We have been trying more Australian wines lately and soon will be trying even more. It seems that everything comes in waves and the Australian’s are surfing in right now. We had two Australian wines over the Christmas and New Years holiday and our next Thursday night tasting at our local wine shop will be Australian Cabernet Sauvignon.
We had two entirely different wines from the far southeast corner of the country near Melbourne in the state of Victoria. One was a fortified Muscat made in a modified solera system and the other was a more traditional white wine.
The 2011 Frisk Prickly Riesling from the Alpine and King Valleys in Victoria is a blend of Riesling (89%) and Muscat Gordo (11%). It’s not surprising I had never heard of Muscat Gordo because there are so many varieties of Muscat with some having multiple names. The 2011 vintage was cooler than normal and the grapes were harvested about 4 weeks later than usual. The vineyards are in the foothills of the Victorian Alps at altitudes of up to 2000 feet and get snow in the winter so you can see it is definitely a cool climate area.
This Riesling also has a little effervescence and an interesting story behind it’s name. Rather than copying what the winery has written you can read the story at this link. I found the wine’s nose to be floral with orange blossoms. That would be the Muscat influence. It has a pleasant nose but you won’t get any of the petrol so often mentioned with a Riesling. In the mouth there was a slight effervescence (the prickle) and it was like a light sparkling lemonade with some orange peel. It was slightly sweet with 3.6% RS (residual sugar) but had enough acid to give a pleasant clean finish. With only 9.8% alc. you can drink as much as you want.
I would recommend this wine with food more when you would be thinking about a Moscato d’Asti than a Riesling. I think it would do well with any spicy Asian dish or seafood. I think I’ll get another bottle and try it with some crab cakes.
The second wine we tried was a Chambers Rosewood Vineyards Rutherglen Muscat (18% alc.). This is an interesting wine as it is a blend of several vintages. Chambers Rosewood has been around since the late 1850s when William Chambers and his family first arrived. They have a rich history as you would expect from moving to a young country and growing with it. The third generation winemaker William Henry started the development of the blending system they use. Many of the other processes and practices he pioneered are still in use today.
The Rutherglen area is characterized by cool night with hot days and always a chance of spring frosts. Muscat is the primary grape grown there although they also grow some Muscadelle, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and some other lesser known varieties.
The wine is a transparent brownish, sherry like color. The nose is caramelly with dried figs and a little mustiness. This wine is somewhat viscous and has flavors dried fruit, figs, plums and a flavor that reminded me of the sugar on a creme brulee. The wine is fairly sweet as expected but even so has a clean finish. A powerful desert wine that would complement flan or something similar.
Note: These wines were provided to us as tasting samples.
