Have you ever noticed how some words just “work” and some don’t? How some are inherently cool and how others just sulk up the back of the class, smelling of urine and farting.

Take the word “erect” for example – seriously uncool! Yet its contemporary “vertical” hits the top of the cool-o-meter every time around.

You can jump on your bike, skis, snowboard, skateboard, etc, plunge off the top of an inverted cliff and yell: “I’m going Vertical” at the top of your lungs, and that’s cool! Replace the word “vertical” with “erect” however, and it‘s all downhill from there (bad pun intended!).

Which brings me in an interesting, but well planned, link to the wonderful world of “vertically tasting” wine (not to be confused with “erect tastings”, which are an entirely different kettle of fish – so I’m told…).

Now, a vertical tasting doesn’t necessarily mean that you're tasting wine standing up, as opposed to lying down (although you could well be standing up; and it’s highly likely that you’ll end up on your back* at some stage directly after, or during, a “tasting”).

In the world of wine a “vertical tasting” means a combined tasting of a number of bottles of the same wine (i.e. same maker, same region, same grape variety), but from different vintages (i.e. years). For example, a combined tasting of an ’01, ’02, ’03, and ’04 Turkey Flat Shiraz, comparing each bottle, would be a vertical tasting (it would also be lots of fun…)

*Incidentally, there is actually such a thing as a horizontal tasting. This is where you compare a bunch of bottles from the same year, variety and region, but from different makers (e.g. comparing an ’04 JaJa Barossa Shiraz to an ’04 Turkey Flat Barossa Shiraz etc. would be a horizontal tasting). You can also have a horizontal/vertical tasting…or a vertical/horizontal tasting…or is that a vertical/erect/horizontal/lying down tasting – I’ll have to consult WC’s extensive DVD library on that one.

I must admit that I don’t get to participate in vertical (or horizontal) tastings all that often – and more’s the pity, because apart from being loads of fun, they are also a really useful educational tool.

So it was with some excitement that on a recent trip to Canberra the Old Man announced that he would creak his way down to the cellar and bring back up three 10 year plus bottles of riesling - a 1996, 1997 and 1998 selection of Tim Adams rieslings from the Clare Valley.

I must say that on top of the foresight shown to buy enough bottles of these excellent wines to last a decade, the restraint shown by Dad to not consume the lot of them early, and to have kept them hidden from his eagle eyed, alcohol swilling son-in-laws, was outstanding! (nb apparently he still has a number of ’94 and ’99 vintages hidden away as well – now if I could just find out where he hides them…)

Results

As expected, all of the wines had fared well and were a real pleasure to drink (even having spent the last decade under that ancient, but now seemingly extinct riesling stopper, otherwise know as a “cork”; and not a Stelvin screw cap!).

All wines exhibited the classic lime marmalade characteristics that all good aged Clare Rieslings show.

The 1997 was the lesser wine of the three, with the fruit and acid fading noticeably and some signs of oxidation creeping in. This wine, although still a pleasure to drink, was a couple of years past its best and needs to be consumed asap. (It’s interesting to note that the 1997 was the lesser of the vintages when younger too).

The 1996 was drinking very well indeed. There was just the right amount of acid and fruit left to make it still a cracker. It had more complexity on the palate than the ’97 (with dried mandarin, lime and spice evident), more zip from the acid, and some old kerosene and petrol aromas too. Although, I’d suggest that if you have any bottles of this wine stashed away in the cupboard or under the stairs then now is the time to get stuck in.

The 1998, the pick of the bunch (and a wonderful year for Clare riesling), was simply excellent. Lively, fresh lime and citrus fruit with a zippy acid core. This wine was drinking like it was just out of nappies – only with more marmalade and petrol character to it. Classic lime, citrus, mandarin and kerosene Clare Valley Riesling. There was definitely a good couple of years left in the old fella, but having said that, I’d be tempted to drink this wine now and enjoy the unique characteristics of zipping freshness and aged complexity!

And the moral to this story is…

Good riesling is seriously the most under-rated, under-priced wine there is.

For between $15-25 bucks you can pick up a wine that is fresh, fruity, acidic and well balanced when young (perfect with all types of fresh seafood or as a refreshing drink on its own); or if you prefer, you like you can sit it in your cellar for a decade or more to pull out and enjoy in the decadent way that only someone who has bothered to cellar a wine for ten years or more can.

I seriously cannot for the life of me think of a wine, at this price, that even comes close to performing as well.

And you know what…that just makes me love riesling even more.

Cheers

MW