We gathered every Tasmanian riesling (excepting dessert wines) that we could find and set our expert panel the task of finding the wines that compelled the most. That means we’re not necessarily looking for some platonic ideal of classic riesling, but rather wines of interest and character regardless of style. All wines were tasted blind, and each panellist named their top six wines.
Our panel: Tom Kline, Market Development Manager Voyager Estate; Lisa Cardelli DipWSET, Account Coordinator for Halliday Wine Companion; Wiremu Andrews, director Dearth of a Salesman; Ganesh Hulme, sommelier/buyer IDES; Keira O’Brien, owner/winemaker Rivulet Wines and head winemaker Freycinet; Patrick Walsh, owner/director Cellarhand Wine Wholesalers; Elisa Perissotto, sommelier Gimlet at Cavendish House; Victoria Pun, sommelier The Recreation Bistro & Bottleshop.
This appeared in the top-six lists for Perissotto, Walsh and Cardelli, and it was the top wine of the tasting for O’Brien, Hulme and Pun. “Fresh cool scents of cut apples, kiwifruit, cucumber and lime juice,” wrote O’Brien. “Structured palate with chalky minerality. Flavours of granny smith apple, fresh green herbs and fennel with excellent fruit concentration. Powerful acid line, tightly wound with great cellaring potential. Delivers a real sense of freshness.” “Shows powerful and pure, ripe riesling aromatics of preserved lemon, green pineapple, bergamot, and beeswax,” noted Hulme. “A whiff of petroleum and intricate white floral aromas round out a classy nose. The palate is pure and concentrated with searing acidity that is well supported by fruit. A structure that suggests this will improve with time.” “Such an aromatic nose and so appealing!” declared Pun. “I like the ripeness of the shiny golden fruit with a zesty lift, intertwined with the supporting acidity this wine offers, which is a sign of integration. It helps me forget how racy the acid is and just embrace this wine as a whole.” “You get the feeling this comes from mature vines, or very good ones at least!” added Walsh. “Fine-boned and racy, this is a very classy riesling bursting with concentrated fruits and beautifully harmonious natural acid – another hallmark of this tasting.”
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This featured in five of the panellists’ top-six lists, and it came out as the top wine for Kline. “There’s immediate allure and intrigue here, set off by attractively mineral, high-toned and pure aromatics,” he wrote. “Freshness and slatey coolness abound. Wet stone, lemon pith, finger lime and lime skin with a glimmer of jasmine. The aromas are understated and poised, giving the wine a sense of confidence. There’s lovely pop to the palate, however, with buoyancy and brightness at the fore, and a core of mineral purity piercing through fruit notes akin to the nose. There’s a seamless glide through the palate with filigree fruit, pithy acidity and balanced concentration. I love this for its old-world sensibility, restrained power and precision. Freshness and brightness melded with depth and detail.” Hulme had it just off top place. “A hint of flinty reduction only partially obscures aromas of ripe Meyer lemon, pineapple and jasmine,” he wrote. “This sample shows a slightly fuller body than many others in the flight. Acidity is balanced, keeping the wine fresh but well rounded. This will add weight and power in bottle.” O’Brien, Walsh and Pun also placed it. “Fresh and zesty aromas,” noted O’Brien. “Opulent ripe stone fruit, tropical fruits and custard apples. Juicy limes on the palate. Moreish and very composed. Appealing drinking now and likely to further blossom with some bottle age.”
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This came one off top spot for both Perissotto and Cardelli: “This riesling marries the definition of the Tasmanian binomial: purity and intensity,” wrote Perissotto. “It is also very expressive, with a long sequence of ‘feelings’, starting from the freshness of the green apple to the floral frangipani and the hint of savoury in between. Precise, with a long length… not the driest. The whisper of residual sugar creates a great balance. The perfect glass to swirl on its own.” “Pineapple, tangerine, mandarin zest, green mango aromas on the nose,” noted Cardelli. “There is a certain density in the mid-palate, cut through by a linear, zesty but not overpowering, and certainly not overly bracing, acidity. Perhaps a more complete and ready to drink style, with concentration and generosity of tropical fruit aromas and flavours alongside its citrus fruit. It would be interesting to see this again in the future.” “Light talc aroma, bath salts, chrysanthemums and a refreshing sea spray note,” wrote O’Brien in giving this a top-six finish. “On the palate, fresh and briny, celery salt, golden delicious apples and white nectarines on the edge of ripeness. Excellent tension, melting acidity, very long with a touch of intriguing curry leaf reduction.”
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This came top of the tasting for both Walsh and Cardelli. “Sometimes it’s just good to go with the flow, and here we’re on a fast train straight to riesling central!” declared Walsh. “This wine imposes itself right from the first sniff, with strong suggestions of the earthy soils in which it’s grown – volcanic possibly, weathered basalt? There are deep and brooding lemon-curd and citrus notes, too, with those mineral notes providing a backdrop. The mood continues on the palate as the flavours waft from one riesling touchpoint to another, but it’s all super composed and offers up a precise example of one of the many great faces that riesling can possess on the Apple Isle!” “Initially this wine was very shy on the nose, and very shy on the palate,” wrote Cardelli. “Then I started detecting a mineral, rock-like aroma and citrus notes of lemon juice and mandarin zest. It was crunchy, like biting into a fresh Fuji apple, making me hungry and thirsty at the same time. Probably my fault, as I had only a banana for lunch today. However, this is the only wine that has had this effect on me, and usually is a good sign in my books. With time, it had more to reveal: lemon zest, touch of jasmine, then again Fuji apple. It had a saline, and salivating quality, and …persistent length. That Fuji apple kept on giving. I’m glad that I’ve reviewed it, this was the classic example of an almost-missed hidden gem in the mix.”
