Riesling masterclass
In the quest to produce classic bottle-aged Riesling, time is of the essence. It takes time for a vigneron to discover a site ideally suited to the production of premium quality wine grapes. Time to unravel a complex web of relationships between variety, viticulture and winemaking. Time for the finished wine to evolve and mature in its bottle.
The $64 question is how much time is enough?
No-one knows for sure, but one thing's certain. No-one on the local wine scene has a better idea – nor a better track record – than Dr Andrew Pirie, owner/winemaker of Pipers Brook Vineyard.
Recently opened for close scrutiny by visiting 1996 Tasmanian Wine Show judges James Halliday and Huon Hooke was an impressive array of 17 vintages of PBV Riesling.
They spanned the years from 1979 to 1995.
Tasting and discussing the wines delivered the clearest lessons yet on the subject of time. Tasmanian wines – even those from white grape varieties – are particularly responsive to patient cellaring. The best of them demand it.
"By and large, we were very pleased with the result," said a relieved Dr Pirie.
"I think that many of the wines here are still standing up well.
"I'm always a bit nervous about wines we don't see very often, like the '79 and the '80. We don't get to taste those wines more than once about every five years.
"In these kinds of formal tastings, you also see the wines in the harshest possible light. They tend to drop the perceived quality level. We're really trying to make for the table, wines that complement food.
"Some of the old favourites are hanging in there nicely. It looks like we're going to get 13 to 20 years out of Rieslings from good vintages."
Such exhilarating performances from wines made from Riesling might come as a surprise to lovers of Chardonnay or Cabernet Sauvignon, but they harbour few secrets for Dr Pirie.
"The success of Riesling in Tasmania is without doubt related to the cool ripening conditions here, which preserve the delicate perfumes on the grape and maintain the steely acidity that provides the finish and balances the sweeter fruitiness of the variety."
Drawing the cork on a great bottle of PBV Riesling proved to be very much like opening a time capsule. Each mouthful of wine presented a picture of all that went into its making.
Warm vintages – like '88, '89 and 92 – seem to result in generously flavoured wines that develop gradually into classic, toasty bottle-aged Riesling.
Cool years – coupled with the occasional incidence of botrytis in the vineyard and higher sulphur dioxide levels in the winery – tend to produce more Germanic characters. For me, these were the triumph of the tasting, and epitomised by the fabulous '85 and '82 vintage wines.
Anyone having a few of these prized bottles is indeed fortunate.
The less fortunate should consider casting about for any of the current wines of the '90s, allowing time to weave its spell and for the Pipers site to eventually call the tune.
First published 14 March 1996: The Advocate
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