The world’s best Rieslings from the Masters 2017

Judge’s comment: Patricia Stefanowicz MW

What I liked: Everything! Even a rather dismal, rainy day couldn’t dampen enthusiasm for an amazing group of Rieslings. It was an exquisite tasting. Whatever style, whether dry, medium-dry or sweet, these wines portray why Riesling is the ‘darling of the wine trade’.

The purity of fruit expression in the wines from Germany, the concentration of flavour in the wines from Alsace and Austria and the lemon-lime citrus character of wines from Eden and Clare valleys show a variety of styles, which were of a consistently high quality.

These are compact wines that are tightly knit. The balance between acidity and sugar seems to be nicely judged and the medium-dry wines showed particularly well.

There is plenty of value, especially in the £10-£15 bracket, and this price point is where the medium-dry and medium wines really shone.

At £15-£20 the wines are more interesting, layered with intensity of flavour most noticeable in the drier styles, especially the wines from Germany and Alsace. There were also a couple of high-priced (£20-£50) sweet wines that were spectacular, showing complexity of noble rot and a little development.

What I didn’t like: Occasionally the SO2 levels were a bit too aggressive, but for non-dry wines, protection against re-fermentation in bottle is critical. The SO2 perception should calm down over time.