In search of the perfect semisweet Riesling

The August/September 2009 edition of Gourmet Traveller's Wine Collector's magazine featured an article on new trends/tastes in Australian wine. It mentioned that Australia loves a wine trend (my own experiences with shiraz viognier, chardonnay and Kiwi sauvignon blanc prove this true) and predicted that the next would be semi-sweet Rieslings.

In an effort to be an early adopter, I've decided to find my favourites so that I know what I want when i go out, over the coming 12-24 months.

So far I've tried Brown Brothers Crouchen and Lexia (bleurghhhhh... note to self: don't take wine advice from 17 year olds at Dan Murphy's), Delatite's Dead Man's Hill Gewürztraminer, Huia Gewürztraminer, Vertigo GR25 and Spring Vale Gewürztraminer. I've also been recommended Ladbroke and Journey's End, but I haven't found them yet in the shops. I'm not even going to bother talking about the disgusting lolly waters the DM assistant talked me into trying...

Delatite Dead Man's Hill Gewürztraminer
I was really surprised by this wine - the Gewurztraminers I remember from when my parents' days were very very sweet and often had a slight fizz. This wine tasted so floral I couldn't believe it, without obvious sweetness (and I love a dry wine). It tasted like roses and lychees and honey and perfume. It wasn't overly expensive, either - I think I paid around $18-20 for the bottle.

Huia Gewürztraminer
Although the tasting notes on the Huia website promises "rose petals ...Turkish delight...warm spices, ripe pear and tropical fruit...vanilla bean, orange and spices", I didn't find it reflected any of these, except perhaps some vanilla and warmth. I am not sure how to describe it - on my palate it tasted almost salty, affecting the sides of my mouth as if saline. I didn't find it dry enough to justify the label of a "dry Gewürztraminer", it was certainly vaguely floral, but it was too slippery, and too sweet and round, without enough flint and minerality for me.

Vertigo GR25 
On the advice of aforementioned column in Wine Collectors, I tried the Vertigo GR25 Riesling. I was a bit surprised at first, because it was sweeter than I expected. However, with food it was delicious and even after the first few sips I really became accustomed to the hint of sugar. It was much more acidic than the previous two wines, with a nice citrus sharpness and quite chalky, too. I thought it was less floral than other I've tried, but in a good way. At $22/bottle, I thought it was pretty good value. Btw: the 25GR means 25 grams of residual sugar.

Spring Vale Gewürztraminer
This wine is amazing, and particularly good for someone only just accustoming their taste buds to a sweeter style. Expensive, yes (about $30/bottle) but also delicious. The Spring Vale website describes its Gewürztraminer as having "aromas of rosewater and red delicious apples. A luscious palate with a delicate acid backbone and a very long finish" and I would not disagree. My only issue is that I first tried it too cold - it was much better just below room temp. But still - amazingly delicious, tasting like lychees and roses and still lovely and acidic. My favourite on my quest so far!