We’re now down in the Tunney Vineyard in Frankland River for this Harewood release. What I really like about both these Limefinger wines is the acidity – even compared to the 12 other Riesling in this selection, Neil Pike’s wines seem to have this naturalness, this unfettered purity which is so appealing. Maybe a bit more green pea this year? It certainly has the acid power (and at just pH 2.77, the numbers say that too). Despite sitting at just 11% alcohol, it has plenty of lemony power. Limefinger is Neil Pike’s retirement project, although I’d be pretty happy if I was still making wines like this in my retirement! It’s such a powerhouse wine, too – unmistakable Clare Riesling, but with that extra wash of stony bracing citrus that Polish Hill River delivers. Limefinger The Solace Polish Hill River Riesling 2022 Still, I’d come back later for peak drinking, as it’s just a bit brutal now. It’s brooding Riesling but so enjoyable in its length and power, and presence. It’s a compact and savoury style that deals more in the mouthfeel than aromatics with this chewy phenolic sort of grapefruit pith palate. But you know what? Forget looking for fruits and admire the structure. It’s not even ‘fruity’ either, which will scare some people. With a big 9.4g/L TA and a pH of 2.9, this was always going to be a firm beast, and what do you know? Chewy too. That translates to ferments that include some solids and matured for six months on lees, which is slightly different from the usual winemaking mode (which typically sees clean juice fermented and bottled quickly). Rob Diletti has done some winery tinkering (oh, and you can read my profile of Rob here) with the A & W Riesling, although it’s not reinventing the wheel (in Alsace, this would be normal winemaking). The Denmark release has more mid-palate punch, but this feels like the complete package. This is a quality wine – the sense of lightness, but this bangs on with this crunchy green grapefruit fruit and perfect acidity. Harewood Estate Porongurup Riesling 2022īy contrast, this is a fresher, less dense, more frisky expression with an extra zip of juicy grapefruit. Just so much punchiness, and yet you step back and admire it as a crisp, lithe white wine. ![]() Celery and white flower aromatics, but also flavour and ripe, rather than hard acidity. There is this juiciness, a real juicy citrus intensity, but it’s more grapefruit than, say, the Limefinger below. This is an excellent, expressive, yet tight Riesling. ![]() I think I prefer the Porongurup marginally, but not much in it. Harewood Estate Denmark Riesling 2022Įvery year the question is more about which Harewood sub-regional release is best, and this year it’s a close thing between this Denmark release and the Porongurup below. It’s a ‘normal’ to ‘late’ harvest in many places (complete some nervous constant baume checking in some locations), although that probably pushes harvests back to dates that would have been considered ‘normal’ 30-40 years ago (thanks climate change).Īnyway, enough context, let’s look at some wines. Looking forward, 2023 looks like a classic Riesling vintage for SE Australia, too, although not without challenges from yet another La Niña summer. Over in Western Australia, by contrast, it was just another very warm summer, and the squad of top Riesling below from WA rate so highly because Harewood, Castle Rock etc, make really good Riesling every year. There isn’t meant to be water here) and a genuinely shit time. Meanwhile, for the Graham household here in Sydney, 2022 meant a flooded garage (in the photo below, you can see a foot of water. I’m generalising, sure, but it’s a consistent theme. For Riesling, this often meant an extra level of energy, although sacrificing some generosity in the process. Across south-eastern Australia, the cool, seriously wet La Niña summer meant that the harvest was normal to late, the heat never hit, and natural acidity was high. There’s a reason why so many of these 2022 wines hit the mark too.
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