By Christine Salins.
This year marks 184 years since Johann Stein brought Riesling cuttings to Australia under contract for the Macarthur family. They established a Riesling vineyard at Camden Park and the vines flourished under Johann’s watch.
In 1976, Johann’s descendant, Bob Stein, bought 75 acres in Mudgee and set up Robert Stein Wines. Today, Robert Stein’s success with Riesling continues through Bob’s grandson, Jacob Stein, who has created a following of which his grandfather and German ancestors would be proud.
“Riesling, or Rhine Riesling as it was known in the ‘70s, was quite different to what we are doing now,” said Jacob. “Our Reserve and premium Rieslings are bone dry, with crisp acidity. They are wines that will mature in the cellar for decades.”
Robert Stein Dry Riesling holds an enviable haul of awards, and its status shot up in 2019 and again in 2021 when the 2016 vintage was awarded the trophy for Best Riesling at the Sydney Royal Wine Show, a title that few NSW Rieslings have achieved.
With demand for its Rieslings growing, Jacob has begun sourcing fruit from growers outside of Mudgee, with nearby Orange being a logical choice thanks to its cool climate. Fruit for the 2021 and 2022 Half Dry Rieslings came from Orange.
Growing demand has also led Jacob to this year extend Robert Stein’s Mudgee estate with another 2.5 hectares of Riesling, planted at an elevation of 580 metres. “It’s an exciting time for our little family winery,” he said. “Whilst we struggled with drought and covid, our vineyard and winemaking team are excited for the future.”
As in much of the country, drought gave way to rain and Robert Stein faced a challenging 2022 vintage with high rainfall. But Jacob managed to negotiate the vintage vagaries to continue producing high-quality Riesling, claiming several awards for both the 2022 Robert Stein Dry Riesling and the 2022 Robert Stein Half Dry Riesling.
“The cooler season, with slow ripening, produced crisp and higher acidity levels with no sunburn opportunity, meaning we have excellent quality with very age-worthy attributes,” he said.
“(Riesling is) an exciting variety that can be made in more styles than almost any other variety. Spending time in the Rheingau and Rheinhessen regions of Germany fuelled my interest in the variety and taught me how to coax more complexity and flavour out of our Rieslings. The awards we are receiving are giving us confidence that we’re on the right track.”
Robert Stein 2022 Dry Riesling, $40: A classic dry Riesling, hand-picked and estate-grown in Mudgee. Crisp and bright with green apple/lime notes and natural fruit purity. Lively with an ever-so-slight touch of residual sugar balancing out the natural acidity. Drinking beautifully now but would also age gracefully.
Robert Stein 2022 Half Dry Riesling, $50: A real showstopper, beautifully aromatic with crisp, clean acidity. Fifteen grams of residual sugar gives a lovely hint of pear/apple sweetness, complementing pineapple, lemon and zesty lime notes. The fruit was sourced from the Angullong vineyard in Orange, and the wine won the trophy for Best Off Dry White at this year’s NSW Small Winemakers Show. Squirrel this one away for some classy summer sipping.
