A tale of two Rieslings

The friendship between Ernst Loosen of Dr. Loosen Estate in Germany and Peter Barry of Jim Barry Wines in Australia began in 1995 at the London Wine Fair, rooted in their mutual respect for Riesling. Their collaboration honors the winemaking techniques of the Loosen family and the vineyard practices of the Barry family.

The German-style Riesling produced in Australia is named Wolta Wolta, meaning 'good water,' reflecting a key Barry family land purchase. The Australian-style Riesling, made from grapes in Germany’s Erdener Treppchen Vineyard, is called Walhalla, inspired by Norse mythology.

Creating a German-style Riesling in Australia was challenging, but with forty years of shared experience, the winemakers were pleased with the results. This project focuses on passion and skill development rather than sales, aiming to inspire new perspectives on Riesling.

The two wines. A 2017 Walhalla from Mosel and a 2018 Walta Walta from Clare Valley. The harvest seasons are back to back with the Mosel in the end of 2017 and Clare in the beginning of 2018. The Mosel is vinified and aged in stainless steel, à la Australian winemaking. The Clare is following German-style wine making, the fruit was pressed into stainless steel for 12 hours to settle, before being racked into the 2,800 litre German oak ‘Fuder’ cask, which was gifted from Ernie himself in 2015. The light lees were racked which assisted a wild ferment to take place after five days.

The German-style Riesling made in Australia is called Wolta Wolta, (Aboriginal for 'good water') in honour of one the Barry family's most significant and successful land purchases, which later became known as Lodge Hill. The Australian-style Riesling, made with grapes from the Erdener Treppchen Vineyard in Germany, is called Walhalla, (pronounced Valhalla) named after the majestic hall ruled over by Odin in Norse mythology.

It was no simple task for an Australian winemaker to make a German-style Riesling and vice versa, but when each winemaker can draw on forty years of experience of their counterpart, the possibilities are genuinely intriguing, and even though Peter and Tom Barry were uncertain they could make such a different style of Riesling, they were delighted with the outcome. And as they should be. Both beautiful examples of great Riesling the subtle stylistic differences are there to be experienced and enjoyed.

So which one is better, we can hear you all asking in the ether? Stop the nonsense! These are two ever so subtly different wines. Was it the vineyard, the winemaking, the natural yeasts, or the closures that set these two apart?

Both exhibit the traditional citrus notes but the Walta Walta had a little more floral noticed. On the palate the Walta Walta expresses some grapefruit along with the typical citrus flavors. With the two wines sharing similarities it’s on the palette that some more obvious differences occur. The Walta Walta is under a cap and shows a bright fresh quality whereas the Walhalla is under cork and shows some additional palate weight and smoothness and length on the finish.

Given the 7 years of age we believe it may just be the closure that has had the most impact on these wines at this age.

Two wonderful Rieslings that every Riesling lover should seek out to try for themselves.

Cheers

Winewalkabout