Riesling | Sarah Ahmed - The Wine Detective

Mount Horrocks Cordon Cut Riesling 2009 – “Yquek” it out if you can!

Posted Thursday 9th September 2010

Classic Australian Riesling is, like the classic clothing line, driza-bone, but there’s a growing niche of sweeter styles. Yesterday, I wrote up Jeffrey Grosset’s maiden Off-Dry Riesling. Today, the focus is on the 2009 vintage of his partner, Stephanie Toole’s, Mount Horrocks Cordon Cut Riesling, a single vineyard sweetie from Toole’s Auburn vineyard. It proved a fitting [...]

A game of two halves: Pewsey Vale Riesling –v- Jim Barry Riesling

Posted Tuesday 25th May 2010

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Robert Hill Smith and Peter Barry dug deep into their reserves to show some older wines at a well over-subscribed Riesling masterclass at last week’s London International Wine Fair, also the latest releases of flagships Pewsey Vale The Contours (2004) and Jim Barry The Florita (2009). Joking he wasn’t sure there’d be a waiting list [...]

Rieslings to be cheerful, part 1,2 not 3…

Posted Monday 1st February 2010

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A cheeky reference to Sex, Drugs & Rock & Roll, the excellent Ian Dury biopic? Yes and no. We’re into February, not my favourite month of the year, and I’d love to be transported somewhere warm and sunny. So if my monthly selection, two Rieslings, seems a bit perverse, there’s your answer! Grosset Springvale Watervale [...]

Re-framing Riesling at Framingham, New Zealand

Posted Thursday 14th January 2010

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This time last year, I was in eager anticipation of my Riesling-focused trip to Australia (reported here). As part of my “limbering up” process, I checked out what was happening in, on the face of it, a climate/country better-suited to Riesling – New Zealand. With one notable exception, Framingham, I was (and have been) generally [...]

HP sauce is delicious of course – a visit with Howard Park

Posted Thursday 17th December 2009

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After a full on Portugal-focused month, this week, I’ve finalised my 50 Great Portuguese Wines for the 2010 annual tasting and updated the Portugal entries for Hugh Johnson Pocket Wine 2011 – hurrah! And my thoughts have now magically reverted to my Western Australia trip of September/October. You’ll find here the first of my detailed [...]

Howard Park, zooming in on Riesling and Pinot Noir

Posted Sunday 4th October 2009

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Western Australian wineries are well up for pitting their wines and wits against the best the Old World can offer – Cape Mentelle started it with a Cabernet Sauvignon tasting, followed by Cullen for Chardonnay, Howard Park for Riesling, Peel Estate for Shiraz, Millbrook for Viognier, Woodlands for Cabernet blends and Fraser Gallop for white Bordeaux [...]