2008 Single Vineyard Series Riesling
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Cuaisín na Sléine, Watervale
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REGION
Watervale, Clare Valley, South Australia
VINEYARD
The Stanway family’s Slate Creek vineyard at Watervale. The vines were planted in the 1970s in a north-east south-west orientation on deep, red clay loam over limestone soils with pockets of slate at 350 metres above sea level. The grapes were picked on 15 March at 11.3º Baumé.
GROWING CONDITIONS
The 2007 growing season in Watervale was warm without any excessive heat spikes. It was also a very dry season with a good rainfall during the last week of January. This had the beneficial effect of refreshing the vines and allowing the grapes to ripen fully whilst retaining their acidity.
WINEMAKING
The grapes from different blocks were crushed, destemmed and chilled prior to draining and gentle pressing. The free run juice was separated into a number of small stainless steel vats, with each batch individually cool-fermented. The wines were racked and stabilised prior to the final blend assessment and the finished wine was filtered and bottled. This was completed as quickly as possible in order to retain the Riesling’s characteristic crispness and elegance.
WINEMAKER’S TASTING NOTES
This wine positively glows in the glass, with a pale yellow colour of brilliant clarity. The nose exhibits classic spicy lemon and lime zest aromas with perfumed scents of orange blossom. The palate is rich and concentrated, yet at the same time fine and delicate. The intensely focussed fruit is supported by mouth-watering acidity. The finish is clean and persistent. Although drinking beautifully now, this is a wine with excellent ageing potential.
RELEASED
June 2007
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