Description
Here is a cracking selection of Australia's best Rieslings from some of our favourite Riesling producers.
Riesling is one of the world's great grapes, and arguably the white wine Australia does best!
There has never been more innovation and excitement within Aussie Riesling than right now, and this pack brings you six cutting-edge examples of Riesling in different styles and from different regions, that show off what makes this variety so popular.
- 2024 Rieslingfreak No. 2 Polish Hill River Riesling
- 2023 Koerner Watervale Riesling
- 2023 Ravensworth Regional Riesling
- 2023 Vignerons Schmolzer & Brown Beechworth Riesling
- 2024 Stargazer Riesling
- 2024 Vanguardist Wines Le Marx Riesling
2024 Rieslingfreak No. 2 Polish Hill River Riesling
The Polish Hill River Riesling comes from a single block in the Polish Hill sub-region of the Clare Valley.
John & Belinda Hughes think this vineyard produces the best fruit of all of their vineyard sources. Grown in soils rich with limestone and shale, this dry Riesling is ballistically good in 2024.
There's an extra level of intensity here. That classic iron bar of acidity as a spine, the chalky crunch of a green apple, wonderful perfume and glorious purity.
This sits comfortably alongside the best wines from this famous sub-region of the Clare. This is an elite Australian Riesling which beautifully captures one of the premier sub-regions for Riesling in the whole country.
98 points
"Such a sleek, tightly bound package, with a steely focus, porcelain acidity and a pitch-perfect tubular palate shape. It's lovely saline and sapid drinking now, but this will age beautifully."
- Dave Brookes (Halliday Wine Companion)
97 points
"This vintage’s star of the Rieslingfreak sub-regional expressions shows off the distinctive mineral traces typical of Polish Hill River vineyards, which provide a sturdy backbone to rich and generous lime and lemon flavours. It opens with a seductive bouquet of fresh green apple and jasmine, before the influence of fine chalky tannins defines the shape of a curvy mid-palate that shows a long citrus core gripped with a trace of honeysuckle, with an irresistible smack of minerality at the conclusion."
- David Sly (Decanter)
96 points
"It’s otherworldly, to be perfectly honest, quite hard to describe. It’s ethereal. All I can say is this is what you’d drink at the pearly gates, if you’ve been good of course."
- Shanteh Wale (Wine Pilot)
2023 Koerner Watervale Riesling
The Koerner Riesling is grown on the Koerner family vineyard, Gullyview, in Watervale, Clare Valley.
This vineyard has been farmed by the Koerners for 35 years, the sons Damon and Jonathan are intimate with the fruit and it shows. This is Watervale Riesling with more character and texture than the 'classic' styles of wine the region is famous for.
The fruit spent 6 hours on skins and was fermented and aged in a combination of stainless steel and ceramic amphora for 2 months. No fining, filtering or additions apart from a smidge of sulphur. It has texture and vitality and a load of interest. It's an alternative look at a staple of the Australian wine landscape by a family-owned operation. Great stuff.
95 points
"This was fermented wild in both stainless steel and ceramic amphora. In flavour terms, it's as classic as they come, with lemon and lime flavours given some extra bite courtesy of bath-salt-like characters. It hits up well but saves its most impressive burst of flavour for the finish, always the clearest sign of quality."
- Campbell Mattinson (Halliday Wine Companion)95 points
"A potency to this wine, texture and savoury elements with strong currency of green apple, tart lime and gingery spice woven through...It feels so distinct from run-of-the-mill Clare Valley riesling archetypes, delivering complexity through its various elements, and yet so composed. Excellent."
- Mike Bennie (The Wine Front)
2023 Ravensworth Regional Riesling
96 points & Top 100 Wines of 2024
"This is something else and delicious. Heady aromatics wafts of lemon blossom, ginger flower and spices, yet the palate steals the show. Textural, waxy, stony and complex with a silk-line of acidity all the way through. A cracking drink on its own or with food."
- Jane Faulkner (Halliday Wine Companion)
Those that have ever tasted the exquisite wines from the Clonakilla stable should know that most of them have been touched by the hands of Ravensworth owner/winemaker/butcher/purveyor of smoked meats, Bryan Martin.
