Winemaker Notes
Pale straw in color with green hues, the wine opens with intense classic lemon fruit aromas and hints of white flowers. Bottle aged characters of toast, clove oil and lemon grass have started to emerge. A palate of great length and depth with concentrated power, pristine fresh lime juice overlaid with toasted brioche, sage oil and lime marmalade. The wine finishes with a fresh but soft natural acidity which balances the flavor intensity. This wine is released in 2018 after 5 years of bottle age, but will gracefully continue to age for many years for those who appreciate bottle aged Riesling.
Try with Foie Gras or duck breast with five spice glaze or smoky cauliflower soup with shaved truffles.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Sleek with bright lemon curd, smoky flint and opulent lime marmalade on the nose, while the elegantly textured palate is graced with pithy lime zest, wet stone and zippy citrus fruit.
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Wine Enthusiast
Despite the age of this museum release of “Contours,” from Pewsey Vale’s oldest, coolest slopes, it’s just in its teenage years, with the potential of many more years of cellaring. Pale gold in hue, it’s gained secondary notes like lighter fluid, lemon oil, lime leaf and wild herbal undertones, but there’s also a fresh floral note still present. The palate is tightly wound and chalky-textured with crisp acidity and a pleasing bitter herbal finish. Drink now–2028
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Wine Spectator
Mixes a light, mouthwatering and airy frame with intense, aromatic flavors of beeswax, lanolin, pear and lime, lingering effortlessly on the long, energetic finish. Shows plenty of precision. Drink now.
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.