Blog #14 Riesling: It's The Contradictions That Make It Great

Last weekend I tasted 3 very different, but very interesting Rieslings and it really illustrated to me the point that it is some of Riesling's self contradictions that make it so good. Now I adore Riesling, for whatever reason I have not mentioned this point on my blog thus far, but in all honesty it certainly ranks as one of my favourite grapes without a doubt. There is something very special about good Riesling; it's ability to really express terroir, it's amazing acidity, it's massive diversity of styles, to name a few. But, what really struck me last weekend is the fact that Riesling makes wines that have contradictions and I think that is what makes them so good.

First, good Riesling has an incredible ability to have that bit of lovely sweetness, but remains so refreshing and crisp due to its awesome acidity. In good examples this creates a fascinating tension where at points the sweetness imposes itself then the refreshing acidity. Secondly, Riesling often possesses this strange ability to very creamy and full bodied in the mouth, yet come of as elegant and full of finesse. Again this has much to do with that interplay between sweetness and acidity. Finally, Riesling often takes on very strange notes that sound off putting, but are actually amazingly addictive (i.e. notes of petrol and kerosine). All off these points are rather self contradictory, but this is what makes Riesling such an amazing grape. Each of the wines I tasted over the weekend possesed one or more of these self contradictory qualities, and all were quite enjoyable for very different reasons. Hopefully my tasting notes will better illustrate my point in this blog.

Huff Estates - Off Dry Riesling - 2008 - VQA Ontario (Prince Edward County) - Canada

Unfortunately there is not much information specifically about this wine, but I will be visiting Huff Estates in March so I will post more after my visit. I can tell you that they have 45 acres planted to vine composed of three different vineyards. The vines are planted on Prince Edward County clay/loam soils on limestone bedrock. The winery is "committed to producing wines that will express the finest in terroir from Prince Edward County." This wine was made by French winemaker Frederic Picard who has professional certification in Agriculture Management and Viticulture Oenology as well as an M.A. in Business and Finance. He has made wine in France, Italy, Chile, and South Africa.

The wine is quite pale with a slight yellow tinge. Subtle notes of petrol, lemon and lime citrus, candied fruit, and something akin to those mint butterscotch candies. The wine is absolutely great in the mouth with complex flavours of lemon meringue, citrus fruits, apple, apricot and a lovely touch of sweetness. All of this is balanced by laser like acidity that cuts through the palate. It is medium- full bodied with a nice creamy mouth feel, but the acidity makes this wine feel light and refreshing at the same time. This is really great stuff and definitely my style of Riesling, a real classic expression. With air more the fruit notes become more pronounced and the whole nose is more floral overall with the mouth flavours and textures remaining so good. You could criticize this wine for not really expressing its terrior, but this really is delicious. Excellent.

Thirty Bench - Riesling - 2006 - VQA Beamsville Bench- Niagara Penninsula - Ontario - Canada

Thirty Bench has pretty much made a name for itself for being on of Ontario's Riesling specialists. They are especially known for their three single vineyard Rieslings (Steel Post Vineyard, Triangle Vineyard, and Wood Post Vineyard) I have not tried these single vineyard offerings yet, but would very much like to in the future. This specific wine was hand picked and sourced from their three single vineyards mentioned above, it was then cool fermented in stainless steel and bottled afterwards.The soils of the Beamsville Bench are composed of gravel, sand, silt, and clay with a mix of shale, sandstone, and dolomitic limestone. The wine was made by Thirty Bench's current winemaker Natalie Reynolds who is a graduate of the Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute.

The wine is pale yellow gold in colour. The nose has notes of petrol, stone fruit, sour white cranberry, and a bit of urine. In the mouth there is a lot of sweet citrus fruits, stone fruits, lime and broad minerality. The wine has a strong acid backbone which keeps everything very fresh and the finish is dominated by fresh mineral notes. The sour notes are bit off putting. With air the sour notes drop a bit and it takes on a more mature petrol dominated nose with citrus fruits and more interesting mineral notes. Overall, however, it seems that this wine is still at an awkward stage in its development where it hasn't taken on all of its mature notes and flavours. If this does come together it could potentially be very good. Good+

Balbach - Nierstein Pattenthal - Riesling Kabinett - 2008 - QmP Rheinhessen - Germany (Fritz Hasselbach- Gunderloch Estate)

The Balbach estate was owned by the Balbach family since the early 1600s, but was taken over in 1996 by Fritz Hasselbach and his team of the hugely famous Gunderloch estate in the Rheinhessen. Hasselbach and co. are known for hand cultivation, harvesting and low yields. They use gentle crushing without destemming and gravity flow to vats where a slow temperature controlled fermentation process. The wines do not undergo any malolactic fermentation. This wine is sourced from the Pattenthal vineyard which is steeply sloped to face toward the Rhine river, which is directly adjacent to it and has a soil composition of clay and slate. According to Eckhard Supp it is one of the top 7 single vineyard sites in the Rheinhessen.

Very pale yellow in colour this wine possesses a lovely floral garden nose. Notes of faint lilac, lavender, fresh flowers and a hint of green rise from the glass conjuring up what a spring meadow would smell like this is further complicated by notes of citrus fruit. In the mouth the wine is so creamy rich feeling with flavours of sweet pit fruits and creamy sweetness which is all balanced right out by a lovely acidic backbone adding nice tension. It has nectar like qualities, in a very good way. I haven't had any other wines from the Pattenthal vineyard, but this seems to be a nice expression of it, it is too unique not to have been influenced by its terrior. The wine is extremely delicate and full of finesse with a beautiful lingering finish. This wine is just purely beautiful stuff really elegant, love it. Excellent.