At my previous hospitality gig at Suryagarh in Rajasthan, India, I noticed that a lot of our international guests ordered and drank a lot of Riesling. As part of my job entertaining them, I got to sample a variety of wines and along the way, I realized that I liked Riesling as well.
Then, a friend of mine ordered a bottle at a hotel we were holidaying at in Delhi and one bottle turned into two and the both of us couldn’t fathom just how delicious this particular Riesling was. Of course, after the fact, neither of us could recall exactly which Riesling the two of us had enjoyed so much!
Riesling is not region-bound, so the wine doesn’t have to be produced in Rhine Valley in Germany, to be called a Riesling and thank Hood for that! Australia, especially South Australia, produces a multitude of wines that appeal to wine-drinkers of every age and social strata, which is how I landed up tasting this AUD 30 bottle of Seppeltsfield Barossa Polish Hill Single Vineyard Riesling.
The Seppeltsfield Vineyard has a rich history dating back hundreds of years and they produce, like most vineyards, a variety of wines. I was unable to find this particular variety on their website – and their website doesn’t have a “Search” option either. There aren’t many online resources about this particular Riesling. I’m not sure why that is, except, maybe, perhaps, because it’s a new wine from 2023.
Rieslings are known for their ageing potential, so it’s possible that more will be written about this one, as time goes on. For now, this wine is crisp and punchy, as is to be expected. Unlike the German Riesling, it is a lot more tart, dry and acidic. A super-chilled glass of this is much better than a cold one. At AUD 30, it’s a much more accessible Riesling than most others, while still being a single-vineyard wine. If I had tasted this as my first Riesling, I probably wouldn’t have wanted to try other Rieslings, but that’s a personal opinion. Thankfully, everyone’s palate differs, and I tend to prefer slightly sweeter wines over dry ones.
Ideally, I would like to try this one after at least another couple of years of bottling but as wine bottles go with me, it’s nearly impossible to not open it right away!
Personally, I would pair this with savory food like fish (a comforting Cod comes to mind), even red meat like creamy pork, and I am salivating thinking about drinking this alongside blue cheese!
Seppeltsfield : Website | Instagram
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