Patina Sticky Tea Riesling 2018

Perhaps it is just me but it does seem that, these days, we see far fewer
examples of this style of wine than we once enjoyed, and that is a shame. A
well-made lightly sweet style can be a joy as a way to conclude a meal or
simply to drink on its own. Riesling is, of course, the ideal variety for
this style of wine – just look at what Germany can do. 

The wine originally came about as winemaker, Gerard Naef, was not happy
tipping out the pressings from his Riesling after basket pressing, knowing
that they retained around a quarter of the juice (which he did not want for
his standard Riesling, but still wanted to make use of it if he could). So
back in 2009, he added some yeast to the remaining pressings and this wine
was born. Why Sticky Tea? Well, it is the style often dubbed ‘sticky’ and,
when it was fermenting, notes of tea leaves were apparent (you can still see
this in the latest release). 

A lovely dark bronze/orange colour (appropriate for a wine from Orange?).
And then orange rind notes on the nose (or is this all power of
suggestion?). Glacéd fruits, that hint of tea/bergamot and some attractive
lighter honey notes. This lighter style of a sweeter Riesling is nicely focussed
and delicious. A non-cloying finish, good length and a wine with five to
eight years ahead, though I’m not sure there is that much to be gained by
holding on to it. I’d be enjoying it today.