Not long ago, I tasted an Australian riesling that was 30 years old. Eye-poppingly good it was, too.
I remember the aroma of beeswax, crushed seashells, kerosene, oatcakes and hints of honeycomb, and it slipped like a silky ribbon of toasty citrus across my palate.
I love riesling, not just because it does such a sensational job of expressing its terroir, or place, but because it makes wines which develop beautifully in the bottle over time.
The downside of this, of course, is that when young some rieslings taste thin, minerally and austere, which can turn some people sideways. However, if left to blossom for a few years they really come into their own.
The good people at Mt Beautiful, a vineyard in the Cheviot Hills, North Canterbury, gave me the opportunity to taste their rieslings dating back to 2007, to see how they developed over a few years.