- Derwent River Valley/Coal River Valley, TAS - $21-$32
- Screwcap
- 12.0%alc
Bay of Fires may be one of Tasmania's best makers of pinot noir and chardonnay, but when it comes to riesling, I feel the corporately owned brand falls behind the likes of Freycinet and Pipers Brook, who admittedly, source their riesling from completely different parts of the state (hint hint towards the more specific regional labelling of Tasmanian wine).
There's a pleasingly flinty, lightly spicy fragrance of crisp apples, white fruit and citrus pith emanating from Bay of Fires' 2010 Riesling, which opens to a moderately juicy, flavoursome palate characterised by white pears, commercial grade apple juice and a brittle, zesty acidity reminiscent of lemon/lime sherbet. I mention commercial grade apple juice because I detect a faint sweetness to its fruit flavour, but it's far from overwhelming, whilst it actually bodes quite well with a relatively tangy, lively finish.
O From one of the state's biggest names comes this Tasmanian riesling with plenty of crossover appeal. However, I'd be interested to know how many consumers (re-?) discovering riesling would be willing to fork out $25 or $30 for a wine from Tasmania, when there's so many alternatives available from the Clare and Eden Valleys for less. Drink to 2015.
90 points
This always needs a year or two in the bottle at least - think it'll get better?
ReplyDeleteMaybe over the shorter term yes AG, but I wouldn't say it improved on day 2 though. With the riesling market the way it is these days it's not the type of wine I'd be putting aside however.
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