Rieslings to be Cheerful Part II

(2024) Very attractive nose with something green and herbaceous - nettle maybe? - orange rind and a hint of juicy ogen melon. The palate has a fat limey fruit core, really very good acidity, but the hint of ripeness and nectarine sweetness fills out the mid-palate. The juicy, lemony and delicately saline finish is beautifully done. Very good value this one.

(2024) Sourced from Hugel's vineyards around Riquewihr which are in the process of being certified for organic viticulture. Gorgeous nose of waxy preserved lemons, gently exotic, ripe apples and the most delicate touch of saffron spice. The palate has sweetness, but that's purely the ripe fruit, underscored by a sour lemon and grapefruit acidity that cleanses the palate. Medium-bodied but fruit-filled on the mid-palate, the finish is long and perfectly balanced.

(2023) A dry Riesling from the Adelaide Hills in South Australia, it has punchy lime and green herbs on the nose, just a lovely hint of beeswax too. Delicious palate, riven with that pure lime flavour and acidity, but a little oiliness to the texture adds weight and authority. It's dry, but not austere, with delightfully bold fruit and crispness to the end.  

(2024) A wine from the Eden Valley, made in a joint project between Jeffrey Grosset, famed for his iconic Clare Valley Rieslings, and Robert Hill Smith of the Yalumba family of wineries. Waxy and floral, its flits around Paraffin and minerals, a squirt of lime. The palate has a certain richness, a hint of peach but big core of citrus. Despite being bone dry and having all that lemony thrust of fruit, there's a certain weight and extract here that makes it feel relatively rounded and full.

(2024) Smoky and figgy-rich stuff from the Eden Valley, this may be Botrytis-affected, but despite that initial impression it exists in a featherweight style; the richness of the botrytis adds those mushroom and gentle barlet sugar edges, but the clarity, relatively light body and shimmer of lime acidity ensures this walks to quite a different beat to the more luscious German TBA examples. Nimble and delicate.

(2024) Pleasing floral and lime fresh aromatics, hints of spring flowers, no waxy/mineral notes to speak of. A fair bit of residual sugar here, pitching this firmly into off-dry to medium-sweet territory, plenty of peachy, ripe fruit against a balancing orange acidity. Aperitif style, and well done.

(2024) This organic certified Riesling from actor Sam Neill's Two Paddocks estate is in the just off-dry style of so many Rieslings from the Central Otago area. Floral, talcum power overtones sit on crisp apple. The palate has that light sherbet sweetness, but a big juicy thrust of lime acidity powers through, then the peach-down hint of tropicality reasserts. This finishes dry and decisive, the clean acid framework winning the day.

(2024) Riverby's Riesling block is one of the oldest in Marlborough, and this cuvée is made in a mouthwatering dry style. The nose has hints of beeswax and crushed stone, but there's a distinct floral aspect to this too. In the mouth bags of fat, zest lemon and lime, just hinting at the downy skins of peaches, but steely at the core that wins through to a long, clear, sherbetty finish.

(2024) Ultra reliable, just off-dry Riesling, this comes from a dedicated block of the Riverby vineyard. Slate and wet river stones, with a very delicate waxiness. Yellow apple and lime fruit, something a little floral too? Peachy sweet as it strikes the palate, but bracing acidity slices through that fruit juiciness and sweetness. Rounded and creamy-textured, it's both sophisticated and crowd-pleasingly delicious.

(2024) Always a delight, this 9.5% alcohol Kabinett-style Riesling has more weight and voluptuous texture than might be expected in a Mosel or Rhine example, but has pin-point accurate acid balance too. Hints of beeswax and ginger to lovely stone fruit and lime aromas, the sweet and deliciously pure fruit on the palate. The acid balance offsets the sweetness and hints of exotic, tropical fruit beautifully.