Rieslingfreak No. 44 Eden Valley Riesling 2022

The 2022 Rieslingfreak No. 44 Eden Valley Riesling (93+ Points – Wine Advocate; 93 Points – James Halliday) hails from several Eden Valley vineyards, allowing the No. 22 Riesling to express the beauty of dry Riesling from the valley’s slate soil. At the onset, a pale crystalline robe catches the eye, but it hardly prepares the taster for the wine’s bouquet, a symphony of white flowers, orange blossoms, sweet basil, and exotic spices. In the mouth, Rieslingfreak’s 2022 No. 44 Eden Valley Riesling expresses its elegance and well as its vivacity with a lovely texture and plenty of citrus and orchard fruit flavors that complement the wine’s dry flinty finish. Although this young Riesling will likely fill out and gain further complexity with another year in the bottle, it is an absolute pleasure to drink now, so we see no reason to wait. Dive right in. We suggest serving this comely Riesling cool (40º-45º F) and then allowing it a few minutes in the glass to bloom. You are in for a treat. Anticipated maturity: 2023-2027. Enjoy!

Our first reaction is almost always to pair wine with food, as one nearly always enhances the other. However, the 2022 Rieslingfreak No. 44 Eden Valley Riesling brings its own welcome with it. Nevertheless, several accompaniments will be clear standouts with this wine. Green-tipped New Zealand mussels served in a saffron broth, sushi, sashimi, and just about anything else that once crawled in or out of the sea warrant two thumbs up with Rieslingfreak’s premium No. 44 Riesling. Most traditional Japanese dishes that are steamed also offer first-rate partners as will fine tempura offerings and curried Thai stir fries. And we are very fond of consuming this exuberant Riesling after dinner in the company of apples, grapes, pears, and a platter of soft ripe cheeses. Enjoy!

Aptly named Rieslingfreak, the team of John and Belinda Hughes and Mark Thomas is freakish about Riesling. And that’s to the world’s benefit, as one would be hard pressed to find a team more passionate about Riesling and the wines they make than this trio.

John Hughes grew up on a family vineyard in South Australia’s Clare Valley at the very heart of Australia’s premier area for Riesling. He also spent time in Germany making Riesling, while wife Belinda has been making award winning Riesling and other white wines for two decades. Mark Thomas, the anchor on this team, also hails from South Australia and became hooked on Riesling at an early age while working in some of the finest restaurants and hotels in Australia, London, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Together these three Riesling Freaks fashion some of the planet’s greatest Rieslings in small lots from two of the planet’s premier areas for world-class Riesling, South Australia’s Clare and Eden Valleys. Rieslingfreak Rieslings consistently dazzle critics and consumers alike and garner top scores from international critics and wine publications.

Riesling is unquestionably one of the world’s finest and most versatile grape varieties, yet Riesling remains the most misunderstood grape varietal in the United States, due at least in part to the predominance of inexpensive, low alcohol sweet Rieslings from Germany that pervaded the American market in the 1960s and 1970s. However, not all Rieslings are created equal, nor are all Rieslings sweet. In fact, Riesling can be made bone dry, unctuously sweet, and everywhere in between. Rieslingfreak does is all, just better than everyone else. Taste and see for yourself!