Winemaker Notes
Pale straw with lime green hues. Lifted and fragrant aromas of citrus florals, frangipani, finger lime and kaffir lime leaf, with hints of bath salts and green peppercorn. Excellent flavor intensity showing concentrated citrus flavors of lime juice and Meyer lemon, supported by minerality and crispness for an incredibly long and dry finish.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This has such vibrant and pure, tangy fruit. Lime zest, lemons, white flowers, green apples, slate and shells. Dusty crushed stones, too. Sharp and precise, with a medium body and mouthwatering acidity. This is very fruity and dense, with a column of fruit that goes deep in to the wine.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
2022 marks the 30th anniversary of the Julius Riesling, and what a vintage to be able to commemorate. 2022 was blisteringly good, seemingly everywhere in South Australia (and Western Australia too), and that was never more true than for Riesling. Here, in the 2022 Julius Riesling, the tension and savory precision that marks Julius is out in full force; the wine this year is littered with preserved lemon, brine, pith and crushed shells (odd, sure, given the non-proximity to ocean!) and, more interesting, leafy things too, like green tea and orchard leaves. Kaffir lime, also? Excellent.
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Wine Spectator
Effusive, with terrific intensity to the dried pineapple, Fuji apple and tangerine flavors, while lemon blossom notes linger on the bright, juicy finish.
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.