I think that
Riesling is indisputably the greatest white wine grape in the world but many
people think I am mad. Riesling has its own very distinctive character which
varies immensely and excitingly according to exactly where it is grown. Riesling
responds rather badly to winemaking tricks. It is happiest when it is just
fermented as simply as possible and the pure fermented juice bottled with
minimal resort to oak, malolactic fermentation, less stirring and so on.
To me Riesling is great not just because it, like Pinot Noir for
example, is so exceptionally good at expressing terroir, but also because it
makes white wines that are so good at ageing. JANCIS
ROBINSON
Riesling is grown all over the world but its best
results come from the "mean" soils of its spiritual home in the German regions of the Mosel,
Nahe,
Pfalz,
Rheingau
and Rheinhessen
and parts of Austria. Arguably the best dry examples come from Australia's Clare
Valley where the sub-regions of Watervale and Poilsh Hill River deliver some
exceptional long-lived wines.