Clare Valley Riesling

Riesling is a wine where excellence is shown by purity of flavour. Other wines and styles can benefit from manipulation or introduced complexity – Riesling is, I think, about purity of flavour and length of palate; it is in some ways the simplest wine to make, but is also the hardest – pristine fruit well-handled from the right vineyard – you just cant fiddle it.

We create other wines and we think we do them well, but half the vineyard is Riesling – all that has suitable soil – and we love it. The other varieties that do well here in the right places are Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz, which are tried and true. Of the newcomers I think Tempranillo shows immense promise, and Viognier may be interesting. Grenache at the right cropping levels is high class. Other growers and winemakers may have additions to make to this list, but Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz are the core of what to expect and love from Clare.