Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
It’s hard to believe this is Kilikanoon’s basic riesling. The cool 2013 season produced a wine that courses with energy, classic Clare in its clean line of minerally lime flavor; tasting director Stephanie Johnson described it as “electric.” Focused and firm when first opened, this mellows into a deliciously creamy, lime-rich riesling over the course of several days. A sure bet for the cellar, this will be close to mature at six to eight years.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
With expressive, forward notes of white peaches, lime cordial and pink grapefruit accented by a touch of wet slate, the light-bodied and dry 2013 Killerman’s Run Riesling has a very crisp line of lively acidity cutting through the fruit before it finishes long and clean. Drink it now to 2018+.Rating: 90+
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.
The Clare Valley is actually a series of narrow north to south valleys, each with a different soil type and slightly different weather patterns along their stretch. In the southern heartland between Watervale and Auburn, there is mainly a crumbled, red clay loam soil called terra rossa and cool breezes come in from Gulf St. Vincent. A few miles north, in Polish Hill, is soft, red loam over clay; westerlies blowing in from the Spencer Gulf influece this area's climate.
The differences in soil, elevation, degree of slope and weather enable the region to produce some of Australia’s finest, aromatic, spicy and lime-pithy Rieslings, as well as excellent Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec with ripe plummy fruit, good acid and big structure.
Clare Valley is an isolated farming country with a continental climate known for its warm and sunny days, followed by cool nights—perfect for wine grapes’ development of sugar and phenolic ripeness in conjunction with notable acidity levels.