Tantalus Vineyards Estate Grown Riesling 2007

Keith Robinson reviewed this wine as follows:

2007 Tantalus Riesling

Price: $25

Availability: Zyn, Kensington, Vine Arts, Highlander for current vintage. This 2007 will be hard to find.

Assessed by: Keith Robinson

Tasted: Most recent March 2014. Tasted each year since release in 2009

Product Details: Okanagan, Canada 100% Riesling. 13% Alcohol.

Unlike many Okanagan producers Tantalus Vineyards does not have a wedding hall, condominium development or golf course. Nor do they produce 15 different wine from Ehrenfelser to Syrah. Instead Tantalus uses its 37 acres to produce some of the world's best dry Rieslings, with a little bit of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

Dry Riesling? Aren't Rieslings always sweet? No, Riesling wines can run the full gamut from bone dry to ice-wine sweet. The operative word is balance – regardless of how sweet or dry a wine is, great wine is a balancing act, and great Riesling should balance on a tight-wire of fruit, acidity and any residual sugar. Rieslings from Tantalus are in the austere, bone-dry style. When young the acidity screams; you will think the plaque is been scraped off your teeth and you can skip the dentist's cleaning for the year.

Sustainably grown and produced in LEED certified winery.

Consumer tip: Riesling is the world's greatest white grape and least understood. It is also the most mispronounced. Say Reeesling, like Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, not Rizeling or Riseling.

The tasting: To the eye, the 2007 is a bit cloudy. I suspect the wine has not been chill-filtered since the cloudiness disappears as the wine warms. The nose shows ripe apple and orange citrus. On the palate the acidity has softened over the years leaving a wine that is tense, compelling and thirst-quenching - apples and rock with hints of stone fruit and orange peel.. The flavours are deep and complex. Careful here – you keep reaching for more.

Music Pairing: Peel Me A Grape (D. Frishberg) Diana Krall

When to drink: Serve with a fresh salad or other starter. See what you can get started. Some folks recommend curries with dry Riesling but, in this case, I think the wine will get lost in spicy food.