Austria, Germany, France and Australia provide the latest Battle Royal fodder.
Weingut Bründlmayer Riesling Steinmassel, Langenlois, Austria (€22)
- Schmells: Apricot, peach and orange marmalade
- Schmeckt: A dry and intense bitter orange marmalade with an über-long finish
- Das verdikt: Sehr, sehr gut
Neagle’s Rock, Clare Valley, Australia, 2006 (€14)
The first stage in tasting a wine is evaluating the appearance. This was cloudy, not clear, reason enough not to take it any further. Not sure if it was this bottle or whether the enomatic system at Eno was on the blink. Pity as I like the Rieslings I’ve tried before from Clare Valley.
Becker Riesling Kronenbourg, Alsace, France, 2001 (€17)
- Smells: light smell
- Tastes: good acidic and medium-dryness in a nice balance
Sybille Kuntz Riesling, Mosel, Germany, 2006 (€18.50)
- Smells: citrus, stone fruits and zesty
- Tastes: Deliciously dry (“Trocken”), refreshing citrus fruits with a great deal of acidity.
Verdict
A German-Austrian Anschluss beats off the competition easily.
Between the two of them, the marmaladey Austrian, Bründlmayer Riesling Steinmassel, is slightly unusual (for me) so gets my vote, but the Kuntz is a very decent Riesling that ticks all the boxes.
