Celebrating the spirit of experimentation each year, our Riesling Lab has emerged as a fun opportunity for our cellar crew to geek out over our beloved variety.
Showcasing a brilliant honeyed yellow in the glass, an intense bouquet of fruit shines through: papaya and golden raspberry, with green pineapple, apricot and Asian pear. A lovely fine vanilla custard tart aroma lingers in the background. The palate is silky and full with a great balance of crème brûlée with grilled pineapple, ripe apricots and charred lemon. This may be our favourite release yet.
WINEMAKER'S NOTES
This year’s iteration of Lab Riesling saw many experiments. The juice is comprised of all the “Hard Pressings” of Riesling. The bulk of the juice was fermented wild in old Chardonnay barrels. While to the side some of the juice was “Blackened”; a process of hyper-oxidization of the juice to drive out any phenolics (also fermented wild).
Other experiments that went into the wine included a portion of the juice fermenting on Pinot Noir skins, a trial to see what acidulation would do to the freshness of the juice and the use of different yeast cultures on the micro scale. The wine was balanced with an unctuous sweetness of 22g made more prevalent by the higher pH and lower acidity of hard press juice.
ACCOLADES
90 points - Anthony Gismondi, Gismondi On Wine
"The flavours mix peach and apricot with candied lemon and subtle guava. Curry anyone?"
90 points - Treve Ring, Gismondi On Wine
"There's a perfumed soapiness to this white from first whiff that carries through the finish, drawing along juicy pear, ripe white peach, candied lemon, and lime peel, finishing with a snappy citrus twist. Fun, friendly, and a little bit funky, this is certainly another worthwhile experiment."
TECHNICAL INFO
Varietal: 100% Riesling
Alcohol: 12.3%
Residual Sweetness: 21.75 g/L
pH: 3.19
Total Acidity: 6.33 g/L
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VINTAGE NOTES
2022 was a very challenging season, but it produced some exceptional quality grapes and resulting wines. The winter of 21/22 was harsh, with many vines exhibiting primary bud damage following a cold snap of -26.5 around Christmas. Above average rainfall in May charged the soil with water and gave the vines everything they needed to hit the ground running after a long winter and late bud break. The rain continued into June meaning no irrigation was needed for the vines till much later than average and allowed the cover crop to flourish.
Summer was mild though some hot spells in late July and early August helped push the season along. September and October were perfect for developing flavours in the grapes while not having too much sugar produced. This resulted in balanced wines with moderate alcohol. A cold snap in early November just after all the sparkling and still wines had been harvested and meant that we were able to produce our first icewine since 2017.
