Rieslingfreak No.44

• Vintage: 2021
• Origin: Eden Valley, Clare Valley, Australia
• Taste guide: A light and delicate nose of white flowers and sweet, red apple spice. The palate provides a punch with richness of ripe citrus and hints of tropical flavour, lathering the palate with the sweet spice notes. The concentration of the vintage shows through in the generosity and depth of fruit. Dry, medium bodied and unoaked.
• Food match: Oysters on the half shell or grilled prawns would be a heavenly pairing, however fine on its own.
• 75cl - 11.5% - screwcap

Young gun winemaker and Riesling ‘freak’ John Hughes has taken the industry by storm with his on-point and diverse range of Riesling wines. His first vintage was in 2009 with a single vineyard Clare Valley Riesling, after which John expanded to the Eden Valley and Polish Hill River.

Growing up on a family vineyard in the Clare Valley, John has always been surrounded by Riesling, both in the vineyard and his parents’ cellar. Riesling became his drink of choice and he became known as the ‘Riesling freak’ by his university peers…

John says, “Our philosophy is to represent the hallmarks of a single region with our iconic winemaking style, by combining modern viticulture and winemaking techniques. Each Rieslingfreak wine is allocated an individual number, which represents not only the region in which the fruit was grown, but also the style that the wine was made in.”

John makes exceptional Riesling. This is a lovely new release from the Eden Valley. Perfumed lemon and lime with red apple. Fresh and zesty with lots of green citrus and just a hint of something more tropical. Dry and refreshing. Lovely wine that drinks well young, but will reward with cellaring.