Riesling Reviews
Rieslings from around the world continue to win Gold medals in major wine competitions and attract more attention with high scores in major consumer magazines. In May, two major U.S. competitions—Riverside International, and Los Angeles International—used the IRF Riesling Taste Profile to group the wines into the four categories (Dry, Medium Dry, Medium Sweet, Sweet).
The annual Riverside International Wine Competition in southern California is chaired by prominent California wine writer Dan Berger, who spearheaded the creation of the IRF Riesling Taste Profile and uses it to define the categories of Riesling in the competition. The top designation, comparable to Double Gold in many competitions, is Chairman’s Award. Here are those, along with Gold medal Rieslings from the 2011 competition.
Unanimous Gold
Glenora 2010 Finger Lakes Dry Riesling
Chateau St Michelle 2009 Eroica Riesling
Heron Hill 2008 Ingle Vineyard Dry Riesling
Chateau Lafayette Reneau 2010 Late Harvest Riesling
Heron Hill 2009 Semi-Dry Riesling
Galen Glen Winery 2010 Stone Cellar Dry Riesling
V. Sattui Winery 2009 Early Harvest Dry Riesling
Anyela’s Vineyards 2009 Medium-Dry Riesling
Lakewood Vineyards 2009 Finger Lakes Riesling
Gold Medal
Treveri Cellars Columbia Valley Riesling
Chateau Lafayette Reneau 2010 Finger Lakes Dry Riesling
X by Xabregas 2010 Spencer Riesling
X by Xabregas 2010 Figtree Riesling
Atwater Finger Lakes 2010 Dry Riesling
Atwater Finger Lakes 2009 Sweet Riesling
Milbrandt Vineyards 2009 Columbia Valley Traditions
Treleaven Wines 2008 Cayuga Lake Late Harvest Riesling
Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards 2010 Finger Lakes Semi-dry Riesling
Fox Run Vineyards 2009 Finger Lakes
Tierce 2008 Finger Lakes Dry Riesling
Thirsty Owl Wine Company 2010 Finger Lakes Medium Sweet Riesling
Peregrine 2007 Central Otago Riesling
Glenora 2009 Finger Lakes Sweet Riesling
Augusta Winery 2010 Seyval Blanc
Frisk 2010 Frisk Prickly Riesling
Heron Hill 2009 New York Dry Riesling
Alba Vineyard 2009 Warren Hills Estate Dry Riesling
Jekel 2010 Monterey Medium-Dry Riesling
Swedish Hill Winery 2009 Finger Lakes Dry Riesling
Kona 2010 Red Mountain Reserve/Estate Bottled Dry Riesling
San Juan 2010 Yakima Valley Les Vignes DeMarcoux Vineyard
Wollersheim Winery Dry Riesling
Wollersheim Winery Medium Sweet Riesling
Cedar Creek Winery Medium Sweet Riesling
Swiftwater Cellars 2010 Columbia Valley Medium-Dry Riesling
Lakewood Vineyards 2009 Finger Lakes Medium-Dry Riesling
The Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits Competition is sponsored by the LA County Fair and run by Dr. Bob Small and his colleagues, who also use the IRF Taste Profile to define Riesling categories. In 2011, this competition added number scores to the medal designations, and the results are as follows:
Riesling, Dry (0<1%RS)
BEST OF CLASS, GOLD MEDAL – 95 Points
Wolf Blass www.wolfblass.com.au
Riesling, Yellow Label, South Australia 2008
GOLD MEDAL – 94 Points
Chateau Ste Michelle www.ste-michelle.com
Riesling, Dry, Columbia Valley 2009
Dr. Konstantin Frank www.drfrankwines.com
Riesling, Dry, Finger Lakes 2010
Foris Vineyards Winery www.foriswine.com
Riesling, Rogue Valley 2009
Thirsty Owl Wine Company www.thirstyowl.com
Riesling, Dry, Finger Lakes 2009
G. Marquis www.magnotta.com
Riesling, Red Line, Niagara Peninsula VQA 2010
