Grape Variety: Riesling

Colour: White

Racy
Incisive
Exquisite
Scintillating
Lively
Invigorating
Nectareous
Glissading

Riesling is considered one of the noblest of white grape varieties, one that best expresses the terroir of the place where it is grown. It is particularly well suited for slate and sandy clay soil. Riesling wines are often consumed when young, when they make a fruity and aromatic wine which may have aromas of green or other apples, grapefruit, peach, honey, rose blossom or cut green grass, and usually a crisp taste due to the high acidity. However, Riesling’s naturally high acidity and range of flavours make it suitable for extended ageing.

With time, Riesling wines tend to acquire a petrol note (goût petrol in French) which is sometimes described with associations to kerosene, lubricant or rubber. While an integral part of the aroma profile of mature Riesling and sought after by many experienced drinkers, it may be off-putting to those unaccustomed to it, and those who primarily seek young and fruity aromas in their wine.
Originating in German soil today Riesling is Germany’s leading grape variety, known for its characteristic “transparency” in flavor and presentation of terroir, and its balance between fruit and mineral flavours. In Germany, Riesling normally ripens between late September and late November, and late harvest Riesling can be picked as late as January.

Three common characteristics of German Riesling are that they are rarely blended with other varietals, hardly ever exposed to commercial yeast and usually never exposed to oak (despite some winemakers fermenting in large “neutral” oak barrels). There has been a trend recently in the wine regions of Pfalz and Baden to experiment with new oak ageing. While clearer in primary individual flavours when it is young German Riesling will harmonize more as it ages, particularly around ten years of age.

In Germany, sugar levels at time of harvest is an important consideration in the wine’s production with prädikat levels measuring the sweetness of the wine. As equally important to winegrowers is the balance of acidity between the green tasting malic acid and the more citrus tasting tartaric acid. In cool years, some growers will wait until November to harvest in hopes of having a higher level of ripeness and subsequent tartaric acid.

Before technology in wineries could stabilize temperatures, the low temperatures in winter of the northern German regions would halt fermentation and leave the resulting wines with natural sugars and a low alcohol content. According to local tradition, in the Mosel region the wine would then be bottled in tall, tapered, and green hock bottles. Similar bottles, although brown, are used for Riesling produced in the Rhine region.

Rieslings from Germany cover a vast array of tastes from sweet including trockenbeerenauslese and beerenauslese to off-dry halbtrocken whilst the trend for dry wines continues apace.

Riesling is on record as being planted in the Alsace region by 1477 when its quality was praised by the Duke of Lorraine. Today over a fifth of Alsace’s vineyards are covered with Riesling vines, mostly in the Haut-Rhin district, with the wine produced here being very different from neighboring German Riesling. This is partly from difference in the soil with the clay Alsatian soil being more predominantly calcareous than the slate composition of Rheingau. The other differences come in wine making styles, with the Alsatian preferring more French-oriented methods that produce wines of higher alcohol content (normally around 12%) and more roundness due to longer time spent in the steel tanks. Alsace Rieslings are never aged in oak barrels. In contrast to German wine laws, Alsatian rieslings can be chaptalized, a process in which the alcoholic content is increased through the addition of sugar to the must.

In contrast to other Alsatian wines, Rieslings are usually not meant to be drunk young, but many are still best in the first years. They tend to be mostly very dry (like bleached bones as Andrew Jefford once said) with a cleansing acidity, yet also palate-coating. They can age exceptionally well. Riesling is very suitable for the late harvest Vendange Tardive and the botrytised Sélection de Grains Nobles, with good acidity keeping up the sweetness of the wine.

In addition to Muscat, Gewürztraminer and Pinot Gris, Riesling is one of the acceptable varieties whose planting is allowed in Alsace’s grand cru sites.

In wine making, the delicate nature of the Riesling grape requires special handling during harvesting to avoid crushing or bruising the skin. Without this care, the broken skins could leak tannin into the juice, giving a markedly coarse taste and throwing off balance the Riesling’s delicate range of flavours and aromas.

Unlike Chardonnay, most Riesling do not undergo malolactic fermentation. This helps preserve the tart, acidic characteristic of the wine that gives Riesling its “thirst-quenching” quality. (Producers of Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio often avoid malolactic fermentation for the same reason.) Riesling is often put through a process of cold stabilization, where the wine is stored just above its freezing point. The wine is kept at this temperature until much of the tartaric acid has crystallized and precipitated out of the wine.

Riesling is a versatile wine for pairing with food, because of its balance of sugar and acidity. It can be paired with white fish or pork, and is one of the few wines that can stand up to the stronger flavours and spices of Thai and Chinese cuisine. A Riesling’s typical aromas are of flowers, tropical fruits, and mineral stone (such as slate or quartz), although, with time, the wine acquires a petrol note as mentioned above.

Riesling is almost never fermented or aged in new oak (although large old oak barrels are often used to store and stabilise Riesling based wines in Germany and Alsace). This means that Riesling tends to be lighter weight and therefore suitable to a wider range of foods. The sharp acidity/sweetness in Rieslings can serve as a good balance to foods that have a high salt or vinegar content such as choucroute with sausages.

Maurice and Jacky Barthelmé in the village of Wettolsheim, near Colmar, run this well regarded Alsace domaine. Maurice, who took over here in 1984, is married to the granddaughter of the late Albert Mann who gave his name to the domaine. It’s not a huge operation: they have 19 hectares in all, but five of these are in five different Grand Cru vineyards and a further two are in lieux-dits. “Schlossberg” vineyard is the first terroir in Alsace to receive the status of Grand Cru. The wines are remarkable for their balance and finesse, their intensity and concentration, which is achieved by drastically pruning the vines to limit yields per hectare to nearly one-half that typical in Alsace, and are therefore 100% estate grown and estate-bottled. The Schlossberg unveils a multitude of aromas and flavours: apple, white pear, spice, mineral and beeswax integrate with the sinewy structure and rich texture.

