Winemaker Notes
The 2011 Pewsey Vale Vineyard Riesling is a classic example of dry Eden Valley Riesling. A pale straw with green hues, the wine shows intense fruit aromas of talcum, crushed stone and lemon lime fruit, with a hint of overlaying dried herb. The palate shows great length and depth with lemon and limes. The wine finishes with a soft but fresh natural acidity which balances the flavour intensity and a minerality that will reward medium to long-term cellaring.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This release deserves some sort of award for consistency, year in and year out. The 2011 is light to medium in body and long, zesty and vibrant on the finish. Aromas and flavors of bergamot, honey (although the wine is completely dry) and toast are classic aged Eden Valley Riesling. Drink now–2030.
Editors' Choice. -
Wine Spectator
Up front and refreshing, offering a seamless mix of lime, pear and green apple flavors. This wine's details gain momentum on the finish, where smoke, lanolin, beeswax and chamomile accents add complexity and depth. Drink now through 2027.
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Wine & Spirits
Tight and flinty, this wine needs several years of bottle age to soften and develop. The texture is lithe, the flavor packed with lime and crushed stone. Restrained, almost severe for the moment, this should plump up with age.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2011 Riesling offers a youthfully muted nose of lemon peel, kumquat and green apples with hints of chalk dust and peach blossoms. Dry and light to medium-bodied, the palate has plenty of tension and nervy, tight-knit flavors marked by crisp acid and a long finish. Drink this one 2013 to 2021+.
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.