WTN: A stunning New Zealand Riesling

[Jenise]

2005 Melness Riesling, Canterbury, New Zealand
Opened a bottle last night to pair with a pureed blue zuri squash soup garnished with cabrales blue cheese. Fabulous citrus flavors and massive minerality with a strong coconut streak, grapefruit and lime peel on the finish. Makes a sweet first impression but finishes dry and crisp. Big and intense with excellent varietal character, structure and acidity, and because of all that, in a blind tasting I might have guessed it to be Alsatian, and possibly from a warmer vintage. This isn't like the blander or more chardonnay-like New World rieslings I've had from BC, California and Australia that taste less of riesling than of a warmer, sunnier climate.

Last night, I was thinking this was the first bottle of this I've opened (I purchased them a year ago from Garagiste in Seattle) because I didn't remember these flavors. But this morning, sitting down to write this note, I could kind of remember discussing the wine with Sue Courtney. Maybe, I thought, I sought her advice before purchasing. So I went to find our discussion, and it turns out that indeed I opened a bottle last March and posted on it. But reading the note, I realize why I didn't recognize the wine, and re-reading Sue's comments, I see that's not so unexpected.

Here are tidbits:

Jenise: 2005 Mellness Riesling, Canterbury, New Zealand
Predominantly white grapefruit and fresh basil, with hints of mint and candied ginger and a quinine-like bitterness on the dry finish. Both good and interesting, but lacks the faceted citrus flavors I'm used to in German rieslings. 11.5% abv.

Sue: Interesting note, Jenise. It was one of our favourites last year, but all sold out here now. A changing wine whenever I taste it, sometimes its seems on the edge of gewurztraminer with its floral and musky scents, but it has been the crisp citrus acidity that that has pulled me away from that thought. I last made a note for it in April 2007 but know I've had it since then, but on social occasions. Because of its sweetness, it's a good summer wine for drinking straight from the fridge.Sue Courtney

Jenise: Sue, I can see where the ginger I spoke of would give your gewurz-y impression. In fact, thinking back on it, in a blind tasting gewurz would probably have been a good first guess.

It's a lovely wine - definitely one of the better NZ Rieslings I've had. (There are times like these when I love Garagiste.)

I had it late last year and I loved the floral Gewurz-like element to it. Wish I had bought more. BTW, Melness also makes one of the better NZ Pinot Noirs I've tried. Garagiste had it last year at under $20 and it was fabulous.

This isn't like the blander or more chardonnay-like New World rieslings I've had from BC, California and Australia that taste less of riesling than of a warmer, sunnier climate.

On an aside, I'm not sure which Aussie Rieslings you've had, but there are a number of examples out there that are superb examples of minerally, precise, dry Riesling (and are far from bland or Chardonnay-like - and definitely are not from very warm climates). Look out for the 05 Frankland River Isolation Ridge or Poison Hill Vyd Rieslings, or anything from Tamar Ridge, Bay of Fires, Piper's Brook or Pirie Estate. Some of the best New World Rieslings I've had, and among the best whites that Australia's producing.

[Jenise]

BTW, Melness also makes one of the better NZ Pinot Noirs I've tried. Garagiste had it last year at under $20 and it was fabulous.

Salil, I bought the pinot when I bought the riesling but haven't cracked a bottle yet. I look forward to it!

On an aside, I'm not sure which Aussie Rieslings you've had, but there are a number of examples out there that are superb examples of minerally, precise, dry Riesling (and are far from bland or Chardonnay-like...

You're right. I was thinking of the last Aussie riesling (Glen Eldon? Something like that) I had and not wines like the Gosset Polish Hill which I've also had and know to be good. Still, my experience is limited, and good as any of the few I've had were none of them could be mistaken for a German or Alsatian like this Melness could.

