Wines of summer: rieslings from Clare Valley’s Sevenhill and Mitchell, Frankland River’s Alkoomi and Eden Valley’s Pewsey Vale

It’s the wine of summer: cold and delicate, bursting with lime and lemon flavours, it literally zings with refreshment. Here’s a special wine club deal on four stunners.

Four examples of why riesling should be the wine of summer.

Riesling should be Australia’s wine of summer.

Cold and delicate, bursting with lime and lemon flavours, it literally zings with refreshment.

Add the best of Australian seafood to your table (oysters and kingfish for me), and we’re off to wonderland.

Riesling aficionados in Australia are blessed twice over: not only do our winemakers produce a dazzling array of truly world-class rieslings but prices are affordable because many drinkers are unaware of the wine’s blissful qualities.

In the first week of a new summer, The Australian Wine Club offers four rieslings from selected regions and vintages to showcase what those in the know describe as the prince of grapes.

Australia’s house style for riesling tends to be bone dry, with bright fruit and rapier-like acidity, helping these wines to age for years and years without being matured in oak barrels.

Pull a good riesling out of the cellar 10 years from now and those once-fresh lime and lemon flavours taste like luscious marmalade on toast. Wow!

Sevenhill Cellars Estate Grown Inigo Clare Valley Riesling 2021

We begin our tour in Clare Valley, regarded by many as Australia’s spiritual home of riesling. The 2021 vintage is already being spoken of as being “near perfect”. From the oldest winery in Clare (established in 1851 and still run by the Jesuits today) comes this floral-packed example of riesling reverence. White flowers, limes and orange blossom aromas entice to a fantail of citrus flavours, with a hint of nectarine. Clean, crisp and classically Clare. 12% alc. RRP $25 a bottle. SPECIALS $22.99 in any mixed dozen; $18.17 in riesling dozen.

Alkoomi Black Label Frankland River Riesling 2019

One of the most remote wineries in one of the world’s most remote wine regions produces this stunner. Frankland River is one of five subregions of Great Southern in the wild southwest corner of Western Australia. I’ve come to love the rieslings of Great Southern and noticed that six of the 13 highest-scoring rieslings in the latest Halliday Wine Companion came from this region. Alkoomi was established in 1971 by Merv and Judy Lange, who pioneered the Frankland wine region. Today Merv and Judy’s daughter Sandy and her husband Rod Hallett run the five-star wine operation. The Black Label 2019 is an exceptional example of Great Southern riesling. Minerally acidity provides the backbone to layers of citrus fruit. Delicate but powerful. Will develop further for years.94 Halliday points and a red star for exceptional value. 12.5% alc. RRP $30 a bottle.
SPECIALS $23.99 in any mixed dozen; $18.17 in riesling dozen.

Pewsey Vale Eden Valley Riesling 2018

The story of Pewsey Vale is part of Australia’s wine heritage, being the first vineyard planted in South Australia’s Eden Valley in 1847 by English settler Joseph Gilbert. After falling into disuse in the 1920s, the Hill-Smith family began restoring Pewsey Vale from 1961, planting 56 hectares of riesling. Today, winemaker Louise Rose and viticulturalist Brooke Howell are responsible for creating some of Australia’s most celebrated rieslings from this high-altitude site. Classic Eden Valley lime characters and lemon peel flow through the 2018, with just a hint of spice and rosemary adding complexity after three years in the bottle. The wine finishes with a fresh natural acidity. Will be fun to see the wine develop further over the next three years. 93 points from Halliday. 12% alc RRP $26 a bottle.
SPECIALS $18.99 in any mixed dozen; $18.17 in riesling dozen.

Mitchell Clare Valley Watervale Riesling 2016

 

Clare’s famed Watervale subregion and the Mitchell family have produced classic riesling for decades. Under the watchful eye of Jane and Andrew Mitchell, all vineyards are managed organically, with biodynamic composts used for more than 10 years. It’s a treat to see this 2016 gently grow in complexity, the kafir lime and lemon blossom of its youth develop into a deeper lemon-lime cordial flavour with hints of brioche toast and quince lingering in the background. Lovely textural savouriness, with salty mineral undertones. A lovely example of why riesling is so fascinating. 94 Halliday points on its release 13% alc. RRP $25 a bottle.
SPECIALS $19.99 in any mixed dozen; $18.17 in riesling dozen.

MIXED RIESLING DEALThree bottles of each wine: $18.17 a bottle.

Order online or telephone [phone] Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm AEST. Deals only available while stocks last. The Australian Wine Club is a commercial partnership with Laithwaites Wine People.