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Wines of the week: Three of the best Rieslings

Terry Kirby shares three alternative wine wines

Terry Kirby
Friday 12 August 2016 13:17 BST
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Satiated with Sauvignon Blanc? Chock full of Chardonnay? Try the enigmatic, complex and highly distinctive virtues of Riesling….

From New Zealand…

Earths End, Central Otago, 2014

Don’t take the ‘off-dry’ on the label too literally – this is a juicy, aromatic and full bodied Riesling from Central Otago [better known for its Pinots’] demonstrating again the Kiwi way of turning Europe’s signature grapes into something very different. Fabulous clean flavours of citrus, elderflower and some touches of honey. A versatile wine: as an aperitif, for robust fish and belly pork, or dishes with light Asian spicing.

£13.00 Marks and Spencer

From Australia….

Snake + Herring High and Dry Riesling 2015

It is the same grape in Western Australia but this is about as different as possible from the Kiwi wine: utterly bone dry, bracing in its metallic acidity, with those distinctive ‘petrol’ notes of Riesling to the fore. Elegant, austere, slightly challenging: therefore ideal for shellfish like oysters or scallops, or to cut through the richness of lobster and crab.

£16.00 Marks and Spencer

From Germany….

Weingut Kloster Ebernach, Domäne MC Riesling Halbtrocken, Mosel, 2014

Made by an Aussie winemaker and Riesling obsessive in an ancient vineyard at the very northern limits of wine making, this is blend of mostly Riesling with the more obscure Cochem Sonnenberg and Cochemer Klostergarten. Again, just not quite dry, but complex, deeply aromatic, full and satisfying with punchy citrus and melon flavours. Savour as a wonderful aperitif but also with prime white fish, such as roast turbot.

£22.99 redsquirrelwine.com

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