“Tasmanian conditions allow grapevines a long, generally cool growing season. So, the grapes can ripen slowly without losing acidity,” writes wine columnist RICHARD CALVER.

It was a double birthday celebration, late for my daughter’s but early for mine, at Rizla in Braddon.

This is a wine bar/restaurant dedicated to riesling and which has an extensive wine list. It won Australia’s Best Wine List (maximum 100 wines) in 2023 and 2025. 

Guilt was felt when I eschewed one of the many Canberra rieslings on the list for a Tasmanian. I’ll send a message of remorse code to all the great Canberra wineries.

With climate change we have seen Tasmania playing its trump card in relation to the development of wine. Tasmanian conditions allow grapevines a long, generally cool growing season. So, the grapes can ripen slowly without losing acidity.

Wine Australia, in its 2025-26 Tassie snapshot, says that it has the lowest mean January temperature of Australia’s wine regions at 15.6C. Contrast that temperature with heatwaves and drought elsewhere in Australia that can lead to earlier berry ripening and lacklustre wine. 

Riesling is not a predominant varietal in Tasmania. It comprises only four per cent of the local tonnage. The Tasmanian national share of riesling is only one per cent.

It is amazing then that from such a small level of production, rieslings of purity and great character are produced. I was already familiar with the 2024 Frogmore Creek Riesling, a Coal River Valley wine. At around $35 retail a bottle this is a superb value, complex wine that my notes tell me has a gorgeous green apple taste, fruit and florals predominant. But that wine was not on the list.

Instead, we chose a wine from the Derwent Valley, which is close to the Coal River Valley but not as well known for its wine production. We chose a Domaine Simha Rani 2025 Riesling. 

It was not cheap: $160 a bottle (around $100 retail or $75 from the winery when you buy a case).

The wines are made by Louise Radman and Rav Singh in small batches. The name Simha originates from Sanskrit for lion. Their wines’ titles come from royalty and legends of the East.

I looked up the significance of Rani, not described on the winery’s website, and found that she was Rani of Jhansi (1828-1858), one of the most iconic figures in the history of India’s struggle for independence. 

None of this was apparent on the pouring of the wine, although expectations were high given the price. It didn’t disappoint.

While it was unfined and unfiltered, hence getting to the essence of the wine, it was remarkably clear in colour and pure in the fruit reflection.

It was light and bright with a bouquet of lime leaves. It certainly did not belt you with acid on the finish like some young rieslings but had an elegant minerality and great mouth feel. It is light in alcohol at 11.5% ABV and went remarkably well with fish, the tuna tartare. 

The last pour of the bottle saw a cloudiness appear. With minimal intervention, as with this wine, tartaric acid crystals can form that affect the look of the wine but not the taste, some even referring to them as “wine diamonds”.

Tartaric acid stabilisation treatment is often conducted before bottling to prevent the formation of precipitates caused by tartar. This is to maintain the quality of the wine during storage and to ensure its market value.

That latter comment is made because the cloudiness can make people baulk, thinking there’s a defect in the wine. But instead this acid helps maintain a wine’s PH levels and protects it from spoiling, and is harmless. 

Most people haven’t experienced this tartar problem, just as they haven’t tried tuna tartare: it’s extremely rare.

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