2025 Mewstone Riesling $60

Poor old Riesling. The classic cool-climate variety just can't take a trick. It was the dominant white variety when the industry in Tasmania was starting to pick up steam in its development through the 1970s and 1980s.

But viticulture back then was pretty rudimentary. Riesling here was usually managed like it was on the Big Island – big leaf canopies, big crops, and big expectations. The variety didn't always measure up, especially in cool and damp seasons.

Ripeness was sometimes elusive. And even when the fruit was picked at the right kind of sugar levels, acidity was often high and you had to leave a bit of sweetness in the wine or consign your bottle to the cellar for a while.

Tasmanian growers and winemakers have since learnt how to manage the variety for best results but the horse has bolted. Riesling accounted for just 4 percent of the State's 2026 crop.

Jonny Hughes in the D'Entrecasteaux Channel loves working with Riesling and has produced some cracking wines over the years under Mewstone and Hughes & Hughes labels. This is another.

Three blocks were picked late in the season, whole bunch pressed and fermented in large format old oak. The long, slow, cool process lasted 44 days, with seven months more spent with the wine quietly resting on its yeast lees. The end result is a Riesling with extraordinary texture, finishing dry and savoury in spite of a little residual sugar to balance the high acidity.

The delicate white flower aromas soon give way to more spicy/gingery notes, framing the mouthfilling citrussy flavours that follow. This is a delicious wine, the palate showing a neat mix of freshness/vibrancy and smooth ripe fruit. Hughes has made a handful of these Mewstone Rieslings in recent years, and this 2025 is among the best. It will change the way you think about the variety.

If you're in the habit of hanging on to cool-climate Riesling for a little while, this one should cellar very nicely indeed.

Source: Retail purchase

www.mewstonewines.com.au