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This rounded out the top three for both O’Brien and Walsh. “Complex and exotic with sherbetty acidity and good texture,” wrote O’Brien. “Bath salts, bergamot and lime zest on the nose, with opulent stone fruit and candied flavours on the palate, along with some lees complexity adding textural interest. Very stylish.” “I can see this being a very polarising wine, but I ended up loving it!” noted Walsh. “Quite ‘reductive’ at first, this gradually emerged from its slumber as a wine of real character and interest. Suggestions of wet stones and deeper minerals overlaid with exotic citrus notes across a palate that seems at ease with itself. Well-integrated acid, an abundance of fruit power, this in a way to me was towards a dry German style, but the longer the tasting went on the more I recognised this as an emerging face of Tasmanian riesling.”
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This featured in the top lists for four tasters, with Pun placing it one off the top. “Beautiful nose, almost Alsatian,” she wrote. “Notes of golden apple and nashi, with a hint of beeswax; steely, bracing acid, almost electric, but in a good way. There is so much tension in this wine, with the acid, flavour and a sense of sweetness all coming together to create the tension.” “Pulpy, with a bitter bite, reminiscent of that part of the white nectarines close to their stone,” noted Cardelli. “Jasmine flowers, golden delicious apples, zingy and energetic on the palate, slatey/rocky lick through the middle, then more pulpiness coming through. Precise and restrained end of the palate with again that touch of lees character.” Perissotto saw, “lemon zest and lime oil, with an interesting pine tree element. It’s not the driest on the palate but the potential sugar left behind greatly hides behind the sharp acidity.” “Beautifully expressive floral aromas, wet stone and a sense of calm and refreshment,” noted O’Brien. “Orchard fruits on the palate with fresh hay, gooseberry, honeysuckle and yuzu. Round and supple. Excellent length and presence.”
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This was Perissotto’s top wine for the tasting, and it also featured on the lists of Andrews and Pun. “This riesling is shy on the nose,” wrote Perissotto, “with bitter orange and lemon zest, but then reveals a great energetic and vibrant profile on the palate, with a confirmed austere citrus profile. The winning feature for me is the sea-salt, sea-spray element that creates a great balance. The result is a lifted, elegant, dry example that would pair well with any shellfish. It could please German or Victorian riesling drinkers, seducing also Clare Valley’s ones.” “Very shy on the nose on the first encounter,” agreed Pun, “with a hint of cut floral stem, tart citrus and laser-like acid. It somehow carries a Clare Valley silhouette, angular, yet integrated and sleek, while being surprisingly approachable.” “Dry and restrained,” noted Andrews. “NICE FLOW. It’s really understated but has incredible balance. This is not a show judging wine. It’s confident but masks this with a demure exterior. Feels Austrian, like a well-constructed one from the Kamptal. Giving off Hiedler Heiligenstein vibes. I love that producer.”
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This came one off the top spot for Andrews, while it also featured on the top lists for Perissotto and Hulme. “YES,” declared Andrews. “White button mushrooms and struck match aromas streaming from the glass. Rich lemon curd and wild honey enticing me to linger over the aromatics. General botrytis warmth supporting quite an ample wine; there’s more than a hint of development. …For all the residual sugar in this wine, the acid quietly steers it straight to the horizon, casting fine, long shadows.” “…An ode to medium-sweet expressions,” wrote Perissotto. “Intense floral elements of orchids and lemon blossom, paired with candied lemon, maple syrup and earl grey tea. …A brave statement that not dry rieslings are still a piece of the cake. Great for an aperitif, or for fruit-based desserts.”
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This came second for Walsh’s wines of the tasting, while it also featured in Kline’s top-six list. “It’s hard sometimes in these tastings not to be swayed by say the first wine of the day, by a particularly overt wine, or as is the case here by the very last wine of the tasting,” wrote Walsh. “But having survived my own ‘call back’, I’m convinced that this is the real deal. Really composed and balanced at first glance on the nose, this continues to evolve (and significantly!) the longer it sits in the glass. All the herbs are there, with a complex melange of yellow citrus fruits and tasty mineral notes. The palate is generous with many different directions of focus, from river stones to kaffir lime, and the finish is fine and long. A very interesting riesling to cap off an eye-opening tasting. I’d love to pair this with King George Whiting and lemon zest.” “A hit of intrigue straight out of the gate, with fulsome and sapid aromas of honeycomb, lanolin, hay and beeswax,” wrote Kline. “This is followed by lemon balm and a welcome foil of fresh salinity. …This has vibrancy and lift but not at the expense of intensity and drive. Very good. …A standout for its balance of brightness and purity, with interest and depth.”
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This wrapped up Hulme’s top three, with Walsh having it one place back. “An aromatic, beautifully complex nose showing delicate white flowers, ripe riesling fruit and some mature honey and marzipan aromas, suggesting some advancement or oxidative handling,” noted Hulme. “The palate shows excellent concentration of flavour and tart, tingling acidity. This was a really complete expression.” “This was another that sits in the uber-exotic/spicy camp,” wrote Walsh. “Perhaps more so than any other wine in the line-up, this one veers towards the ‘GG’ [the top classified cru vineyards] German style or even something from Wachau, Austria. With rambling notes that take you from citrussy things through to any number of blossom notes and on to minerals and even white stone fruits and crushed white pepper, there is so much to keep you interested here. And as is often the hallmark of smart wines, this continues to grow and evolve the longer it sits in the glass. Pass me a half-dozen oysters would you?!”
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This rounded out Pun’s top three, placing one adrift for Kline. “With subtle aromas of yellow florals and yellow stone fruit, this offers a generous mouthful and it is also super salivating,” wrote Pun. “The racy acid lingers with the fruit elements, leaving a long-lived perfume on the palate.” “Subtle spice to the nose, with preserved lemon, lime zest and lemon blossom,” noted Kline. “Great intensity on the palate, bursting with orange rind, Meyer lemon, mandarin juice and orange blossom. There’s pillowy texture and weight here, though it’s kept in check by a pithy acid tension. Long length and drive through the finish. Lithe and balanced, with a compelling interplay of purity and character, this is vibrant, intense and packed with interest.”
