A Bridge To Riesling
The Age
Saturday August 16, 2008
Growing up in the cool-climate wine region of Coal River in Tassie, then years later working vintage in Austria, helped shape Anna Pooley's attitude towards riesling. And thank goodness. Her foray with the revamped and updated Heemskerk label is a tribute to her love of the variety. Although Pooley lives and works in the Barossa Valley, she's charged with making the excellent Tasmanian Heemskerk wines - a riesling, pinot noir and chardonnay. But the former is outstanding. Stylistically, it's also different, for she put the wine into a 5000-litre old French oak vat to build up texture and palate weight, whereas riesling here is usually made only in stainless steel. "The whole idea of doing that came from working vintage in Austria at Salomon in 2003," she says. "From that experience, I was gob-smacked with the quality and versatility of riesling and gruner veltliner that could be made punchy and fruity or aged in oak. Oak just adds another dimension. The fruit from Coal River is so punchy and so heady that I wanted to extend that sensation mid-palate." So the riesling was fermented in stainless steel to retain freshness. Then Pooley started to build texture and complexity by leaving the riesling on its yeast lees with monthly batonnage and tasting the wine every week for six months. Then it was put into the oak for another three months. The oak is what she calls her "little wine-making influence". There's no oak character in the wine. That's not what it's all about. It's about plump up the mid-palate. It works a treat.
In 2006, Foster's, which owns Heemskerk, decided it was time to upgrade and revamp the brand, the fruit for all three wines of which is sourced only from single vineyards. Pooley says the riesling vineyards, while young at just seven years old, still display typical Coal River traits - a heady floral character. And with a starting price of about $40, it's also one of the most expensive Aussie rieslings, a variety that is underrated and underpriced yet the quality is there. "The fruit is just so superb and you have to be prepared to pay the right price for super-premium fruit," says Pooley. Yet riesling is still a hard sell to the average consumer. It's as if this noble variety is made into wine to satisfy the palates of winemakers, wine writers and aficionados. Why? "It's a good question but I don't know the answer," says Pooley. "I grew up around Tassie riesling long before I wanted to be a winemaker. It's a style that's just so versatile, as riesling can be sweet or searingly dry and acidic. It's a great food wine to have with oysters or Asian food. Maybe it's not as obvious as sauvignon blanc so it doesn't really jump out." Well, riesling is often about subtlety.At a recent tasting, Pooley encouraged a sav blanc drinker to try the Heemskerk after the woman adamantly stated she didn't drink riesling. "I wanted to see her reaction," says Pooley. "And guess what? She loved it. This wine does bridge the gap if you don't normally drink riesling." But be warned. Only 500 cases were made, so hurry up and enjoy the conversion.janefaulkner@winematters.com.au -- JANE FAULKNERHEEMSKERK RIESLING 2007 $40A bit like the band Style Council, I want to shout to the top about this stunning riesling - extraordinary bright yet gentle acidity and texture, too. What's going on? Could be the French oak vat the wine goes into for months to build texture alongside pristine fruit with blossom notes. O'LEARY WALKER POLISH HILL RIVER RIESLING 2008 $20The O'Leary and Walker boys always produce terrific rieslings such as this, a pristine wine with its delicate amalgam of lime and white floral notes that follow through on the palate. Lovely texture, clean, refreshing and, yep, I could drink a bucket load. of this.JACOB'S CREEK STEINGARTEN RIESLING BAROSSA 2006 $32If you prefer riesling that's steely, racy and spicy, this should fit the bill nicely. It also has an attractive floral nose with loads of citrus, complex with biting acidity then a fresh and ultra-zingy finish.
© 2008 The Age