotria&Coe

Dandelion Vineyards, Wonderland of the Eden Valley, Riesling 2018, South Australia, Australia

Commended medal winner

Heirloom, Riesling 2018, Eden Valley, South Australia, Australia

Commended medal winner

John Hughes Winery, Rieslingfreak No.5, Riesling 2018, Clare Valley, South Australia, Australia

Commended medal winner

£13.49 Bibendum