Langmeil Live Wire Riesling 2011 Eden Valley Australia

Langmeil Live Wire Riesling 2011 from South Australia's Eden Valley is a low alcohol ( 8.5% )Riesling in the Mosel style - off-dry with some residual sugar. Langmeil is a vineyard/winery with history, in 1843 a German settler, Christian Auricht  established a winery and this was in operation here from 1932 to 1988. The property was bought in 1996 by the local Lindner and Bitter families, and they set about meticulously restoring both its buildings and its reputation. Amazingly, the 1843 vines are still alive and producing; they are believed to be the oldest Shiraz vines in the world, the riesling are not so old - they vary between 12 and 42 years.

The cool area of the Eden Valley is the Barossa’s Garden of Eden famous for its Riesling wines, it has a cool climate, ancient soils and later ripening so producing distinctive  wines, displaying wonderful aromatics, elegance, complexity and finesse.

Wine making history dates back to when the first vines were planted on the estate in 1843 by a German settler, Christian Auricht and the Eden Valley is home to some of the world’s oldest Shiraz and Riesling vineyards (though other quality grapes are gorown). Traditional grape growing continues with a focus on sustainability and authenticity, with fifth and sixth generations of the original settlers continuing to apply their craft.
Altitude, aspect and slope are all important in determining mesoclimate in this hilly region. Altitudes range between 350 – 500m and the overall growing season temperatures are significantly lower than those of the Barossa Valley, and the final stages of ripening and harvesting take place in much cooler conditions.
To get back to this wine - it is pale straw with green tints - as expected, and on the nose it has fresh green apple aromas with a hint of citric skin, on the palate it is off dry with a slight spritz or tickle on the tongue, alot of wineries add Carbon Dioxide as they bottle to keep the wine fresh..... The acidity is soft - not as high as some I have tasted and the flavour palate included lemon/lime, apple and a cheese element. The length is good and has a sweet ripe apple finish, this was not what I expected at all, and it is not similar to other Eden Valley Riesling's I have ever tasted - but I did enjoy it, and the alcohol being so low has its dvantages - so see what you think - hopefully you will enjoy it too! The alcoholic fermentation was stopped when the wine had reached 8.5% and there was residual sugar in the wine - hence the off-dry taste! This is how alot of Mosel whites are made!
Available from All About Wine at £13.99.
Score : 88