Australian Riesling head and shoulders above New Zealand: Decanter panel(2)
Meanwhile, across the Tasman Sea, ‘the general lament was that the New Zealand Rieslings were too inconsistent’ Amy Wislocki writes in her introduction to the tasting in the September issue of Decanter.
The wines were ‘disjointed’ and often too sweet. Mansour said they had a ‘confected’ quality.
However, both Wainwright and critic Sarah Ahmed defended New Zealand, the former pointing out that its Riesling producers were still getting established and suggesting it would be interesting to do the same tasting in 20 years.
Ahmed urged readers to try the 2008 vintage before dismissing New Zealand Riesling. ‘There were some exceptional wines here,’ she said.
In particular the panel praised the four-star Astrolabe, Palliser Estate and Felton Road.
Read the full panel tasting results in the September issue of Decanter magazine, out 3 August.
