In more than 15 years of tasting Australian wines for Decanter, I’ve never seen a line-up of such consistently high quality as this. Of 52 wines, 49 scored 90 points or above, and 10 of these were a golden 95pts or more. Roger Jones, also a veteran taster of Australian wines for Decanter, agreed: ‘Without doubt one of the best panel tastings, highlighting the value and quality of Aussie Riesling.’
‘The quality exceeded my expectations,’ added Julia Sewell. ‘The wines were not just without fault, but with universal drinkability, complexity and finesse.’ The much-touted 2021 vintage drove this success (35 wines), but gratifyingly we also found gilded beauty from 2019 (three), 2018 (five) and 2015 (two). The 2020s (six), from a more challenging year, showed signs of both explosive power and shutting down. Yet, overall, we can safely say that buying Clare or Eden Rieslings from any of the past four vintages will bring pleasure and superb value.
Successful production techniques are well known: gentle must-handling for low phenolic extraction; cool fermentation in neutral/steel vessels in the absence of oxygen; careful viticulture that shields berries from sunburn – and the unwanted ‘kerosene’ aromas of TDN (or 1,1,6-trimethyl-1,2-dihydronaphthalene). Sewell approved that these ‘once-classic notes seemed almost entirely absent’ in our line-up.
Yet new trends are emerging. A surprising number of wines retained a whisper of natural sweetness, while a rare few are experimenting with large oak casks and extended lees ageing.
These are positive developments, showing that producers know both what works but also what interests the wider world. They neither abandon consumers to the confines of tradition, nor do they leave them behind as they push in new directions. Perhaps the largest stylistic difference between producers is grape maturity at harvest, as alcohol levels can range from 11% or lower to 13%.
THE SCORES 52 wines tasted Exceptional 0 Outstanding 10 Highly recommended 39 Recommended 3
Commended 0 Fair 0 Poor 0 Faulty 0
Entry criteria: producers and UK agents were invited to submit their dry, 100% Riesling latest-release vintages from Eden Valley or Clare Valley GIs and their sub-regions
‘It’s a fallacy that these wines are onedimensional,’ emphasised Jones. ‘Yes, there is the lip-smacking freshness, like a dip in a winter’s river, but there is also exoticism with apple, rhubarb, orange blossom and jasmine notes all complementing the dominant flavours of citrus. These pristine, pure Rieslings have their own style that more people