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This was Andrews’ top wine of the tasting. “An intriguing aromatic sparring of mandarin oil vs. pear skin,” he wrote. “Layered phenolic structure and vibrancy of the acid is an enduring feature. Yellow stone fruit flavours flood the mid-palate, delivering greater generosity. I wonder whether the winemaker has incorporated some barrel and lees work to smother some of that acid. Lots of character and a real vinous wine for the table. The faintest hint of botrytis is really pleasurable, but it’s still dry. Reminiscent of a GG-style [the top classified cru vineyards] from the Rheingau. Sehr gut!”
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This was Kline’s second pick for the tasting. “This drew me in with its fresh and commanding aromas of apple crumble, lemon meringue, saline minerals and subtle smoky nuance,” he wrote. “There’s defined and sapid fruit on the palate, with crushed granny smith apple, lemon juice, lime and white florals all sitting within a countervailing pillowy texture. Excellent drive through the palate with a glow of precise and filigree fruit being guillotined by puckery acid. Significant length. A distinctive, interesting and straight up delicious riesling.”
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This came one off top spot for O’Brien. “An excellent example of Tasmanian riesling’s ability to age with grace and elegance,” she wrote. “Toasted brioche, floral honey and waxy lemons on the nose with lime cordial, lemon curd, pastry and toasted white nuts on the palate. Juicy lime bursts shot with fennel. Generous and glossy texture. Remarkable length, and properly delicious.”
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This featured in Cardelli, Pun and Hulme’s top-six lists. “A touch of honeysuckle, poached Jazz apples,” noted Cardelli. “It’s another one that needs a bit of time to introduce itself. Squeezed lemon, touch of hay, indicating lees contact (albeit well integrated) in the wine. Restrained on the palate to begin, then, with some gentle encouragement, a candied lemon character makes its appearance. A sweet/sour element at the end makes me think of Pacific House restaurant in Richmond and its special fried rice with sweet sausage!” Hulme saw a “complex and concentrated nose, showing citrus and tropical fruit and a mature honeyed quality…” “Alluring and delicate nose of white stone fruit, white rose petals and blackcurrant leaves,” wrote Pun. “A fine acid line forms the backbone …with just a hint of grippy texture adding to the complexity. Very focused, poised and balanced.”
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Andrews had this finalising his top three wines of the tasting. “Joyous!” he declared. “It’s spring in a glass and provides hope for a brighter, sun-kissed future. Long. Pure. Intense. This wins the purity prize. Orange blossom, spritz, pure and delicate. Canned pineapple cut with lemon and pear drop. Racy and light on its feet. Did I mention pure? Pure, long. Really like it.”
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This made both Cardelli and Kline’s top-six lists. “Granny smith apples, squeezed lemons, very nervy and tonic in acidity, lemon drop,” wrote Cardelli. “It’s very young, very restrained, but it is promising. I’ve checked it again and had more to show after a while. …I almost regretted picking the most restrained examples for my top six… Ultimately, they’re the ones that would benefit from some air, and time. And if you are a slow drinker like I am, you will certainly appreciate a wine that can withstand oxygen… and any conversation.” “A subtly sweet fresh lemonade aroma sits alongside mineral freshness on the nose, unfurling to chamomile tea and subtle ginger,” wrote Kline. “The palate has great intensity, with lemon sorbet, lime cordial and a hint of mandarin juice underpinned by a floral nuance. Lovely texture, integrated acidity, and gentle but significant length.”
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This was one of Kline’s top three wines of the tasting. “Lifted aromas of melon, finger lime, subtle elderflower, and honeysuckle,” he wrote. “The palate is fresh and fine with lovely viscosity and added interest coming from some residual sugar. There’s a lovely balance of tension and flavour on the palate. Melon, white florals and ripe lime are wrapped up in assertive, pithy acidity, which compacts the palate and pulls it long. Impeccable balance, and length for days.”
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This was just outside Hulme’s top three wines for the tasting. “A richer more generous expression amongst its peers,” he wrote. “Creamy, nutty mature riesling aromatics blend with citrus and tropical fruit. This leads to a fuller textual palate that perhaps hints at some lees nourishment. Acidity is at the lower end comparatively, perhaps mediated by a touch of residual sugar, but this remains well proportioned.”
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This was towards the middle of Perissotto’s top-six list. “Thos riesling dominates the drinkers’ senses with the olfactory approach,” she wrote. “Classy and elegant due to the smart whisper of sugar left to absorb the startling acidity. The citrus is lemon with oily and balm elements. The purity of the structure, joined with the soft fruit profile matches like you would welcome a sunny day in advanced winter.”
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Andrews picked this as one of his favourite wines of the tasting, giving it top-six finish. “Like it,” he declared. “…Seems to have a bit of bottle age on this one. However, it’s still lithe and well balanced. There’s a yeasty, autolytic Champagne-like flavour – biscuity, with lemon curd and chalk. Nice creaminess and poise. It’s got me hankering for gougères, still warm from the oven.”
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Riesling has long been a grape adored by wine aficionados but is often treated with a degree of suspicion for those less immersed. Riesling has seemingly been incapable of shedding the baggage carried across from a time when cheap German imports – they were sold door to door in the 1970s – and sweet local equivalents flooded the market. It’s a shadow the grape lives under to this day.
The reality is that riesling is an incredibly exciting grape, one capable of transmitting a sense of place through its relative transparency, while still layering in plenty of flavour detail. Wines can range from the aridly dry to the lusciously sweet and rich, and with everything in between. It is a grape of great versatility and considerable character, when grown in the right place.
While there is no doubt that the Clare Valley produces exceptional riesling, and it is arguably the touchstone for the grape in this country, on paper the region is perhaps a bit sunny and warm for riesling. Cool night-time temperatures help to moderate that, but nonetheless, acid additions by winemakers are not uncommon, and historically have been almost prescriptive for commercial wines.
