Our wine of the week

(by peter)

Wine of the Week: Penfolds Koonunga Hill Autumn Riesling 2008

This rakish white really impressed when we opened it, along with a few other samples, in a food-matching frenzy inspired by Susie’s Saturday Kitchen dishes for this weekend.

As it happened, it didn’t quite go with the dish that we had in mind – Nick Nairn’s gorgeous monkfish with curried lentils. The flavours were just too earthy and subtle and were overpowered by the structure and scent of this characterful white. (Click here for Susie’s blog on this.)

But, make no mistake, this is a food wine, and a pretty elegant, well-bred one at that. We’d put it with a Thai-style king prawn and coconut green curry, or a swordfish steak salad with lime and chilli dressing.

Either way, it’s good bang for buck and a lovely little tipple for the weekend.

It’s available in Waitrose for £8.99.

Penfolds Koonunga Hill Autumn Riesling 2008, 11.5% – expressive, elegant aromas of baked limes, red apples and cream. Hint of petrol and fresh herbs. On the palate it has good structure and tangy bite. Lovely creamy/toasty development. Good integration and balance. Not the longest or most complex, but that’s fair at the price. Impressive. Not one for laying down, but enjoy its purity now. Dry. And love the retro label…7/10