Domaine Mathis Bastian in Luxembourg make Rieslings half way in style between a German and an Alsatian version, being medium-bodied, but with steely acidity and lively citrus fruit flavours. The wine benefits from a period in the glass where its aromatic potential blossoms.

The pioneer who first drew attention to Valle Isarco’s wines is Peter Pliger. The other “young lions” in the area universally admire and respect Pliger’s methods and his desire to allow the vineyard’s expressions to become manifest in the wines he carefully nurtures. Pliger and the rest of the area’s growers employ similar winemaking methods (i.e. organic farming, stainless steel and acacia vats with no barrique, no malolactic fermentation) to produce what Gambero Rosso deems “[wines of] amazing minerality and complexity. They need long aging before expressing themselves with depth and fascinating luminosity.” His organically cultivated vines exhibit an aromatic profile and stony minerality that differ from those grown just north or south of his property and are expressive of a unique terroir.
The glorious Riesling Kaiton is gold with greenish highlights. Somewhat muted floral and herbal scents on the nose but in the mouth one finds intense flavours of white peach, orange peel and apricot, sharply focused and delineated, showing noteworthy verve. A strong sense of minerality underlies the honeyed finish, which also conveys nuances of candied ginger and quince.

Bottled in June following the harvest, the Riesling from Kofererhof (also based in the Valle Isarco part of Alto-Adige) is vinified entirely in stainless steel.  With a greenish-golden yellow hue, it is fruity on the nose, with notes of peach and tropical fruit.  Elegant, aromatic, and fresh on the palate, there is a wonderful sapidity to this wine, as well as an excellent structure and strong finish. It is more luscious than the Pliger – think Rheingau versus Mosel.

Stuart Pigott writes about the dedication to quality of certain German growers, the “masters of Riesling” as he describes them. “For Dönnhoff, the Hasselbachs, Leitz and Loosen… the goal is to achieve the greatest possible of aroma and flavour compatible with harmony. In the vineyards they work for low yields, and pick both late and selectively for maximum ripeness. In the cellars all pursue a policy of minimal intervention, so that nothing is lost through unnecessary filtration or fining… When everything works out it is a philosophy which results in wines that are packed with flavour, beautifully balanced and unique in character. In an age when wines are becoming ever more standardised, and quality is increasingly being defined purely in terms of thickness these are noble exceptions to the depressing rule”. 

The Dönnhoff estate is situated in the village of Oberhäusen between the villages of Niederhausen and Schlossböckelheim in the rocky landscape of the middle Nahe. The family first came to the region over 200 years ago and established a modest farm. They turned the farm into a fully-fledged wine estate, with the acquisition of top vineyards. The soil in the Nahe is a mixture of slate, porphyry marble (crystal and mineral-filled lava rock) and sandstone, whilst the vinification involves a very slow fermentation in classic German old oak casks. Helmut Dönnhoff has been making the wines since 1971.
With Rieslings such as these it’s a question of “never mind the width feel the quality”.

Pale straw coloured the Donnhoff dry Riesling has a lively citrus and mineral nose, and on the palate plenty of good crisp fruit and just the right amount of acid to balance. The wines exemplify the delicate pleasures of Riesling: gossamer grace, charming limpidity and scintillating acidity

The Leistenberg Riesling Kabinett has more than a whiff of the Mosel about it. The fine balance of apple and peach fruit and cool minerality speaks of a finesse and true elegance that few wines can match. The wine is concentrated, and very long, and without an ounce of fat. It is so light on its feet that the “Kabinett” label is not misleading, despite the much higher ripeness. Delicious.

Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Spätlese has a floral bouquet with mineral slatey tones; on the palate this wine is complex and richly sweet, with honey and citrus fruits, yet with a tingly steely edge. Excellent fruit/acidity balance.

For Dönnhoff’s Niederhauser Hermannsöhle Riesling Auslese one is compelled to delve into a lexicon of taste sensations. Tarragon, stones, and pears can be detected in the nuanced scents its juxtaposition of immense richness and elegant detail. Medium-bodied and satin-textured, it reveals an ample character awash in spices, herbs, poached pears, and super-ripe apples. Notes of red currants, slate, and candied minerals intermingled with linden blossoms can also be discerned in its complex flavour profile.

So many wines are extracted with a hammer and chisel; they have no grace notes, but are all souped-up sweetmeatedness. Unction has no function when flavour batters your buds into submission. For demure refinement give me a tongue-teasing Riesling.

Dr Andrew Hedley is a passionate advocate of, and experimenter with Riesling in Marlborough at Framingham. He grades his wines in the Germanic style. The dry Riesling (under 7 grams residual) would be the equivalent of a “trocken”. The Classic Riesling is effectively a Kabinett. Their “Select Riesling” is the equivalent of an Auslese (60g residual sugar) and only 8.3 alcohol. Finally, they make a Beerenauslese style.

The Classic Riesling has a bouquet of perfumed, floral aromatics of jasmine and honeysuckle, while the palate offers flavours of lime and orange citrus, stonefruit and mineral. The residual sugar in the wine is balanced with a backbone of firm, natural acidity giving a long, dry finish. It ages remarkably well.