Head up to the Eden Valley and natural acidities are more likely preserved, but the holy grail is completely natural acidity with enough sunshine to build flavour and sugar. Henty in Victoria’s south-west and parts of Western Australia’s Great Southern are fine territory with these aims in mind, but many experts have long pointed to Tasmania as ideal. Indeed, chasing premium sparkling wine production in Tasmania has very much the same logic as pursuing premium riesling production.
However, like sparkling, it took some time for riesling to build momentum, with cabernet sauvignon being seen as a top contender for the Apple Isle in the late 1970s and through the 80s. The Bordeaux grape’s unsuitability to most sites was soon understood, just as much as the suitability of riesling became apparent, but the increasing interest in chardonnay and pinot noir, for both still and sparkling wines, still sees it somewhat in the wings.
“Some producers certainly see riesling as a ‘hard sell’, especially when compared to pinot noir. We have all encountered those consumers who are confused by riesling, think its sweet, think it’s old fashioned or just don’t know what to think!”
Claudio Alcorso famously planted vines on Frying Pan Island in 1958, with 90 riesling vines the first committed to the soil. The material came from Alcorso’s friend David Wynn, who had encouraged him to plant in the cool climate. That advice was at odds with most thinking at the time, with Tasmania largely seen as unsuitable for viticulture. It’s worth remembering that cool climate zones were generally in their infancy, with places like the Barossa, Hunter Valley and Rutherglen seen as benchmarks.
Those riesling vines of Alcorso have not survived to this day, the victim of disease, but his Moorilla brand does, although he lost ownership before his death in 2000. The winery and a small vineyard sit on that site next to MOMA, with both owned by David Walsh. The island is essentially a promontory in the Derwent River in the Hobart suburb of Berriedale.
Alcorso was a well-educated textile merchant, with his interests deeply immersed in visual art, music and the performing arts. He was also an Italian transplant, hailing from Rome, and food and wine culture was a deep part of his soul. The first vintage made from those riesling grapes came in 1962, and it was fashioned in the most rudimentary of ways, with a grand production of six cases. But the results were promising to Wynn, who sent more cuttings, though of cabernet this time.
At that time, aside from backyard vines for own-consumption production, the only known person committed to growing grapes for commercial wine on the island was Jean Miguet. Originally from Gaillac in southern France, he was also delving into his heritage to produce wine, planting his La Provence (now Providence) vineyard at Lalla about 18km north-east of Launceston in 1956.
Miguet’s was the first vineyard with commercial intent in Tasmania since Diego Bernacchi planted on Maria Island in 1885. Bernacchi had also planted riesling, though that endeavour was marked by a speedy boom that was followed by an even speedier bust, with him leaving for England in 1897.
The difficulty in sourcing grapes in the 1950s made things difficult for both Alcorso and Miguet. The former had Wynn, but Miguet began by obtaining cuttings from local nurseries – general ones, and not specialist grape sources – as well as supposedly propagating material from backyard vines. In 1963, he also planted a trial block consisting of 50 vines of riesling, grenache and cabernet sauvignon that he had sourced from the mainland. The following year, he planted 350 vines across those varieties.
Around the same time, Graham Wiltshire was searching for a cool climate vineyard site, which led him to acquire land at Legana. Unable to source more cuttings, cabernet sauvignon was planted in 1968, but it was soon followed with riesling. That vineyard would become the pilot vineyard for Heemskerk in Pipers River, which he planted in 1975. That site was opposite brothers David and Andrew Pirie’s Pipers Brook, who had planted riesling, chardonnay and gewürztraminer in 1974 from a large purchase of cuttings in 1973 – the first batch released from the Department of Agriculture’s nursery in Griffith, NSW. Their first wine release was a riesling from 1979, which sold for $4 a bottle.
Also in 1973-74, a new venture for Alcorso, Wynn and a consortium of investors saw vines planted at Bream Creek near Marion Bay on the sout-east coast. While the varietal mix and scope of that vineyard has changed, those riesling vines remain and are now some of the oldest productive vines on the island. Also established in 1974, Steve Ferencz planted his Panorama vineyard in the Huon Valley, though riesling was added a little later. The site was later bought by Steve Lubiana.
Max and Lorraine Reynolds had planted riesling in the early ‘70s at their Chateau Lorraine site near Cygnet, but the production under their label consisted of wine brought in from South Australia for quite some time. In the Coal River Valley, George and Priscilla Park established Stoney Vineyard in 1973, with riesling part of the mix. On the East Coast, Freycinet and Craigie Knowe were established in 1978 and 1979 respectively, though riesling was planted a little later – both makers are pillars of the variety to this day.
Another old planting of riesling is at the Elsewhere Vineyard at Glaziers Bay in the Huon Valley. Having worked at Chateau Lorraine, Eric Phillips planted a trial block of pinot noir on the property he and his wife, Jette, had established as a flower farm in 1976. Riesling was planted in the 80s after the first pinot was hailed as a success. That site fell into significant disrepair later, but it is being restored to health by new owners. Also in 1976, Gerard Ellis planted grapes, including riesling, on the family grazing property in the Derwent Valley, with the Meadowbank wines now made by Peter Dredge, who also makes riesling under his Dr Edge label.
The early wines from Pipers Brook, Heemskerk and Moorilla were inspiring others, and small vineyards were being established across the state. That included Peter Bosworth, who established his Coal River Valley Morningside vineyard in 1980, with riesling, cabernet sauvignon and pinot noir planted. In 2002, Greg Melick planted riesling and pinot noir next door, with a rare focus at the time of making a range of rieslings with ascending degrees of residual sugar for his Pressing Matters label. Melick acquired Morningside in 2019.
“The duration of veraison [the ripening phase of the berries] is key to the quality of Tasmanian rieslings. The season is typically long and mild with tempering of warmer days from the surrounding ocean. Thus, acid and sugar development are gradual… mild autumnal days and cool nights allow the vines to ripen the grapes ever so gradually. This results in intensity of aromatics and flavours and a very long palate.”
Another key player in the riesling game was Andrew Hood, who made so many of Tasmania’s wines of all types though the 1990s and 2000s. A microbiologist, Hood worked as a wine scientist and educator at Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga until returning to his native Tasmania. What followed became an essential plank in Tasmanian wine’s development.
