A New Era for Australian Riesling: Flavor and Drinkability

It’s no coincidence that two Australian rieslings headed our Top 100 Value Wines lists over the past two years. The Pewsey Vale Riesling Eden Valley 2021 took top honors out of the 25,000-plus wines we tasted in 2021, while the Peter Lehmann Riesling Eden Valley Wigan 2015, another take on the genre that shows just how effortlessly well Eden Valley rieslings perform in the cellar, was our leading best-value pick in 2020.

For Louisa Rose, the head of winemaking at Pewsey Vale, “the great value and drinkability of Pewsey Vale riesling has been no secret here at home.” It’s also no secret to us at JamesSuckling.com that Australian rieslings in general have seen a remarkable evolution over the years in terms of flavor and character, which is why we decided to delve a little deeper into our top Australian riesling picks from recent tastings, dating back to 2021.

Pewsey Vale has long been held in high regard as a bastion of value and consistency in Australia, and their riesling is grown at high altitude in Eden Valley, the elevated part of the Barossa GI. An extensive single vineyard, it has a long history of viticulture dating back as far as the mid-19th century. In its current form, there are terraced plantings dating to 1961, and various adjoining parcels are grown in a patchwork that folds over undulating hills between 485 and 500 meters above sea level. It is a spectacular site to visit.

The consistent quality in Pewsey Vale is underpinned by the context of a true cool climate that facilitates good hang time and the ability to harvest ripe grapes with concentrated flavors and reliably low pH. The same combination of climate, low pH and decades of carefully refined technique has elevated Peter Lehmann rieslings to a similar level of consistently outstanding quality and age-worthiness.

But Eden Valley isn’t the only place in South Australia where rieslings excelled in the landmark 2021 vintage. Clare Valley also showed in spades. “Northern Clare did well and had well-balanced crop load in the vineyard,” said John Hughes, whose Rieslingfreak label is solely dedicated to this one variety across the Eden and Clare valleys.

Hughes made a very successful suite of 2021 wines in both regions, the standouts being the Rieslingfreak Riesling Eden Valley No. 4 and the piercingly driven, gin and tonic-like Rieslingfreak Riesling Eden Valley Flaxman Valley No. 12, from a sub-district of Eden Valley.

“The cooler summer worked in our favor, delaying picking times,” Hughes said. “In 2020 we harvested every grape in just seven days, whereas in 2021 we harvested across 35 days, so there’s a lot more flavor and more definition between each parcel. Sugars didn’t race and so we have wines with powerful flavors, bright natural acids and low alcohol.” A magic trifecta for wine quality.

READ MORE: TOP 100 WINES OF AUSTRALIA 2021

Stephen Henschke’s 2021 Julius Riesling is another Eden Valley standout, and he explained what brought such a special quality to riesling during the season.

“2021 had long and slow ripening, good balance and we had time to see the flavors build, then picked at the perfect point,” Henschke said. He also referenced acid balance and the naturally low pH that Eden Valley riesling maintains while still building concentrated flavors. “We even see some tropical hints in the 2021s alongside expressive florals, spice and fragrance,” he added. “The wines have amazing dimension.”

Clare Valley riesling maker Jeffrey Grosset sees a shift in the approach and style of Australian riesling playing out and is clearly excited by this. “This embracing of flavor in riesling is a new thing and it’s becoming more obvious that these wines can be gorgeous on release,” Grosset said. His 2021 Polish Hill and Springvale Rieslings are so charged with flavor and are powerfully concentrated, long and intense.

So what has changed? There has been an undeniable shift in the vineyard, with more and more producers turning to organic and biodynamic farming methods, and the big winner has been vine health. Resilient vines deliver healthy grapes that are harvested with greater flavor intensity and natural balance.

DELIGHTING THE PALATE

Speaking in broad terms about Australian riesling wines, Grosset explained it simply: “We’re shifting from a perception of dry acidity and challenging people’s palates to wines that delight people’s palates when they are young. We’re making wines we want to drink and we are trusting their flavor and intensity to deliver immediate appeal as well as aging reliably.”

No discussion of great Australian riesling would be complete without mentioning Western Australia’s Frankland Estate – one of the best and most innovative riesling makers in the Southern Hemisphere. Their wines have long excelled for sheer intensity of flavor, and more recently they have evolved to impressive complexity, especially in terms of texture.

Winemaker Hunter Smith explained that the continued evolution in the vineyard, with 13 years of certified organic management, has seen a stronger character of the site emerge in the wines. “We have the confidence that absolute minimal intervention in the Isolation Ridge Vineyard really enhances the reflection of site typicity, whilst still reflecting vintage character,” he said.

On the textural front, Smith looks to smaller ferment volumes (with many not exceeding 1,000 liters) to drive complexity once blended together, along with extended maturation of wines on lees post-ferment, bottling in mid-December and releasing wines the following May.

Rose, the Pewsey Vale winemaker, also cites texture as key to the evolution the winery’s riesling style. “I absolutely agree that great modern Australian riesling is all about flavor and maximizing flavor in the vineyard and the winery, but texture is also a really important part of our modern wine style and the way we enjoy wine today,” she said.

Rose links those qualities directly back to improved and organic vineyard practices at Pewsey Vale. She has for some time incorporated a 50 percent natural yeast fermentation in the winery, too, recognizing that healthy microorganisms from the vineyard deliver wines that are more naturally linked to site typicity. “We just rely on and respect the natural balance we get in the vineyard,” she said.

This emerging upswing of more concentrated and ripe flavors in Australian riesling is ultimately given full voice by better vineyard practices and vine health, but also by the fact that winemakers and consumers are bending the needle in the direction of flavor and drinkability. The vineyard, winery and consumer are all leaning in the same direction.

“It’s ultimately all about the vineyard,” Grosset pointed out, “but the surprise for winemakers and consumers is the uptick of intensity and deliciousness. It is obvious now that our rieslings are simply gorgeous on release.”

Check out the notes below for our top Australian rieslings from recent tastings. Out of the rieslings we’ve rated since 2021, 43 received scores of 95 points or above, so there is plenty of excellence to choose from.