Wine with Leslie: Riesling recommendations for summer
Pic: iStock
There should be a trigger warning on this week’s column along the lines of: ‘Beware, a wine writer will once again try to convince you that Riesling is the world’s best grape - don’t be fooled!’
Yes, once again I am going to tell you about a wine tasting where I tasted some gorgeous wines made from Riesling.
The message is getting through a little I’m told as sales of the excellent Hans Baer Dry Riesling (€12) remain strong in the independent sector.
I’ve featured it many times and it can be found in the likes of O’Driscolls, No. 21, Matsons and good independents nationwide. It is dry, lemony and fresh and a fine wine for summer.
What prompted this column was a Riesling masterclass and tasting by Tindal Wine Merchants (who own Searsons in Monkstown).
There were Rieslings from Alsace, most of Germany, Australia and California - there was even a floral dried lemon Pet-Nat from Weingut Rudolf Trossen in the Mosel.
I adored the creamy smoky freshness of Mitchell Wines Watervale Riesling and the herbal nutty lime intensity of Hurbertus Purus from the Mosel. More at Searsons.com.
But isn’t Riesling sweet says you, and yes from Germany it often is, albeit balanced by acidity. But this is the problem, while I think it is balanced most of the wine drinking public still think it is too sweet.
The solution? Drink Riesling from everywhere else but Germany until you develop a taste for it.
The Clare Valley in Australia is almost exclusively devoted to dry styles and you will find pristine dry examples from Adelaide Hills, Tasmania and the Eden Valley and all are delicious with more tropical fruit notes than their European counterparts.
Suggestions this week are three wines from Alsace, a region as overlooked as Riesling.
Founded in 1639, the Hugel family are at this a while. Their Riesling is pristine and scented with lemon zest and ripe apples but I also love this Pinot Blanc, a classic Alsace grape that is often overlooked and a fine food wine.
Tropical and stone fruit aromas, supple and peachy on the palate but dry and lingering.
There is one certainty in my wine cellar and that is Trimbach Riesling. Right now there are two bottles of 20 year old Cuvée Frederic Emile slumbering happily.
The standard Trimbach is worth ageing a bit also - bone-dry, lemony citrus and stony fresh scents, dried limes on the palate, textured and layered. Try with a bucket of mussels.
I adore the wines of Dom. Schlumberger, another producer whose top Rieslings can age for decades.
The entry level ‘Prince Abbes’ Riesling (€25) was pristine and pure with lime scents but the ‘Saering’ was stunning —layers of green apple and citrus fruits, textured and layered with exotic fruits on the mid-palate. For the long haul.
It’s prime cocktail weather so you need Poitín on hand. Don’t think of Poitín as a rough rustic spirit, these days it is closer to good Mezcal or Grappa.
Try substituting it for whiskey in Sours, Old Fashioneds and Manhattans.
Mad March Hare are going global with their Poitín, triple distilled from malt barley in copper pots.
Coconut, smoky apple and citrus flavours, lingering nuts and lemon pie. Watch also for pre-mix ‘Red Hare’ cans with red lemonade.