Working from his winery near Cambridge, Hood filled the technical hole that existed in the Tasmanian wine industry at the time, making both larger, more commercial batches and tiny parcels for small growers. Without Hood, many of these wines would have either not been made or done so somewhat rustically. He is also notable for his take on Eiswein (ice wine) – where frozen riesling berries are pressed to extract concentrated juice – first released in 1995 under his Wellington label of the time, as well as co-founding Frogmore Creek – riesling was, and still is, a key line and an off-dry wine, ‘FGR’, was a notable release.
Fred Peacock, who became Tasmania’s first Viticultural Officer in the 1980s, overseeing many of the region’s most important vineyards, was the general manager of Moorilla from 1989 to 1992, working closely with Julian Alcorso, Claudio’s son. “We were making an enormous amount of riesling at Moorilla when I was there,” Peacock says. “Riesling was one of the wines that Julian made particularly well. …And the riesling that was coming out of there at that stage were really, really good …and pretty much all of them were coming out of Bream Creek.” In 1990, Peacock acquired the vineyard and runs it to this day, with riesling a cornerstone.
It’s hard to pinpoint when Tasmanian riesling officially arrived, but in Anthony Walker’s ‘A History of the Tasmanian Wine Industry’ he points to the progress made as being reflected in the results of the 2000 Tasmanian Wine Show. “A class of 26 1999 rieslings returned 13 medals, four of them gold, with the judges’ comments ‘a very strong class with marvellous depth of fruit flavour and complexity’, and ‘quite Germanic in style.’” The judges for that show included James Halliday, Huon Hooke and winemaker Nick Goldschmidt, a New Zealand winemaker based in California.
In 1985, Denis and Margaret Pooley planted ten rows of riesling and seven rows of pinot noir on their Cooinda Vale property. What was a retirement hobby for the Pooleys at the time turned into one of Tasmania’s most successful wine ventures, especially since winemaker Anna Pooley came back to the home property in 2012 with her winemaker husband, Justin Bubb.
Pooley had just come from a highly successful career working around the world, which had culminated in the relaunch of the Heemskerk (though not from Wiltshire’s original vineyard) brand, including a lauded riesling.
Today, Pooley makes four rieslings under the family banner, including one from those original ten rows, along with a riesling under her and Bubb’s Bubb + Pooley label, which is currently sourced from the Pressing Matters vineyard. For her, Tasmania offers a diversity of expressions, but there are overarching advantages for growing the grape in the island state.
“The duration of veraison [the ripening phase of the berries] is key to the quality of Tasmanian rieslings,” says Pooley. “The season is typically long and mild with tempering of warmer days from the surrounding ocean. Thus, acid and sugar development are gradual… mild autumnal days and cool nights allow the vines to ripen the grapes ever so gradually. This results in intensity of aromatics and flavours and a very long palate.”
“We monitor residual sugar and acid daily, arresting the fermentation with cooling when we see balance. Every year the residual sugar is different as the acid and phenolic composition is different because of the climatic conditions across veraison.”
Riesling has long been regarded as not just a suitable grape for much of Tasmania, but one of exceptional potential. With only about 6 per cent of the state’s crush, languishing behind pinot gris and sauvignon blanc respectively, and leagues behind the star duo of chardonnay and pinot noir, it is somewhat surprising that it is not more widely planted.
“In Tasmania, there are a lot of smaller producers, relatively speaking. And within that, there’s a decent-sized group of producers who are not winemakers; they’re diversified farming businesses,” says Keira O’Brien who makes wine under her Rivulet label while also being the winemaker and general manager at the iconic Freycinet on the East Coast. Prior, she had worked as a winemaker at Tasmania’s largest contract facility.
Until relatively recently, most Tasmanian wine that was not made by larger companies was made by one of two contractors. That led to technically proficient wines, but sometimes ones that were not made to reflect nuance of site or indeed a progressive attitude to best reflect the nature of Tasmanian fruit. Added to that, says O’Brien, is the perception that riesling is hard to sell, and even harder at a premium tariff.
“Riesling’s image problem persists,” she says. “Some producers certainly see riesling as a ‘hard sell’, especially when compared to pinot noir. We have all encountered those consumers who are confused by riesling, think its sweet, think it’s old fashioned or just don’t know what to think!”
That is starting to change, with Pooley notably positioning the family estate’s rieslings in the premium category. That’s an attitude that rightly respects making a wine from the ground up that connects it to place and the hands of an exceptional maker, just as one would with pinot noir or chardonnay.
“The differences come down to the connection with the site and the style of winemaking,” Pooley says. “Getting the balance of healthy canopy and yield and the right distribution of bunches makes all the difference. Clonal selection is also key. With the UV having a significant effect on the maturation and fruit profile expression… skin thickness is especially important.”
Pooley manages the juice oxidatively, which helps to make a stable wine once fermented. “We also chase high phenolic load at the press,” she says, “in order to give the juice protection from oxidation, but more importantly it adds the essential textural enhancement that we believe is crucial to the depth, intensity and length of the resulting wine.”
That’s something that O’Brien also emphasises can contribute to a wine of character, and it’s an element that would previously have been seen as a fault in the corporate/contract winemaking world. “Ideally, there’s a little bit of phenolic tension there as well,” she says. “But there’s still a school of winemaking where people are polishing all of that away still, and going for that tight, dry style.”
For Pooley, getting the balance right is critical, with careful tracking of the wine as it ferments. “We monitor residual sugar and acid daily,” she says, “arresting the fermentation with cooling when we see balance. Every year the residual sugar is different as the acid and phenolic composition is different because of the climatic conditions across veraison. Lees ageing after fermentation is also important to further develop fruit flavour and texture, plus it acts as an antioxidant. Sulphur is used minimally.”
That balancing of often-fierce Tasmanian acidity with some residual sugar is something that O’Brien also favours. “I think where you have that melting acidity, where there’s that little lick of residual sugar it gives a little bit of weight, a little bit of gloss, and so the acid is there, but it isn’t the highest note in the wine,” she says.
