Winemaker Notes
A classic Clare Valley Riesling in every sense, beautifully poised and measured, the combination of fresh limes and lemon essence carries forward from the nose superbly supported by crisp natural acidity and a green apple finish
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Enthusiast
This 2016 vintage embodies so much of what is enjoyable about Clare Riesling with a wee bit of bottle age: Lime blossoms, honey, petrol and a toasted nut character are cloaked in a beautiful slippery texture, with bright acidity, zingy citrus, apple, white pepper and just a touch of residual sugar
-
James Suckling
A rich and approachable style with apple and lime and gentle spice aromas. The palate has sweetly ripe lime and apple fruit. Plenty to offer.
-
Wine Spectator
Mouthwatering and delicate up front, with an appealing touch of lanolin adding a savory quality to the lemon curd, pineapple and lime core. Shows plenty of intensity on the vibrant finish. Smart buy
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.