A bargain Riesling

It is not easy to find good Riesling on the cheap. The (really) good stuff is from Germany or the Alsace and it will be $14 at a minimum if you know what to look for. I did a WS search for 87+ points costing at most $10, with at least 10,000 cases imported made in 2005-2008.

There were a total of 12 matches, 8 which got 87 points and the remaining 4 scored 88 points. Three of the 88 pointers were from Washington State.

But I found the other non-Washington 88 pointer, and bought it yesterday. It has a huge production of 200,000 cases, so you can pretty much find it, if you are willing to get off your couch.

And it was under $6.

At Safeway. (Which is having a big sale. Combine it with their 10% off 6+ bottles discount, which I did.)

But the final kicker is that it is made by

Yellow Tail. That's right.

Here's the WS review: Yellow Tail 2008 Riesling South Eastern Australia, (88 points, $8 list) Light and tart, with a fresh-baked bread edge to the pear and kiwi fruit flavors. Drink now. 200,000 cases imported. --HS

Now go out and get some.

Update: I've tried it and it is a difficult wine. It is often a bit thin, meaning it has less intensity than a really good riesling, and most of the time the complexity is missing and the flavors are muted. But every once in a while it really shines. Don't serve cold and let it breathe a tiny bit. My score: 84-89 points.