Melness has changed hands now since that wine was made. It was owned by a lovely older couple who had three grower vineyards for the fruit and the wines were made by Matt and Lynette at Pegasus Bay.
I understand that the new owners, Kahurangi, still contract Matt and Lynette to make the wine but have heard that the vineyard source for the Riesling is no longer the same. Seasons would make a difference too.
http://www.melnesswine.com/index.html

New Zealand is producing some really delicious low alcohol, sweeter styles of Riesling these days - and unlike other places, e.g. Australia, acidity does not have to be added.

Wines I've noted as being similar to Melness include Camshorn Classic Waipara Riesling 2007 and The Crater Rim Waipara Riesling 2006.

Cheers,
Sue

You're right. I was thinking of the last Aussie riesling (Glen Eldon? Something like that) I had and not wines like the Gosset Polish Hill which I've also had and know to be good. Still, my experience is limited, and good as any of the few I've had were none of them could be mistaken for a German or Alsatian like this Melness could.

Glen Eldon - ack! It's from the Barossa - the few Rieslings I've had from there were either very flabby and tiring, or had acidity that seemed unnatural and out of balance, loaded with fruit and little else, and were for the most part quite boring. I'm also not that big a fan of some of the Clare Valley ones like Grosset, and I find the prices there offputting compared to what good Rieslings from other areas go for.

IMO the best Rieslings that I've had from Australia have come from the cooler high altitude areas of Victoria (Grampians and Macedon Ranges), the Great Southern area of Western Australia, and Tasmania. The Tasmanian ones I've had bear a lot of resemblance to some of the NZ or German examples - in fact when I visited Tamar Ridge, they poured a trio of wines that seemed to mimic a modern Kabinett, Spatlese and Auslese - the last of these, their Late Harvest Botrytis Riesling, was fabulous.
The wines from the cooler/higher areas of Vic and WA tend to have their own very distinctive character (generally tend to be quite dry, gravelly, smoky and for the most part have really good acidity). I don't imagine they'd be easily mistaken for German or Alsacian wines, which for me is part of their charm. All excellent expressions of Riesling, but unfortunately hard to come across in the US.

I used to love the Felton Road riesling (not the dry riesling, the riesling riesling) from Otago when I was in NZ. It's an off-dry style, but was usually very nicely balanced.

[Jenise]

Glen Eldon - ack! It's from the Barossa - the few Rieslings I've had from there were either very flabby and tiring

That would describe the Glen Eldon quite adequately. That was another Garagiste purchase, btw, one that was either not described as a Barossa wine (because I don't buy Barossa wines period) or described as so atypical that my curiosity was that piqued. Won't happen again! I'm otherwise well aware of the goodness of wines in the areas you mention, having travelled them myself. Which makes it all so sad that the whole of Aussie exports to the U.S. these days is pretty much McClaren Vale and Barossa exclusively. I know our Aussie participants are pained at the sweeping generalizations American wine geeks make about Australian wines, but in some ways they can hardly be blamed for their misunderstanding since wines from Australia's cooler climates are basically non-existent here (I coordinated two Australian shiraz tastings last year and couldn't find one, not ONE, non-Barossa/MV wine in my town to include).

Which makes it all so sad that the whole of Aussie exports to the U.S. these days is pretty much McClaren Vale and Barossa exclusively. I know our Aussie participants are pained at the sweeping generalizations American wine geeks make about Australian wines, but in some ways they can hardly be blamed for their misunderstanding since wines from Australia's cooler climates are basically non-existent here (I coordinated two Australian shiraz tastings last year and couldn't find one, not ONE, non-Barossa/MV wine in my town).

Agree, it's painful. Right now in CT the few wine stores I've visited have *nothing* from Australia that's not from those two general regions. MP/Dan Philips/Sparky-type wines of course dominate the shelves, and there's only the occasional redeeming gem from the Barossa (like a Hewitson Old Garden Mourvedre I saw at Table & Vine - one of the few Barossa reds worth buying and cellaring IMO) hidden amongst them. It's a real shame that Tasmanian wines barely get imported, and a lot of the more elegant and diverse wines from Victoria never show up - the exceptions being the much bigger styled Heathcote Shirazes like Tatiarra that get lots of RP-love because they're not 'lean, tart and European-styled'. Depressing.