But she also stresses that like any wine, the making needs to be tailored to the fruit. “I live with a foot in both worlds, because I make riesling from a really good old vine site where it’s that classic Australian dry style. And I think that works with that site because of the vine age. But generally, I like a little bit of weight, a bit of residual sugar, that more European style. Because I think we’ve got the more opulent fruit down here that can do that.”
O’Brien believes with the exceptional fruit quality that has come from advances in vineyard management, maturing vines and the growing community of skilled and thoughtful makers, the future is very bright. “There’s no doubt these factors will continue to coalesce and strengthen the reputation of Tasmanian riesling. Tasmanian Riesling has all the hallmarks of great riesling-producing regions. So, I see the future as one of thrilling opportunity for both producers and the drinking public.”
Our panel: Tom Kline, Market Development Manager Voyager Estate; Lisa Cardelli DipWSET, Account Coordinator for Halliday Wine Companion; Wiremu Andrews, director Dearth of a Salesman; Ganesh Hulme, sommelier/buyer IDES; Keira O’Brien, owner/winemaker Rivulet Wines and head winemaker Freycinet; Patrick Walsh, owner/director Cellarhand Wine Wholesalers; Elisa Perissotto, sommelier, Gimlet at Cavendish House; Victoria Pun sommelier, The Recreation Bistro & Bottleshop.
“That reminds me of a night, where we were… we being me and Erni Loosen, were telling James Halliday that we’re doing a joint venture in the Clare Valley. We’re going to make a GG-style riesling in the Clare, to which Halliday says, straight-faced, why would you do that? You should be doing it in Frankland River or Tasmania where the acidity is natural. And we were like... urghh!”
“I thought it was really compelling and tasty,” said Walsh, opening the discussion. “There were loads of wines that I liked… When I was driving in this morning, I thought to myself, how many Tasmanian riesling producers can I think of? And there certainly weren’t this many. There was, in some ways, not to be critical, there was a sameness to the styles,” said Walsh. “A lot of wines looked pretty similar. And I think that’s good because obviously it’s developing a genre of its own. I mean, if we talk about Australian riesling and Clare Valley and Frankland River and wherever, you can sort of come at a style.”
“I was surprised by how correct they were across the board,” added Hulme. “I did gravitate more towards the wines that pushed the ripeness a little bit. I think the acidities were beautiful across the board. Within those greener, more citrus and sort of tighter styles, there were ones that you could see were intricate and had the complexity enough to go the distance, whereas there were some that I think maybe didn’t have the stuffing for a long period of bottle age.”
“There was a load of stuff that I liked,” reiterated Walsh. “It’s getting really exciting. It was the purity and freshness and drive and focus and linearity of them without being mean. So, natural acidity, I think, comes into play a fair bit. There were wines that were powerful and a bit more opulent. And there were wines that were sleek and racy… I liked the fact that the wines were really, really pure. …Wines that remind me of Germany. Wines that remind me of Austria. And wines that remind me of Australia… So, a really good spread. …I was writing different tasting notes from florals and citrus and all that to volcanic… I don’t even know if there’s volcanic soil there! But those sorts of notes, and mineral and stony.”
“There were wines that were powerful and a bit more opulent. And there were wines that were sleek and racy… I liked the fact that the wines were really, really pure. …Wines that remind me of Germany. Wines that remind me of Austria. And wines that remind me of Australia… So, a really good spread.”
“Some were more accentuated in minerality,” said Cardelli. “…And perhaps others, they had kind of a sea spray element… And more of a sparkling water feeling, which is not like hard rock minerality. But yeah, there were quite a few examples that had this mineral core that I really enjoyed. …I agree with Patrick. It was a very diverse and interesting array of different rieslings from Tasmania.”
“There weren’t that many off-dry wines in the tasting,” noted Walsh. “For whatever reason, I thought there might be more. There was only one wine I marked as being particularly off dry in that sort of kabinett [a German quality classification of low alcohol off-dry wines] sort of way…”
“I thought there was more than one with residual sugar [RS],” said Cardelli. “But they were very, very well balanced with acidity. So, I got the feeling on the nose… there must be some RS. And then I got into the palate, and I was like, wow, so well balanced with acidity.”
“It is exciting to see that there are some wines where there is a little bit more residual sugar – in the past, people have been afraid of that,” said O’Brien. “We’ve got a lot of good winemakers who’ve come from corporate winemaking and done their own thing. …It’s been drummed into them that residual sugar is bad in riesling. Riesling must be dry. So, it’s good to see people getting outside those confines and doing something that I think is more appropriate to the character of Tasmanian fruit.”
“I did notice there were a number of wines where there is a sense of sweetness,” agreed Pun. “But it’s not dominating; it’s not over the top. …It’s just sitting nicely there to build up a bit of tension with the acidity… So, achieving that balance, which I think is a really good gateway for riesling to a lot of consumers.”
“Talking to a Tasmanian producer,” added Andrews, “he said that the huge difference between Tasmania and most of Australia is that most of the rest of Australia are trying to find acid, and Tasmanians are trying to tame acid. And I think that’s a really European way of actually dealing with riesling, rather than the kind of Australian version of trying to get those numbers.”
“We have beautiful, ripe, juicy natural acidity with riesling in Tassie,” agreed O’Brien. “And I think that means that our wines are often really enjoyable when they’re young. …When they’re well-made, they have a capacity to age. And it’s funny from some of my conversations over the years …there’s this idea that Tasmanian riesling doesn’t age as well as other regions. …I’ve heard that a few times, and I’m like, what? How could that be? Honestly, I think that’s probably our fault as producers. We need to go and show those things.”
“…There were a number of wines, not a lot… that had cut grass notes,” said Pun. “But also, to my surprise, I didn’t hate it. Like, I quite enjoy that lightness and freshness. And it’s not too overly, overtly grassy or underripe as well… just tart.”
