I first encountered Alluvius shortly after it hit the bottle, and immediately it proclaimed the calibre of the season in the Hunter. It’s taut and honed, with a linear acid spine, tightly coiled structure and slatey texture. Lime blossom and pink grapefruit notes carry with great persistence, promising impressive potential for the medium-term. $33 at […]
Gewurztraminer often lacks verve and structure, but this Adelaide Hills vineyard has delivered a lively and zesty style of lemon zest crunch. All the theatrics of this precocious variety are on display in guava exotics, subtle rosewater perfume and finely textural mouth feel, drawing together in a honed and focused finish of lingering persistence. There’s […]
Leonay 2013 hails from the same vineyard as the 2011 and 2012, the highest vineyard in Watervale, planted in the 1950s on a hilltop of thin topsoils over limestone and shale. It’s a wine of wonderful stony, chalky mineral texture, lifted by pretty aromas of lemon and lime blossom and pink lady apple. A core […]
St Hallett has nailed 2013, producing one of the lowest alcohol rieslings among the Eden Valley bargains. It’s a gentel and focused style reflecting accurate lemon and fresh pear definition, well-defined acid line and finely textured, soft phenolic presence. A well balanced wine of good persistence and great value for money. $14 at Amatos.
Portrait is again one of the cheapest of the Eden Valley Riesling set and its careful construction and attentive craftsmanship is more apparent in 2013 than ever. Captured at a refreshing point in its ripeness, at a low 11.8% alcohol, it displays even lemon and red apple fruit, an accurate line acidity and good persistence. […]
This is an early-drinking St Helga, a wine of even persistence, an impressive result for the season. It’s racy, taut and concentrated all at once, with firm acidity contrasting intense red apple generosity and lifted bath salts and lemon blossom fragrance. A bargain at $15 at Dan’s.
Medium sweetness is the perfect foil to the concentrated acidity and structure of 2013, and well executed in this gentle, clean style of primary, youthful appeal. Soft lemon, pear and red apple fruit is gently supported by medium sweetness. $19 at Wine House (2012).
Peggy’s is the precocious and approachable alter ego to Henschke’s long-lived Julius, and in 2013 it fits the brief precisely. It’s pretty, fragrant and effortlessly balanced, with mid-palate generosity making for immediate appeal, and a long, honed finish keeping things appropriately taut and lively. Soft phenolics provide balanced grip under a profile of lime zest […]
Pete Munro has handled his 2013s carefully, creating a dry riesling that balances ripeness, taut structure and phenolic texture. It’s intense and concentrated, with taut kaffir lime zest, crabapple and granny smith apple fruit, countered by riper orange fruit notes, pulled into line by tightly honed acid structure. Value. $20 at Skye Cellars.
Colin Forbes doesn’t know quite when riesling was planted in this vineyard just outside Springton in the Eden Valley, but he suspects it was during the 1920s. I’ve always admired this style, and this year it’s set off in racy new livery. It’s skilfully crafted, framing the intensity of 2013 with balance and appeal. A […]