It seems that Chardonnay has had its day as the white wine of choice for the chic and trendy, and the sun may be setting on Sauvignon Blanc’s stellar run as Australia’s biggest selling varietal. And it may be nothing more than optimism on my part, but I can’t help but think that the stage is now set for Riesling to take its rightful place as the Australian consumer’s choice of white.
After all, a good Riesling has the floral nose to rival a Sauvie, the firm body of an unoaked Chardy, but the steely crisp finish that makes it such a great match to Asian food or to just drink on its own.
Perhaps best of all, there are some great value Australian Rieslings out there – like the 2010 Tomich Hill from the Adelaide Hills. It’s remarkably light in the glass, but the colour belies the intense aromatics that stimulate the nose and infatuate the taste buds before the orange blossom and grapefruit flavours drive a train across your mid-palate. But the real attraction of the Tomich is the crispness of its delicate citric finish that makes it so much cleaner and more drinkable than the often flabby Sauvignon Blancs that seem to have proliferated on most venues’ Cartes des Vin.
It’s hard to believe that we, the wine consumer, would drink any other style of wine when the Tomich Riesling sells at only about $22 a bottle. Bottoms up!
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