2023 Polish Hill River Riesling

Pale straw with green hues.

The bouquet provides notes of talc, musk, bath salts and lime.

The palate is fine and delicate with underlying intensity. Notes of minerality, citrus and talc and refined acidity balanced with flavour for an exquisite lasting finish.

We love to enjoy this Riesling while fresh, however it also has excellent cellaring potential - up to 20 years.

Despite growing these vines organically since their planting in the 1970s, 2010 marked the first year of NASAA Organic Certification for these vineyards. Martin and Joan Smith and Molloy's vineyards are virtually next to each other in Polish Hill River and consistently produce top quality fruit which highlights the excellence of this sub-region of the Clare Valley. Grey loam acid soils over sandstone and slate make up the profile with much of the top soil littered with rock, proving just how tough the vines need to be to sustain growth and produce quality fruit. It is the slate of Polish Hill River, as opposed to the limestone of Watervale, that gives rise to the point of difference between these styles.

Fruit is harvested in the cool of night, de-stemmed, crushed and gently pressed. This results in a fine free-run cut and a pressings component, with all batches kept separately in stainless steel tanks. The free-run juice is chilled to preserve the vineyard expression and purity of fruit. Once the juice has settled it is racked off solids and seeded with yeast. A cool, temperature controlled fermentation is carried out over 10-14 days. The wine is then chilled and filtered prior to bottling.  

Alcohol - 12%

pH - 3.00

Acidity - 7.6g/L

96 points - Winepilot

"Oh my. How good is this? This is the essence of Polish Hill River Riesling: the concentration of fruit, the depth, the texture, the spice, the quiet power. It’s all here. Just released and ready to be savoured and enjoyed. Jasmine, bergamot, citrus, grapefruit, a sprinkle of rosemary and white pepper aromas. How intriguing are those spices! Grown under organic methods, it brings extraordinary depth of citrus (grapefruit, Meyer lemon), green apple and lime zest married to an equally impressive depth of background spice, including earthy ginger and a light shake of white pepper. Acidity is well-honed with a mineral clean edge. This is what Polish Hill River Riesling is all about." - Jeni Port

94 points - Winepilot

"This multi-layered Polish Hill Riesling from the excellent 2023 vintage shows a powerful and composed core of aromas with classic lime and spice joined by some more exotic nectarine and mandarin skin in the background. This is unexpected texture to the wine, almost creamy layers of focused flavour, well supported by angular acidity. A bit adolescent right now so definitely needs time to come together." - Angus Hughson