Anders Källberg wrote:Thanks for the info, Hoke!
So what you are saying is that the petroleum in yourn Aussie Rieslings mainly is due to too high levels of sulphur(?) Sounds a bit strange to me, but I'd love to hear more knowledge about this.
Cheers, Anders
Not exactly, Anders. Sorry, I should have been more clear (a frequent failing of mine
). From what I understood him to say, the presence of petrol in young Clare Rieslings would be the result of either a) poor winemaking, or b) inappropriate sulphur levels at bottling, or c) reductive notes in the wine (but if it's that, it should blow away within a matter of a few minutes).
While I would not think of disagreeing with someone's sensory evaluation of a wine, I can say that from my own personal view I seldom encounter any petrol-like characters in Clare Valley Rieslings. I do get sulphur from some of them. I also notice some reductive characters occasionally, which is easily enough handled. The predominat character, for me, of Clare Rieslings is that intense lime-aid, lime flower nose, also sometimes expressed as lemon, with piercing acidity and usually with high alcohol to match. Sometimes the lime will go over towards the exotic tropical fruit side, but I usually find that more in the Eden Valley. The Margaret River Rieslings are sort of a combination of the lemon and tropical, and with slightly fuller body, I believe; probably that is a result of the climate, which is moderately warm but very consistent throughout the growing season.
The only thing I can add is that when Riesling is poorly grown, over-cropped, or made in a sloppy manner (bulk rather than quality), it can be bitter and somewhat acrid, with some strange aromatics...and that's why Riesling in that vein usually carries some residual sugars to soften and mellow it out. You see that in Germany, and the US, and some other areas all the time. I think you can see it just as easily in Australia.[/code]
Posted: Sat Sep 09, 2006 1:36 pm