2018 Whitlands Riesling

Our fourth release from Whitlands, and we are just beginning to understand the charms of this beautiful site The Croucher Vineyard is set at close spacing on red volcanic soils, up at around 800m above sea level, and was planted in the mid-1980s. It is proper cool-climate viticulture – something I think riesling really needs to give full expression. 2018 was a warmer year then the cool 2017, and ripeness was more easily acheived, but the site retains superb, slicing acidity even in the warmer years. With riper flavours I opted to ferment entirely in stainless steel to preserve and lock in the flavours rather than ‘build’ them with oak. Lemon, lime, red apple, blossom, tonic water and a hint of that ‘alpine herb’ character are all present, this year with a little less residual sugar at 6g/lt.

– Vine Age 30 yrs
– 12.0% alc
– pH 2.95
– Total Acidity 8.0g/l
– 260 dozen produced