I’m a riesling girl through and through! I love its fresh acid zing when it’s young and its subtle kerosene notes as it ages. For me, Australia’s best riesling is mostly dry, lean and minerally, but just occasionally I like a touch of residual sweetness to stand up to chilli heat too.
I try to share the love around the country when compiling my wine lists, but if we’re talking THE BEST Australian riesling it’s hard to leave South Australia’s Clare and Eden Valleys, so excuse that bias in this list of what I consider to be the best Australian rieslings. I’ve suggested specific food pairings for each riesling, but I also love any of these top Australian rieslings with classic garlic prawns (see video below).
St Hugo Signature Riesling Eden Valley (SA)
Eden Valley, a sub-region of the Barossa, is cooler than the nearby Clare Valley and can produce riesling with even more acid and floral notes than its neighbour. This is evident in the intense Signature Riesling from Barossa producer St Hugo. There’s jasmine and citrus blossom on the nose and plenty of citrus on the palate, grapefruit up front with a long limey finish. Perfect alongside fried seafood with a squeeze of lemon.
Pikes Olga Emmie Riesling Clare Valley (SA)
This Clare Valley winery has always punched well above its price point, producing some of the best Australian riesling at great prices. The grapes for Pikes Olga Emmie are picked a little later than the rest and the wine is made in the style of a German spätlese with a touch of sweetness. It’s perfect with spicy dishes like char-grilled five spice prawns. Pikes ‘Traditionale’ is a favourite too with loads of lemon and lime and lovely minerality.
Pauletts Aged Polish Hill River Riesling Clare Valley (SA)
Where better than the Clare Valley to age riesling. Still pale in colour (thanks screwcap) with that delicious toasty lanolin aged riesling nose, after 7 or 8 years it’s richer and broader than a current vintage with hints of bitter marmalade and great length. I love it with sweet/spicy Asian dishes like Singaporean chilli crab. The current release of their classic Polish Hill River riesling and off-dry Missy riesling are always winners too.
ChaLou Riesling Orange (NSW)
This beautifully textural, wild-ferment riesling has a touch of residual sweetness. Winemakers Nadja Wallington and Steve Mobbs love it with Szechuan salt & pepper seasoning and I agree, pairing it with crisp octopus tossed with prickly ash. Citrus notes sparkle with lemon and tangerine rind and orange blossom with a hint of jasmine. There’s a long lean juicy finish to clean things up too.
Intrepidus Pét-Nat Riesling Canberra (ACT)
This was the first sparkling riesling I ever came across. Made at her Canberra winery with fruit from around Young, Chrissie Smith ferments riesling in the bottle to create a naturally sparkling wine (pet-nat) with a gentle fizz and mouth-filling texture. Her still riesling, made with the same fruit, is textural with similar stone fruit flavours and zingy finish. I especially love the pet-nat with prawns in Persian split pea sauce.
Pikes ‘First Cut’ Riesling Clare Valley (SA)
Dessert rieslings are rare. As is the ‘cordon cut’ method used to create this luscious sticky, where the vine canes are cut once the grapes are ripe so the fruit dries out on the vine, concentrating their natural sugars. There’s lots of lime cordial zing to balance the sweetness and some enchanting notes of jasmine, ginger and honey. I love it with a classic pavlova topped with strawberries and passionfruit.
Brown Brothers Patricia Noble Riesling King Valley (VIC)
This delicious sweet wine is made by the more commonly seen method of leaving grapes on the vine in the hope they’ll be effected by the fungus Botrytis cinerea (noble rot). The layer of mould on the grapes doesn’t look great, but it draws out moisture, concentrating the flavour and sweetness and creating sublime marmalade notes on the nose and palate. I love the synergy between this mould-affected wine and blue mould cheese.
Updated 09 Dec 2024
South Australia’s Clare Valley and Eden Valley are widely regarded as the home of the best Australian riesling.
Australia’s best rieslings are zingy with lemon and lime citrus notes when they’re young, and have a distinctive (and delicious) kerosene nose as they age.
The best riesling ages beautifully. It’s great at 10 years or so, and I’ve had delicious ones that were 20 or more years old.
Aged riesling often has a slight aroma of kerosene. I know it doesn’t sound like a great smell for a drink, but in aged riesling it’s a mark of distinction.
What food goes well with riesling? Riesling is versatile, as the above list shows, and there’s a riesling to pair with just about any food. Zingy, bone-dry riesling is a great way to balance the oil in fried food and the hint of sweetness in off-dry riesling makes it a natural match for spices. Mouth-filling rieslings made in a natural style are great with more textural dishes and late-harvest or botrytised rieslings are perfect with cheese or dessert.
