Below, we look at the characteristics of the Riesling grape and provide recommendations on how to store Riesling correctly during the ageing process. Riesling is an aromatic grape varietal.
Known for producing white wine that is floral and fruit-driven, this grape is grown in many reputable wine regions across the world, most notably Mosel Valley, Germany. This white grape is often characterized by its moderate size, green skin, high acidity and light body.
Notable tasting notes for this grape include citrus, stone fruit, rose blossom and petrol when aged. Rieslings are also known for expressing their terroir and come in many styles. You can expect variations in terms of flavour, dryness, and sweetness. For more information on the origins of this versatile grape, read our in-depth guide to Riesling wine. Many think ageing is only suitable for red wines. But, in fact, many white wines such as Rieslings can evolve beautify with age in bottle.
The reason for this, according to the founder of Clare Valley winery Grosset , is that screwcaps are slightly permeable. Due to the fact that every screwcap is essentially made the same, the rate of ageing or influence of permeability is the same for every bottle. This means the rate of uptake of oxygen is very low and the wine therefore undergoes a gradual development, ensuring a stable ageing process.
As for the cellaring life of riesling , Jeffrey says there are a few factors to consider. A fully mature riesling, with about 10 to 15 years of age on it, can display distinct honey and toast characters. Alternatively, Jeffrey says a good riesling with about one to three years on it shows fresh lime or a mix of citrus flavours and a slightly more rounded palate than a typical riesling on release. If so, feel free to crack open the bottle you bought today! I am a lover of Hunter Valley semillon — both young and aged.
He suggests what was once deemed a dip was perhaps more likely to be other cork-related issues such as random oxidisation. Until recently German Riesling was often so tart that it needed some sweetness in the wine to balance the acidity, but climate change has meant that grapes ripen much more successfully and some seriously fine dry trocken German Rieslings are made. Their perfume and raciness can make them particularly food-friendly — often more so than a heavier, oak-aged white.
Riesling is also the noblest variety of Alsace, France's most Germanic region, where the best of its tingly-dry, steely wines such as Trimbach's Clos Ste-Hune can age for a decade or two in bottle. There is a slight talcum powder aroma about the least concentrated examples of Alsace Riesling but these are great wines to drink as aperitifs as indeed is all but the sweetest Riesling made anywhere.
The Wachau in Austria rivals Alsace and the Mosel for the purity of its Rieslings, except that these wonderfully characterful, bone dry, sculpted wines tend to have more in the way of body and alcohol. Much of central Europe, Slovenia and the Czech Republic in particular, has suitable spots for ripening Riesling, whose local name usually incorporates some variant on the word Rhine in Croatia it is known as Rizling Rajinski , for example.
True Riesling as opposed to Welschriesling is widely dispersed in Friuli and Alto Adige where it is called Riesling Renano although few startling examples have so far emerged from the region. Riesling is also allegedly grown widely in the Russia, but much of this may in fact be Welschriesling.
Most of southern Europe is too warm for Riesling; if it ripens too fast and early, it fails to build any flavour. If you notice them closing up, age the remaining bottles for another 5 to 7 years before opening another one. Then look for the secondary aromas and flavors that make mature Riesling so alluring. By Bruce Sanderson. Well-made Rieslings can be enjoyed both young and aged. Bruce Sanderson. Bruce Sanderson Decanted. Explore Newsletters. Restaurant Search.
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