The Ravensworth project is a chance for him to captain his own ship. The wines are some of the best value in the country.
This is a scintillating expression of Riesling. Nothing fancy (apart from a small component made in ceramic egg). Just amazing fruit made with a gentle and precise touch. This sits right alongside the best Rieslings in the Canberra region.
The demand for Bryan's wines escalates every year, and with great-value wines like this coming from him so consistently, it's no wonder.
"A cracker of a year sees our favourite regional white filled with beautiful aromatics of citrus, blossom and spice. Nothing appeases a spring thirst like a dewy, chilled glass of riesling on the patio."
- Bryan Martin
2023 Vignerons Schmolzer & Brown Beechworth Riesling
Tessa and Jeremy realised that they've been working a lot more closely with small parcels of fruit from various vineyards around Beechworth, and it just made natural sense to them to make a range to hero the varieties that do so well in this region.
This Riesling is part of the line-up, made in tiny volumes from specifically selected small sites.
The duo truly excel at crafting their Rieslings with crystalline acidity, bright aromatics and delicate flavours. All these elements and more find their place here in this beautifully made wine from VS&B.
2024 Stargazer Riesling
Sam Connew continues to prove why she’s one of the most talented winemakers in Australia with her 2024 Stargazer Riesling. Sourced from the Tea Tree sub-region of the Coal River Valley, this Riesling embodies the best of Tasmanian terroir.
What sets this Riesling apart is Sam’s careful crafting of texture and balance. She brings a touch of skin contact and lees stirring into the winemaking process, giving the wine a subtle yet satisfying complexity. There’s even a hint of residual sweetness, perfectly judged to round out the juicy acidity and make the wine more approachable early on, without sacrificing its potential for future development.
On the nose, expect classic citrus and floral notes, with a burst of lime zest and jasmine. The palate is where this wine really shines, offering a juicy, mouth-watering profile of ripe lemon, green apple, and just a kiss of tropical fruit. It’s generous, with a silky mouthfeel that wraps around a core of refreshing acidity.
Classy, crystalline, and approachable now, the 2024 Stargazer Riesling is ready to enjoy now. With its beautiful balance of texture, brightness, and subtle sweetness, this is a Riesling that promises to be a crowd-pleaser. Snap it up while you can—it’s the kind of wine that won’t stay on shelves for long.
2024 Vanguardist Wines Le Marx Riesling
This takes Clare Valley Riesling in a different direction than most. Winemaker Michael Corbett sourced this fruit from his friend Ben Marx from Ben's vineyard in Clare Valley.
Named with a nod to the vineyard's owner, Ben Marx (of Gertie fame - if that rings a bell), this wine celebrates the long-standing friendship between Marx and winemaker Michael Corbett. Their shared passion for oenology shines through in this single-site Riesling, which showcases the unique terroir and flora that thrive in the picturesque, terraced vineyard at 550 metres above sea level.
The 2024 vintage brought both challenges and rewards, leading to a Riesling that bursts with freshness, intensity and textural intriuge. Hand-picked in the cool morning hours, the grapes were foot-crushed and cold-soaked before fermenting naturally in a 900L egg-shaped vessel. This careful process, along with aging on lees and full malolactic fermentation, has imbued the wine with a unique shape and texture, this is not your average Clare Valley Riesling but it's a very good one.
It has a beautifully balanced profile of brown lime, grapefruit pith, and a steely, mineral acidity that is both refreshing and structured. The wine’s roundness and mouthfeel are enhanced by extended lees contact and 100% malo-lactic fermentation.
Its smashability factor is high, as well as the quality. It's a powerful, savoury, textural Riesling that is super drinking now or in a few years time.
94 points
"Quite some brine and seaweed here, and not specifically any fruity, maybe mixed citrus and green apple is closest, also some chamomile and mint. It’s saline and savoury, kind of nutty, has a gentle sort of manzanilla tang, quite some powdery chalky texture, and finishes long and, well, kind of electric, like ozone or a quick lick of a 9V battery (don’t mind me). It’s an excellent wine. Distinctive and different."
- Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)
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