Peller Estates Winery Okanagan www.peller.com
Riesling, Private Reserve, Okanagan Valley VQA 2010
Concannon Vineyard www.concannonvineyard.com
Riesling, Selected Vineyards, Central Coast 2009
Villa Maria Estate
Riesling, Cellar Selection, Marlborough 2010
Red Tail Ridge Winery www.redtailridgewinery.com
Riesling, Dry, Finger Lakes 2009
Swedish Hill Winery www.swedishhill.com
Riesling, Dry, Finger Lakes 2010
Chateau Grand Traverse www.cgtwines.com
Riesling, Dry, Old Mission Peninsula 2009
Riesling, Medium Dry (1.0‐2%RS)
BEST OF CLASS, GOLD MEDAL – 94 Points
Chateau Lafayette Reneau www.clrwine.com
Riesling, Estate, Finger Lakes 2010
Swedish Hill Winery www.swedishhill.com
Riesling, Dry, Finger Lakes 2009
GOLD MEDAL – 93 Points
Belhurst Estate Winery www.belhurst.com
Riesling, Dry, Seneca Lake 2010
Dr. Konstantin Frank www.drfrankwines.com
Riesling, Semi-Dry, Finger Lakes 2010
Helfrich
Riesling, Alsace AOC France 2008
Loredona www.dfvwines.com
Riesling, Monterey 2010
Lucas Vineyards www.lucasvineyards.com
Riesling, Semi Dry, Finger Lakes 2009
The Hogue Cellars www.thehoguecellars.com
Riesling, Columbia Valley 2009
Wollersheim Winery www.wollersheim.com
Riesling, Dry, American
SeaGlass www.tfewines.com
Riesling, Monterey County 2010
Kilikanoon www.kilikanoon.com.au
Riesling, Mort’s Reserve, Clare Valley, Australia 2010
Riesling, Medium Sweet (2.1‐4%RS)
BEST OF CLASS, GOLD MEDAL – 95 Points
Frisk www.friskwines.com
Riesling, Prickly, Alpine Valleys Australia 2010
GOLD MEDAL – 94 Points
Belhurst Estate Winery www.belhurst.com
Riesling, Semi-Dry, Seneca Lake 2010
blüfeld www.blufeldwines.com
Riesling, Mosel, Germany 2009
Debonne Vineyards www.debonne.com
Riesling, Reserve, Grand River Valley 2010
Deinhard www.deinhard.com
Riesling, Piesporter, QbA Mosel, Germany 2010
Riesling, Sweet (4.1‐6%RS)
BEST OF CLASS, GOLD MEDAL – 96 Points
St. James Winery www.stjameswinery.com
Riesling, American
GOLD MEDAL – 95 Points
Silver Lake Winery www.silverlakewinery.com
Riesling, Roza Hills Vineyard, Rattlesnake Hills 2009
Chateau Grand Traverse www.cgtwines.com
Riesling, Late Harvest, Michigan 2009
St. Clair Winery www.southwestwines.com
Riesling, New Mexico 2010
SILVER MEDAL
Chateau Grand Traverse www.cgtwines.com
Riesling, Select, Sweet Harvest, American
Hyatt Vineyards www.hyattvineyards.com
Riesling, Rattlesnake Hills 2010
Schafer-Reichart Selections www.schafer-reichart.com
Riesling, Rudi Veit, Mosel – Piesporter, Germany 2009
South Coast Winery www.southcoastwinery.com
Riesling, Temecula Valley 2010
The Hogue Cellars www.thehoguecellars.com
Riesling, Late Harvest Riesling, Columbia Valley 2010
Riesling Blends
BEST OF CLASS, GOLD MEDAL – 94 Points
Fulkerson Winery www.fulkersonwinery.com
Riesling Blends, Riesling-Traminette Finger Lakes 2009
Ice Wine ‐ Riesling
BEST OF CLASS, GOLD MEDAL – 98 Points
G. Marquis www.magnotta.com
Ice Wine – Riesling, Silver Line, Niagara Peninsula VQA 2009
Riesling, Late Harvest (6.1‐12%RS)
BEST OF CLASS, GOLD MEDAL – 94 Points
Kilikanoon www.kilikanoon.com.au
Late Harvest Riesling, Mort’s Cut, Clare Valley, Australia 2009
GOLD MEDAL – 92 Points
South Coast Winery www.southcoastwinery.com
Late Harvest Riesling, Temecula Valley 2009
Limited Production
BEST OF CLASS, GOLD MEDAL – 94 Points
Ferrante Winery www.ferrantewinery.com
Riesling, Golden Bunches, Grand River Valley 2008
