The best wines from The Global Riesling Masters 2020

One of the favourite grapes of the true wine connoisseur, Riesling comes in many types, from sparkling to dry, from medium to sweet. But our annual blind-tasting test showed that there are delights in all categories. Read on for an analysis of the results and a list of all the medallists from the 2020 competition.

If you want proof of Riesling’s versatility, then look at the spread of top medals in this year’s competition. Held for pure Riesling only, we had fantastic entries for sparkling wine, dry still wines, medium dry and sweet ones, including an outstanding Icewine at the end of the tasting. It shows that not only can Riesling be used to make a wide array of wine styles, but in each case, it can achieve excellence. This is rare in the wine world, where noble grapes tend to create something exceptional in one or two styles, with only Chenin Blanc, and perhaps Furmint, being other grape varieties that can I can think of that are capable of yielding excellent sparkling, dry and sweet results.

So, starting with the sparkling Riesling, with had a small taste of Sekt, with two delicious examples from Kessler in Württemberg, with the second notable for its fresh chalky edge, and intense, lime-like fruit. Then we came across another sparkling, which was a touch pricier, but with a more powerful flavour combination of peach, citrus and biscuit, and then the bright, firm, hallmark Riesling acidity. We awarded this a Gold, and later learnt that it was from Thirty Bench in Canada, and not Germany, as had been presumed.

Among the still wines in the tasting, starting with the driest Rieslings, the quality was high, and while a few of the wines seemed a touch dilute, there seemed to be fewer incidences of fiercely acidic samples, the sort that finished firm, as opposed to fresh.

Notable among the dry samples were two wines in particular. The first of these was the Riesling Les Princes Abbés from Domaines Schlumberger in Alsace, which impressed the judges with its combination of tangerine, lime and beeswax in a textured, slightly evolved and dry style.

The other Golds in the dry category were pricier, and both came from Australia’s Clare Valley. The cheaper of these, from Wakefield/Taylors, was a brilliant example of its type, with masses of juicy lime, and a dry, stone-like finish – it was bright, but not sharp.

The other, from Kilikanoon Wines, was similarly dry and fresh, and also loaded with lime, but being an older vintage – it was from 2011 – it had the lovely flavours of aged Riesling, from toast to a touch of kerosene. But running both these wines close were a sweep of excellent Rieslings, as you can see from the high number of Silvers, even under £15.

In other words, if you opt for dry Riesling, particularly from Australia’s Clare and Eden Valley, then you can be assured a high standard of wine, with clean citrus fruit, and Riesling’s wonderful crisp character.

When it came to those Rieslings with just a touch of residual sugar, the medium-dry style, again the standard was high, with any sweetness more than offset by the high natural acidy of this grape variety.

Within the ‘medium-dry’ flight we tasted some lovely floral peachy samples from Chile (Cono Sur) and a good value wine from New Zealand (Hunter’s). Among the Golds was a ripe and bright Riesling mixing peach and pear with fresh lime zest, which hailed from Casablanca in Chile (Casas del Bosque) and soft, pure, persistent sample from the Pflaz in Germany (Ruppertsberger Weinkeller Hoheburg).

CRISP FINISH

At higher prices, there were two brilliant Rieslings from Domaines Schlumberger, representing a pair of Alsace grands crus: Saering and Kessler, with the former showing a touch more ripe peachy fruit, honey and tangerine, and the latter more pear and apple, along with chalk and salt characters on its crisp finish.

Germany was the source nation of the final Gold in this sweetness category, with the powerful Rheingau Grosses Gewachs Riesling from Weingut August Eser, loaded with apricot richness, a touch of sweetness, and a stony, dry, lime-fresh finish.

The rest of our outstanding wines came at higher sweetness levels, notably the Riesling Rotschiefer from the Mosel’s Weingut Sorentburg, with peach and strawberry, a whiff of kerosine, and a persistent clean citrus note.

Then came our first Riesling Master, which was from the same winery, but this was its old vine expression from the 2017 vintage, which was a highly impressive wine, with apricot, marmalade and beeswax, a touch of sweetness, and then a long, apple-like bright finish.

Finally, we had some very sweet Rieslings, including a delicious Auslese from Weingut August Eser. Although the wine had more than 100g/l of residual sugar, it was still a beautifully clean and fresh expression.

Our final wine of the tasting turned out to be another Master. It was layered with fruit flavours from mango to apricot, along with dried apple and raisins. It was unctuous too, with almost 190g/l of sugar, but offset by a tangy freshness. It had the characters of great Icewine, which we later learnt it was, and from Canada’s Andrew Peller Estates.

Please see the tables below, which feature all the medallists from this year’s competition.

Sparkling

Dry (0-4 g/l)

Medium-dry (5-12 g/l)

Medium (13-45 g/l)

Sweet (+46 g/l)

About The Global Riesling Masters

With high-quality judges and a unique sampling process, the Global Riesling Masters provides a chance for your wines to star, whether they hail from the great vineyards of Europe or lesser-known winemaking areas of the world.

The 2020 competition was judged by David Round MW, Patrick Schmitt MW and Patricia Stefanowicz MW in December at London’s 28°-50° Wine Workshop & Kitchen. The top wines were awarded Gold, Silver or Bronze medals according to their result, and those expressions that stood out as being outstanding in their field received the ultimate accolade – the title of Riesling Master. This report features the medal winners only.

Please visit The Global Masters website for more information, or, to enter future competitions – giving you the chance to feature online and in print – please call: +44 (0) 20 7803 2420 or email Sophie Raichura at: sophie@thedrinksbusiness.com

Judge’s comment: Patricia Stefanowicz MW

“After a glorious day of judging the Riesling Masters in 2020, it is difficult to understand what is not to love about the Riesling grape variety. This great grape shows its range of styles beautifully, far beyond its ‘homeland’ of Germany, Alsace and Austria. Dry Rieslings can sometimes appear ‘acidic’ or ‘stretched’. Not this category here. With just a tiny bit of residual sugar and ripe fruit, these wines have purity of citrus flavours, ranging from lemon-lime in the Clare Valley (Australia) through tangerine to orange zest (Eden Valley, Australia). Apple, pear, honey and minerality are more apparent in the wines from Germany or Alsace. Many of them have a lovely accent of lemon or orange blossom adding interest.”