That’s not to say I rate Austrian Riesling higher than Gruner Veltliner. Far from it. It’s just that tonight, a decision to open a Wachau Riesling to accompany a seafood risotto proved to be a very good one. that wine isn’t from a terribly well known producer, but it’s really nice, and is a superb food wine. It manages to carry quite a bit of weight, while remaining very fresh. And it’s relatively affordable for that level of quality.

Erich Maccherndl Riesling Smaragd Steinterrassen 2005 Wachau, Austria
Quite a deep yellow colour with some green tinges, that is a full flavoured, savoury, ‘trocken’ style Riesling made from ripe grapes. The nose shows refined honeyed, minerally, herby/citrussy fruit. It leads to a palate that’s rich and ripe, but nicely defined by fresh herb and citrus notes, together with a tip of sweetness and cutting minerally acidity. There’s a lot of intensity and presence here in that dry styled wine, which is probably best served with food. 90/100 (£12.95 Great Western Wine here)