“The huge difference between Tasmania and most of Australia is that most of the rest of Australia are trying to find acid, and Tasmanians are trying to tame acid.”
“There were a couple where I wondered is there a touch of sauvignon blanc in there?” agreed Cardelli.
“I’ve made rieslings from sort of every corner of Tassie where we grow riesling,” said O’Brien. “There are vineyards that produce very exotically perfumed riesling that has more a rosewater, lychee aspect where you might think they put a bit of gewürztraminer in there. And also riesling vineyards that produce very sauvignon blanc-y characters as well… When I worked in a larger winery in Tassie… I think we were tasting all the rieslings from the vintage…. and there was one where we said, basically, that bloke in the cellar, he’s obviously gone to the wrong tank, because that’s sauvignon blanc. So, I went out and got the sample myself and brought it back. No, it was just riesling that smelled like sauvignon blanc.
“…There’s such a diversity of soils and climates throughout Tassie. And I guess it makes sense that there can be so many different expressions. …I kind of picked up the same thing there. And there were some very rosy notes. …There’s lots of things that winemakers can do with selecting yeasts or wild ferment or whatever that bring out those characters. And there are a few people doing some interesting things with maturation vessels as well that could be an element.”
“It’s interesting with winemakers having done vintage in Europe or worked in Germany or wherever and coming back,” added Kline. “Like Dredgey [Peter Dredge of Meadowbank and Dr Edge], coming back and using old oak and things like that… I saw a bit of that. I was looking for that today, because you have your really furled, tight citrus wines that could be from the Clare, or it could be from anywhere. But that oak helps to express, perhaps, a little bit more personality… I think it’s important in that region. And the subregional discussion is interesting for me as well. Obviously, Tassie doesn’t have them… but we talk a lot about maybe further defining that.”
“We do have them; they’re just not recognised,” said O’Brien.
“Well, that’s what I meant, sorry,” noted Kline.
“We have to call them wine-growing areas, I’ve been told!” Laughed O’Brien.
“Exactly, which is a real shame…. I hope there’s more of that,” continued Kline. “Because a lot of those were very tight, very, you know, very sort of, I don’t want to say generic, but they could have probably come from anywhere in that citrusy mould…. If you can get more people playing around with oak and showing the personality, I think that is exciting.”
“I’m assuming that most of these wines are the last couple of vintages,” added O’Brien. “They’ve been really cool vintages… I’m sure there’s been some challenging acidity out there. Using maturation vessels other than a stainless-steel tank could help to bring in some texture and soften that… or maturation on lees, that sort of thing. So, I’d say that it’s a nice juxtaposition of being a bit more adventurous, being a bit more confident, perhaps drinkers and buyers also having a little bit more latitude and finding some techniques to deal with that acidity that the seasons have been giving us.”
“I was expecting a range of even more adventurous styles,” said Perissotto. “As much as they all had very different features… they’re racy, fruit-driven, very Clare Valley like, or the floral one, the one that has a touch of skins, the one reduced a touch, had a little bit more integrated RS, and the one that had that obvious floral element, very German inspiration… But at the end of the glass, they all maintain that purity, focus… very lifted styles that take me straight back to Tasmania. …There’s always a feature that took all the wines back together in the same signature. A cool climate with long hours of sun.”
“I think with pinot and chardonnay in Tassie, I find it a little bit easier to pick out regions,” said O’Brien after being asked if sub-regionality was something she sees in the glass with Tasmanian riesling. “And… so, no, in a word,” she laughed. “Even within a sub-region of Tasmania, there is still so much diversity. …Like the Coal River Valley, it’s really three valleys, different soil… a lot of different aspects. We don’t all do north-facing stuff in Tassie; there’s a lot more to it than that. And I think there was a bit of winemaking input as well, which is really great. …There’s been this growth in diversity. …Processing things differently, not picking everything at the same ripeness, lees work, that sort of thing…”
“There are vineyards that produce very exotically perfumed riesling that has more a rosewater, lychee aspect where you might think they put a bit of gewürztraminer in there. And also riesling vineyards that produce very sauvignon blanc-y characters as well… When I worked in a larger winery in Tassie… I think we were tasting all the rieslings from the vintage…. and there was one where we said, basically, that bloke in the cellar, he’s obviously gone to the wrong tank, because that’s sauvignon blanc. So, I went out and got the sample myself and brought it back. No, it was just riesling that smelled like sauvignon blanc.”
“From the restaurant point of view, riesling is still a bit of a struggle,” he said. “There are a lot of perceptions about sweetness. Even amongst sweet rieslings, balance is kind of poorly understood, I think, by the consumer. So, we don’t sell a lot of it, even though, being a riesling lover, the list is long. So, the ownership’s not very happy about that!”
“There were a lot of emerging styles that I saw,” said Andrews, “because there were some wines that were kind of going the GG [Grosses Gewachs: German grand cru wines that are essentially but not completely dry] route, I felt, and they were pushing ripeness, but the acid was still there, and there was a lot of lees work. In terms of technique and non-stainless steel, there was oak, there was large oak, the use of lees… I found across a lot of the wines these really interesting characters coming through… Several of the wines I really loved had a bit of a Champagne-y brioche autolytic character, which I thought was fantastic, and I thought they have a lot of age-ability.”
“That reminds me of a night,” said Walsh, “where we were… we being me and Erni Loosen, were telling James Halliday that we’re doing a joint venture in the Clare Valley. We’re going to make a GG-style riesling in the Clare, to which Halliday says, straight-faced, why would you do that? You should be doing it in Frankland River or Tasmania where the acidity is natural. And we were like… urghh!”
“Well, he’s a die-hard Tasmanian riesling fan,” added O’Brien. “Back in the old days, when he came down for the Tassie Wine Show, when Andrew Hood was at Frogmore Creek, one of the reasons why he came down was because he loved trout fishing. So, they’d have their trout fishing before the show. They’d go up to the lakes with a boot-load of Tasmanian rieslings. …And some burgundy. To go with their trout.”
