Everybody Loves Riesling: Australia and NZ’s Top 20 labels

Posted on Jun 14, 2018

Riesling is the thinking person’s white wine. It can run the gamut from dry to sweet, metamorphoses with just a few years in the bottle and reflects Australia’s varied terroir like few other grapes.

With so much on offer, it’s easy to see why riesling is the sweetheart of local wine judges. The variety topped all other categories except one on the show circuit last year with a median score of 87 and a medal strike rate of 67%.

Nearly 1000 different rieslings were presented to Australasian wine shows in 2017 with judges working their way through 2400 individual tastings. Their collective scores represent the most comprehensive coverage anywhere of Australian and NZ rieslings.

These ratings have now been collated for the first time in Vinloco’s 2018 Australasian Wine Form annual. This year’s 900-page book includes:

  • The broadest, deepest and most up-to-date coverage of Australasian wines anywhere
  • Classification of nearly 14,000 wines from sparkling to fortified
  • Compilation of more than 41,000 scores from 60 shows
  • Top wine lists for 23 major classes
  • Commentary on each major class about winemaking trends and judging considerations
  • Statistical summaries including medal tallies, strike rates and best regions.

Vinloco’s Australasian Wine Form is destined to become an annual must-have for wine professionals and consumers alike. To buy your copy, click here or on the book cover below.

For those who can’t wait, the top 20 rieslings of 2017 were:

1 Brand’s Laira Old Station Riesling 2016
2 Bream Creek Riesling 2016
3 Jim Barry Watervale Riesling 2017
4 McGuigan Shortlist Riesling 2016
5 Leasingham Classic Clare Riesling 2012
6 Peter Lehmann Wigan Riesling 2012
7 Pewsey Vale The Contours Riesling 2012
8 d’Arenberg The Dry Dam Rieslingÿ 2010
9 McGuigan Shortlist Riesling 2013
10 Jacob’s Creek Steingarten Riesling 2015
11 McGuigan Shortlist Riesling 2017
12 Tamar Ridge Riesling 2016
13 Bird in Hand Riesling 2017
14 Pewsey Vale Eden Valley Riesling 2017
15 Peter Lehmann Wigan Riesling 2015
16 Seppelt Drumborg Riesling 2016
17 Cooks Lot Allotment 333 Riesling 2016
18 Jim Barry The Florita Riesling 2016
19 Moppity Lock & Key Riesling 2017
20 Jim Barry The Lodge Hill Riesling 2017

The entire list of all top 50 rieslings and an alphabetical listing of all rieslings shown last year, along with their raw and standardised scores and rankings, can be found in this year’s edition of Australasian Wine Form 2018.

 

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