Dry Rieslings – Seven of the Ten Best from Austria!

(AWMB, July 2004) It may be a legend that Austria is the home of the Riesling grape, but the quality of the country’s modern Rieslings is beyond doubt. On the occasion of the VieVinum wine fair held in Vienna in June 2004, the Swedish wine dealer Jan-Erik Paulson once more held an international blind tasting for a select panel of experts. “The Best Dry Rieslings from Around the World from the Vintages 2001 and 2002” was the theme of the tasting at the Korso restaurant at the Hotel Bristol.

Great names from Austria, Germany, France, Australia, New Zealand, and Slovakia were nominated for the tasting. To insure an impartial and internationally respected result, the 47 wines were tasted by international wine journalists from 19 countries. German and Austrian top growths competed for first prize in a fascinating head-to-head race, and in the end, only 1.5 points separated the first ten wines.

Seven of the ten highest-scoring wines came from Austria. While two German wines could decide the first two places for themselves by a hair’s breadth, Austria’s top Rieslings followed close behind. The remainder of the field was packed equally densely, but was dominated throughout by the “old world”, by European Rieslings. The first Alsatian wines appeared on places 16 and 19. The best wine from the New World made place 27.

Much like the legendary Korso tasting of 2002, which pitched international Chardonnays against Austrian Grüner Veltliner, with the latter sweeping all top places and dominating the field, this year’s Korso tasting shows once again that Austria has secured a top place among the world’s great wines. Different terroirs and microclimates allow a variety of Riesling styles to develop in the country, while one common denominator is always present: an immense aromatic depth and minerality, which will continue to win Austria’s Rieslings admirers among the worlds most discerning connoisseurs, and a place among the world’s greatest wines.

The Results

Riesling
Sunday , June 6th, 2004
No Vintage Wine Points
1 2002 Forster Jesuitengarten Riesling Spätlese trocken, Wolf, Pfalz, Germany 92,24
2 2001 Monzinger Halenberg Riesling Auslese trocken, Emrich-Schönleber, Nahe, Germany 92,16
3 2001 Riesling Weißenkirchner Achleiten Smaragd, Prager, Wachau, Austria 91,77
4 2002 Riesling Smaragd Vinothekfüllung, Emmerich Knoll, Wachau, Austria 91,46
4 2002 Riesling Zöbinger Heiligenstein Lyra, Bründlmayer, Kamptal, Austria 91,46
6 2002 Riesling Heiligenstein, Hiedler, Kamptal, Austria 91,36
7 2002 Gimmeldinger Mandelgarten Riesling Spätlese trocken, Christmann, Pfalz, Germany 91,27
8 2001 Riesling Weißenkirchner Achleiten Smaragd Rudi Pichler, Wachau, Austria 91,23
9 2002 Unendlich Riesling Smaragd F.X. Pichler, Wachau, Austria 91,20
10 2001 Riesling Smaragd Klaus Jamek, Wachau, Austria 90,73
11 2002 Riesling Hochheimer Hölle Auslese trocken, Franz Künstler, Rheingau, Germany 90,63
12 2002 Riesling Privat, Nigl, Kremstal, Austria 90,62
13 2002 Riesling Smaragd Loibner Steinertal, Leo Alzinger, Wachau, Austria 90,58
14 2002 Riesling Nussberg, Wieninger Wien, Austria 90,53
15 2002 Riesling Kastiel Béla, Egon Müller, Slovakia 90,38
16 2001 Riesling Herrenweg de Turckheim, Zind-Humbrecht, Alsace, France 90,15
17 2002 Riesling Loibner Vision Smaragd Högl, Wachau, Austria 89,91
18 2001 Riesling Gaisberg Alte Reben, Hirsch, Kamptal, Austria 89,73
19 2001 Cuvée Frédéric Emile, Trimbach, Alsace, France 89,59
20 2001 Riesling Steinertal, Mittelbach – Tegernseerhof, Wachau, Austria 89,51
21 2002 Kremser Kögl Riesling Reserve, Salomon Undhof, Kremstal, Austria 89,40
22 2002 Westhofen Kirchspiel Riesling, Wittmann, Rheinhessen, Germany 89,35
23 2003 Riesling Gaisberg, Schloss Gobelsburg, Kamptal, Austria 89,32
24 2002 Riesling vom Urgestein Senftenberger Ehrenfels, Proidl, Kremstal, Austria 89,24
25 2002 Riesling Rüdesheimer Berg Schlossberg, Georg Breuer, Rheingau, Germany 88,60
26 2002 Riesling Rüdesheimer Berg Schlossberg, Johannes Leitz, Rheingau, Germany 88,49
27 2002 Riesling Smaragd Dürnsteiner Freiheit, Schmelz, Wachau, Austria 88,16
27 2002 Riesling La Strada Dry, Fromm, New Zealand 88,16
29 2002 Riesling Kremser Weinzierlberg Priorissa, Josef Schmid Kremstal, Austria 88,07
30 2002 Riesling Der Wein vom Stein, Ludwig Neumayer, Traisental, Austria 87,14

Tasting Panel

Tasting Panel
Sunday , June 6th, 2004
Anderson Malcolm CAN   Payne Joel Brian D
Baker Helena CZ   Pedersen Jorgen Monster DK
Baumann Peter A   Rechenberg Nikolas D
Blom Philipp F/GB   Reinhardt Stephan D
Brook Steven GB   Scheys Fabian BEL
Epstein Peggy Sue US   Soon Edwin SGP
Franque Guido BEL   Svensson Karl Axel S
Grünwald Christian A   Swoboda Ingo D
Hervias Alfredo POR   Tachibana Mineo JAP
Ivanis Ivo KRO   Tanaka Katsuyuki JAP
Iwashiro Yukari JAP   Tsuboi Satoshi JAP
Jacobsen Aase E. NOR   Van Lissum Jan NL
Joseph Darrel US   White Tim AUS
Kusuda Takuya JAP   Wilson John IRL
MacDonough Giles GB   Wilkoff Irvin CAN
Mölstad Mikael S   Winkler August F. A
Nuikki Pekka FIN   Yoshida Setsuko JAP

Press Information/July 2004
AWMB Susanne Staggl
Prinz-Eugen-Str. 34/7, A-1040 Vienna
Phone: +43 (0)1 503 92 67, Fax: +43 (0) 1 503 92 68
s.staggl@winesfromaustria.com

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