Henschke Julius Eden Valley Riesling 2006
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
These dry, food-oriented wines are clean and crisp and have the ability to age into delicious marmalade on toast flavors, due to the cool climate of the Eden Valley region. This region provides excellent ripening conditions for the Riesling grape and has a unique track record of exceptional aging potential for the variety.
The 2006 Julius Eden Valley Riesling is green gold in color. The nose is very lifted, floral and perfumed with rose petals, citrus blossom, lime/lemon zest, hints of slate and green peppercorns. The crisp, dry palate shows sweet fruit with rich flavors of lemon and lime, fresh acidity and excellent length.
Other Vintages
2023-
James
Suckling - Decanter
-
James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Spectator
-
Australian Wine
Companion -
James
Suckling -
Wine
Enthusiast -
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Spectator
-
Wine
Enthusiast - Decanter
-
James
Suckling -
Wine
Enthusiast -
Wilfred
Wong -
Robert
Parker
- Decanter
-
James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker -
Wine &
Spirits -
Wine
Enthusiast -
Wine
Spectator
-
James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker -
Wine &
Spirits
-
Wine
Enthusiast -
Robert
Parker -
Wine &
Spirits - Decanter
-
Robert
Parker
-
Wine
Spectator
-
Wine &
Spirits -
Wine
Spectator -
Robert
Parker
-
Robert
Parker
-
Robert
Parker
Henschke is one of Australia’s leading winemakers and grapegrowers. Henschke is recognised for its rich heritage, innovative spirit and commitment to handcrafting exceptional wines for 150 years. The Henschke family’s grapegrowing and winemaking tradition spans six generations, from outstanding sustainable vineyards in Eden Valley, Barossa Valley and the Adelaide Hills. The small-medium wine business has an annual crush of 700 tonne and employs around 50 staff. Prue Henschke manages the 105 hectares of vineyard, spanning from Eden Valley to Lenswood in the Adelaide Hills wine region. Henschke is one of Australia’s leading winemakers and grapegrowers. Henschke is recognised for its rich heritage, innovative spirit and commitment to handcrafting exceptional wines for 150 years. The Henschke family’s grapegrowing and winemaking tradition spans six generations, from outstanding sustainable vineyards in Eden Valley, Barossa Valley and the Adelaide Hills. The small-medium wine business has an annual crush of 700 tonne and employs around 50 staff. Prue Henschke manages the 105 hectares of vineyard, spanning from Eden Valley to Lenswood in the Adelaide Hills wine region. Stephen and Prue continue to craft their white wines with a focus on purity, while their red wines have a strong focus on terroir, using traditional winemaking techniques.
Riesling possesses a remarkable ability to reflect the character of wherever it is grown while still maintaining its identity. A regal variety of incredible purity and precision, this versatile grape can be just as enjoyable dry or sweet, young or old, still or sparkling and can age longer than nearly any other white variety. Somm Secret—Given how difficult it is to discern the level of sweetness in a Riesling from the label, here are some clues to find the dry ones. First, look for the world “trocken.” (“Halbtrocken” or “feinherb” mean off-dry.) Also a higher abv usually indicates a drier Riesling.
Higher in elevation and topographically more dramatic than the Barossa Valley floor, Eden Valley abuts it to its south and east. While it is a bit of an extension of Barossa, Eden Valley is topographically different than the pastoral Barossa Valley, and is composed of rocky hills and eucalyptus groves.
Recognizing Eden Valley’s potential with Riesling in the 1960s and 70s, producers started to move their Riesling production from Barossa to these better sites where schist soils on hilltops would produce more steely, tart and age-worthy examples. A most famous site, planted by Colin Gramp, called Steingarten, today produces one of the most outstanding Australian Rieslings. Youthful Eden Valley Rieslings express floral, grapefruit and mineral, while with time in the bottle, they become increasingly toasty and complex.
Riesling isn’t the only grape the region can grow; undeniably at lower altitudes Shiraz does very well. Mount Edelstone is a notable vineyard as well as the Hill of Grace, which boasts healthy Shiraz vines well over 100 years old. This is the only Australian region where Merlot has a made a name for itself and Chardonnay can be spectacular, particularly from the High Eden subregion in the southern valley.