Oh riesling, I fear that your time as an individual wine-judging category is limited and soon you must be integrated into the ‘other’ category as entries continue to fall. It’s a reflection of the fact that production continues to fall; a reflection that consumption… well I don’t know what’s going on with consumption as everyone I know consumes riesling with gusto. Then again, we’re ‘wine people’ and I believe riesling in New Zealand continues to exist because wine people grow riesling because they personally love it. I know for sure it’s not because it’s a big seller.

Moral conundrums aside, we’re not there just yet. These rieslings were a pleasure to assess and reward with a range of styles showing up in the top five, all of which have been awarded 5 stars – no 4½s to be seen. That speaks to the perfection of these wines which, for now, stand proudly in their own category.