Tasting - "Rieslingfreak No. 33"

 All About Rieslingfreak No. 33

Rieslingfreak No. 33 was recommended by a nice man at the Vintage Cellar last week. The grape variety is Riesling, and the country of origin is Australia in the Clare Valley region. The vintage year is 2023 and it was $18.95 from Vintage Cellar. 

Reviews from Vintage Cellar

When I went to the Vintage Cellar, I told the man I was looking for something that would pair nicely with what I was going to have for dinner that night (lemon garlic chicken with pasta) and he recommended a Riesling. I told him my budget was under $20 and that I wanted something to enhance the flavors of my dinner. He walked me over to the section and began going between two different Rieslingfreak wines, one was another number but I forgot what it was. He then decided on No. 33 which he said would go well. He described it as a light, dry wine with lemon notes, and some fruits like apricot, and lime as well. He said that it was a really good wine and a bang for your buck. As we also learned in class, he said that it was a good Riesling because it was grown in a region of Australia that is known to have good Rieslings. 

Wine Folly Review

On page 158, Wine Folly said that the Riesling from South Australia (Rieslingfreak) has lime peel, green apple and papaya, jasmine, and diesel flavors. I could taste the lime peel flavors because it was tart in your mouth. I couldn't taste any of the other ones because I don't think the meal I ate with it brought out those flavors. Wine Folly mentioned acidity which I could taste because it was paired with a lemon garlic chicken so I think the two paired well. On page 207, Wine Folly said that Clare Valley Riesling was a refreshing dry Riesling which I can 100% agree with. I wish that I tried to taste more of the petroleum flavor during this tasting.

Personal Review

I overall really liked this wine, it was light and refreshing which is exactly what I go for when I am looking for wines. As I mentioned earlier, I had it with a lemon garlic chicken and pasta which was so good and the flavors of the chicken really brought out the citrusy flavors in the wine. I think the pasta mellowed out the citrus flavors at times. I served it chilled which made it very good and for the price point, I would drink this again. I shared the bottle with my roommate who also really enjoyed it. I had never had a Riesling before and I was nervous it was going to be sweet but it was perfect.