“From the restaurant point of view, riesling is still a bit of a struggle,” added Hulme. “There are a lot of perceptions about sweetness. Even amongst sweet rieslings, balance is kind of poorly understood, I think, by the consumer. So, we don’t sell a lot of it, even though, being a riesling lover, the list is long. So, the ownership’s not very happy about that!”
“What’s the ID of Tassie riesling going to be as it develops?” posed Kline. “For me, the wines I found most compelling had a bit of sugar, but all that bright purity in them. So, they had that lift and all that purity you think of with Tassie, but some sugar to give some glow through the palate. It’d be interesting to see stylistically where people thought that landed. …And where is Tassie riesling going?”
“I don’t think Tassie riesling yet has an identity,” Walsh responded. “…I think there’s too much experimentation and there are too many styles that are straight down the line. …I totally gravitated towards the ones with a little bit of residual, which I wouldn’t describe as off-dry, just a little bit of texture and weight there, a little bit of winemaking trickery, a little bit of complexity… They’re more seductive, they’re more alluring, they’re more comforting. Some of the wines, you could say, are very, very great, pure, fresh, limey, citrusy. …But I don’t think, I couldn’t begin to tell you if there’s a regional style in Tasmania yet…. I mean, I don’t think any of us could say, OK, put a riesling in front of us and go, that’s a Tasmanian riesling.”
“The tasting revealed wines of finesse, complexity and harmony, some delicious in their youth, others offering structure and longevity,” said O’Brien in conclusion. “There’s still so much potential to explore new sites in Tasmania, as well as clones, rootstocks, management techniques, etc. …Given we are small region, I think presenting our wines as Tasmanian first makes sense, with individual producers telling the story of what is unique about their vineyards for those enthusiasts who seek that extra level of detail.”
Patrick Walsh founded Cellarhand Wine Wholesalers over 20 years ago with a core of German riesling producers. Since then, he has expanded to represent arguably Australia’s most compelling selection of Austrian and German makers, as well as those from Australia and France. He was the winner of the inaugural Frankland Estate International Riesling Scholarship, and has since been instrumental in raising the profile of riesling in this country through countless events. He is also a regular tutor at the Len Evans Tutorial. In a previous life, Walsh was a highly regarded sommelier, working in such establishments as Walter’s Wine Bar.
Keira O’Brien is the winemaker and general manager at Freycinet Vineyard on Tasmania’s East Coast, working alongside Claudio Radenti. Since 2018, she has also made wine under her Rivulet label, focusing on single vineyard wines from small growers. O’Brien has a Bachelor of Wine Science from CSU, is a Wine Australia Future Leaders Alumni (2019) and an advisory committee member for the Australian Society of Viticulture and Oenology. She has completed the Advanced Wine Assessment Course (AWAC 45), worked as a contract winemaker in Tasmania and vintages in the Yarra Valley and McLaren Vale. O’Brien also has wine industry experience in wholesale, distribution, import and buying for fine wine retail. She has also worked as a freelance food writer and consumer wine educator, and a judge for wine and food awards.
Elisa Perissotto is a Venetian native who first travelled to Australia in 2014, settling in Melbourne in 2016 after a stint in Sydney. Having worked in hospitality since she was young, Perissotto had a keen interest in wine, taking on a role at Grossi Florentino where she remained for a couple of years while studying WSET and gaining CMS certification. A role under Loic Avril at Dinner by Heston followed, and she now works as a sommelier at Gimlet at Cavendish House. Perissotto also has her Court of Master Sommelier Advanced Certification.
Ganesh Hulme is the Head Sommelier at Peter Gunn’s acclaimed IDES. Hulme was born and raised in Melbourne, falling into hospitality while studying Public Health at La Trobe University. That work in restaurants saw him running bar operations at Melbourne’s acclaimed Sunda, being part of the opening management in 2018. In 2019, Hulme was awarded the Laithwaite’s Prize as the highest achieving student in Australia for WSET level 2. He is currently a WSET Diploma student and an avid riesling drinker.
Victoria Pun began her career as a speech pathologist, but she was diverted following a tasting in the Yarra Valley. After being offered a casual job opportunity as a cellar door assistant in 2019, her interest in wine deepened, beginning a first role in hospitality that was disrupted by the pandemic. Pun passed the Advanced Sommelier exam with the Court of Master Sommeliers in 2022 while working at Vue de Monde. She was the recipient of the Sommelier Australia Education Scholarship in 2022 and is currently pouring at The Recreation Bistro & Bottleshop.
Lisa Cardelli is a WSET Diploma holder and freelance wine writer. She has worked across the industry, including being the head sommelier and buyer at Rosetta, along with stints working for niche wholesalers Terroir Selections and Tricolore. She is currently the Account Coordinator for the Halliday Wine Companion, and a wine reviewer for Wine Pilot. Cardelli is also a WSET Educator for Prince Wine Store and Wine House. She was the recipient of the 2022 Sydney Royal Wine Professional Development Scholarship for AWAC, sponsored by the Len Evans Tutorial. Cardelli is also a wine show judge and the winner of the 2022 Wine Communicators of Australia Best Published Feature Article award.
Tom Kline is a Victorian based wine writer, reviewer, presenter and educator. Having grown up in North East Victoria’s King Valley wine region with a wine educator father, Tom caught the wine bug early. He began his career in the world of importing and distribution, culminating in a role as the Victorian State Sales Manager for leading fine wine importer Bibendum Wine Co. Now, he looks after the east coast as Market Development Manager for esteemed Margaret River producer Voyager Estate. A prolific and passionate wine communicator, Tom is a WSET educator, a contributor to the likes of Halliday Magazine, and a presenter of educational events and self-written wine courses.
Wiremu Andrews is the director of Dearth of a Salesman, representing small artisan wineries across Victoria, as well as working as a consultant, WSET certified educator and sommelier for hire. He now divides his time mostly between Melbourne and Beechworth, as he has recently joined forces with Chris Catlow at Sentiō Wines.
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