A South Australian Riesling
Coming in at only $12...Susanne Bell, Winemaker
South Australia makes some of the country’s best (and perhaps worst) wines including the top of the line and super pricey Penfold’s Grange that, alas, will never be reviewed here or any of my wine columns. Today’s wine producer boasts over 2200 acres (about 900 hectares) of vineyards in the Limestone Coast district of South Australia. Stonehaven Vineyards is proud of Barrel Hall, a great room covering a full acre. This site holds 15,000 barrels, whose contents will fill half a million cases of wine. Their winemaker is a woman, a more and more frequent occurrence in the 21st Century wine industry. The grape is Riesling, one of my favorites. The companion wine is another Riesling, stemming from its “home,” Germany, and more precisely fact the Mosel region of southwestern Germany said to make the world’s best Rieslings. But it cost less than $10.
OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY All wines that we taste and review are purchased at the full retail price.
Wine Reviewed
Stonehaven Winemaker’s Selection Riesling 2005 12.5 % alcohol about $12
There were no marketing materials so let’s start by quoting the back label. “This elegant Riesling displays a floral and fresh citrus aroma balanced on the palate with natural acidity and concentrated lime flavors. The Winemaker Each year Susanne Bell selects the finest parcels of fruit to create Stonehaven’s quality range of wines. Her winemaking expertise has resulted in some of the finest examples of premium Australian wine.” And now for my review.
Stonehaven Riesling
At the first sips this wine was mouth filling with floral acidity. The initial meal started with Japanese Wasabi crackers. In response the Riesling became stronger and sweeter. Then came a barbecued honey and garlic chicken breast. The wine offered lime and sugar, slightly burnt sugar. With one of my favorites, potatoes roasted in chicken fat, the wine responded with lots of lime. It had good, sweet acidity. For dessert, I savored some fresh pineapple. This rendered the wine light, as in overwhelmed.
My next meal was essentially a boxed eggplant parmigiana with Mozzarella cheese that I liberally doused with grated Romano cheese. Once again my glass responded with lime and sweet acidity. It gave the feeling of subtlety and freshness. With pecan pie this wine retained its tasty acidity and some lime.
My final meal consisted of an omelet brimming with chilies. In response the wine gave the taste of oak that wasn’t overdone. There were gooseberries. Then came a tomato, onion, green pepper, jalapeno, lime, and cilantro salsa. The wine was pleasantly sweet. There was no fruit but the taste of burnt sugar. With some old fashioned potato chips claiming jalapeno flavor the libation regained its sweet lime. The nut strudel dessert rendered the Riesling feathery with light, citrusy acidity.
As always, the tastings ended with two cheeses. In the presence of a Swiss the wine offered minerality, lime, and sweetness with refreshing acidity. When paired with a goat’s milk cheese covered with bruschetta the wine’s acidity was prominent and there was lots of lime.
Final verdict. I am a fan of Rieslings. This one squeaked by. I would purchase it again but prefer to taste others. I feel that it will beat most competitors in its price range.
Access the companion wine A Wine Lover's Weekly Review Of $10 Wine - A Mosel, Germany RieslingAbout the Author
Levi Reiss has authored or co-authored ten books on computers and the Internet, but to be honest, he would
rather just drink fine Italian or other wine, accompanied by the right foods. He teaches classes in computers at an Ontario
French-language community college. His wine websites include
www.theworldwidewine.com
and http://www.wineinyourdiet.com
Visit his website devoted to Italian travel
www.travelitalytravel.com
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