Porongurup riesling: Castle Rock, Duke’s and Abbey Creek

Rieslings from Porongurup, Western Australia, are magically transformed after they reach five years old.

The Great Southern wine region of Western Australia is one of the largest and most remote in the country, 150km from north to south and 100km from east to west. Porongurup is one of the five subregions of the Great Southern, and — in terms of surface area — easily swallows up the Porongurup Range, running east/west in the southern third of the subregion. Porongurup’s meso (site) climate is reflected by its overall elevation and very cool nights, daytime temperatures moderated by the easterly winds blowing off the Southern Ocean. The result is a climate that is slightly different (cooler) and riesling that is likewise subtly different to that of the other four subregions.

How much is due to Rob Diletti, winemaker for the family’s Castle Rock Estate, and how much to the meso climate of the subregion? Given that riesling is such a transparent wine and (normally) made in a simple fashion — cool fermented and early to bottle — the first reaction is to point to the hand of god. But Diletti has an exceptional palate and is a highly skilled and disciplined winemaker. He not only makes the rieslings of Abbey Creek, Duke’s Vineyard and (of course) Castle Rock, but two others in Porongurup, two in Albany and one each in Mount Barker and Pemberton.

Through the prism of one-year-old rieslings, Porongurup emerges as the foremost subregion, albeit not by a wide margin. If the question is geared to five-year-old riesling, the answer is absolutely clear — Porongurup. The aromas and flavours of youth are strict and bracing, the acidity always flexing its muscles. But the magical transformation from chrysalis to butterfly over the following years takes the wines into a fairyland of mouth-coating flavours within which acidity plays an entirely different role, freshening and lengthening the finish and aftertaste.

2016 Castle Rock Estate Porongurup Riesling

A track record of 10-plus years leaves no doubt about its longevity; it will burst into song at five-plus years and continue for another five. Pale straw-green; length and balance are the cornerstones of this beautiful wine, by the region’s foremost producer.

11.5% alc, screwcap 95 points, drink to 2030, $25

2016 Duke’s Vineyard Single Vineyard Riesling

Clear white, yet brilliant — perhaps the faintest tint of green; citrus (lemon/lime) and apple blossom aromas; has the texture and structure of a young high-class Porongurup riesling, showing hints of the lime and (ultimately) honey characters that will develop over five years before settling down to the next 10-plus years.

12.5% alc, screwcap 95 points, drink to 2031, $25

2016 Abbey Creek Vineyard Porongurup Riesling

Quartz white; fragrant crushed lime leaf aromas; takes no prisoners with its bracing freshness, flint and mineral staring you down on the long, even palate. Has a long future ahead and could spring a surprise.

11.8% alc, screwcap 94 points, drink to 2026, $25