Winemaker Notes
Pale straw in color with green hues. Intense aromas reminiscent of fine dried herbs, white flowers, lemons and limes. Shows great length and depth on the palate with grapefruit and limes, fresh rosemary, white pepper and a hint of tropical fruit. The wine finishes with a soft natural acidity which balances the flavor intensity and a minerality that will reward medium to long-term cellaring.
Enjoy with seared scallops, salt and pepper squid, or a Thai noodle salad.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
The nose here is alive with loquat, dried apricots, quartz, riverbed and white stones. The medium-to full-bodied palate is so waxy and lemony with a real sense of structure and depth. Tangy and bright, this ends long and slightly oily. Drink now. Screw cap.
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Wine Enthusiast
Part of the Hill-Smith dynasty that includes Yalumba, this straw-hued Eden Valley Riesling is testament to winemaker Louisa Rose’s passion for the variety. In Eden’s typical fruit-forward fashion, the nose is a restrained yet attractive combo of ripe peach, tangerine and waxy citrus fruit, with soft floral and herbal nuances. The palate is broad and mouth filling but not creamy. Instead it’s a precise balance of lifted acidity, chalky texture and concentrated fruit.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2018 Pewsey Vale Dry Riesling exhibits excellent presence on the palate. TASTING NOTES: This wine is active, balanced, and rewarding. Its aromas of floral notes, dried citrus, a hint of chalk should pair it well with a lightly-tossed seafood salad. (Tasted: August 1, 2019, San Francisco, CA)
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.