
Best's Great Western 2013 Riesling
A real insider’s wine, or another best kept secret, Great Western produces aromatic, flavoursome yet structured and spectacularly age-worthy Rieslings which stand confidently alongside their more famous South Australian cousins. The Great Western region lends itself well to producing exceptional Riesling – its diurnal weather patterns (warm days / cold nights) work well for the varietal. Some of our original nursery plantings can be traced back to Germany so there is a significant history and pedigree in the root stock of Great Western Riesling.
Grown on the sandy loams of the Concongella Creek and the Rhymney Vineyard sites, and occasionally from selected local vineyards, Best’s Riesling shows the intensity and finesse which are hallmarks of the Great Western region. The wine is made to show true varietal characteristics, achieved by letting the pristine fruit shine above all else. It is cold fermented in stainless steel tanks, retaining the fruit’s inherent aromatics and acidity. Balance, texture and fruit flavour make for an accessible, food friendly wine. And while made to drink now, it will definitely age for many years to come. We can testify that Best’s Great Western Rieslings from the 1970s are drinking superbly now!
Click here to view current release tasting note
It’s pleasant on the palate, putting on weight and opening up with time in the glass. I’m certainly seeing it up the dry end of the spectrum without overt residual sweetness. If there is any, it’s hard to see, such is the balance with the acidity.
Bright. Lively and very more-ish.
A crowd pleaser and perfect with some Morton Bay bugs or chargrilled octopus.
Let's score old-school: 17/20.
Lovely wife says she’d happily go back for seconds.
Pale yellow in colour. A shy nose initially, with lemon, lemon or orange blossom, talc and some minerality. This flows through the palate, where good clean acid combined with the citrus and the minerality to provide a refreshing yet dry mouthfeel.
Presently, it is a very lean wine, and you could be fooled into thinking there is not a lot here if served too cold. You'd be wrong - all the elements are here for a wine that should fill out a little with age (and it should age well for at least 7 years). The palate and the finish are particularly satisfying right now, and the slate / mineral aspects are very much like some higher Eden Valley or even Austrian Rieslings.
On the night we drank the wine it was one of those balmy spring nights and we decided to pan fry some Salmon and teamed it up with a fresh green salad dressed with lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil. What a fantastic meal it turned out to be – our friends, dyed in the wool (if you pardon the pun) NZ Sauvignon Blanc drinkers, thought this was a great wine: more Riesling converts!
One of the reasons this wine is so approachable is that I suspect it was fermented to off-dry and has a small amount of residual sugar which makes it so easy to drink now – but that is almost criminal given the acid/fruit balance in this wine which would ensure it will remain drinkable for at least 10 years and reward those with an iron will and extreme patience with wonderful honeyed lemon curd and lime flavours.
This is a beautiful wine to drink now or later.