Recommended Riesling Estates in Australia
Most of the finest Rieslings from Australia come from the relatively small Clare Valley region in South Australia.
Chain of Ponds
Adelaide Road, Gumeracha, South Australia
Phone (08) 8389-1415
Fax (08) 8389-1877
An excellent, progressive producer in the Adelaide Hills. Most of the fruit from their 100 hectares (250 acres) of vines is sold to Penfolds, but some of the best is bottled under their own label.
Top wine
Adelaide Hills Riesling
Frankland Estate
Franklin Road, Franklin, Western Australia
Phone (08) 9855-1544
Fax (08) 9855-1549
Frankland Estate's Judi Cullam is one of the movers and shakers in Australian Riesling. She organized the international Riesling summit that took place in Sydney in February 2000 and 2002. The estate is in the isolated Frankland River region of Western Australia, which explains the vineyard name.
Top wine
Isolation Ridge Riesling
Grosset
King Street, Auburn, South Australia
Phone (08) 8849-2175
Fax (08) 8849-2292
Winemaker Jeffrey Grosset was named Winemaker of the Year at the 1998 Riesling Summit in Hamburg, Germany. He has been making terriific Rieslings since he first established his tiny but excellent winery in 1981. Meticulous winemaking.
Top wines
Watervale Riesling
Polish Hill Riesling
Henschke
Henschke Road, Keyneton, South Australia
Phone (08) 8564-8223
Fax (08) 8564-8294
Along with Grosset, this is one of the best Riesling producers in Australia. The winery is in Eden Valley (near the Barossa Valley) in Southern Australia, but they also get fruit from the Lenswood vineyard in the Adelaide Hills.
Top wines
Julius Eden Valley Riesling
Lenswood Green's Hill Riesling
Mount Horrocks
The Ols Railway Station, Curling Street, Auburn, South Austrlia
Phone & Fax (08) 8849-2243
Attractive, concentrated Rieslings in two styles. The Watervale is dry and the Cordon Cut is a very interesting dessert wine. It is made by cutting the fruiting canes and then letting the grapes hang a while longer so they dehydrate a bit, concentrating the juice. It's an electric wine.
Top wines
Watervale Riesling
Cordon Cut Riesling
Pikes
Polish Hill River Road, Sevenhill, South Australia
Phone (09) 8843-4370
Fax (08) 8843-4353
Brothers Andrew and Neil Pike, both with extensive winemaking experience, teamed up to establish their own winery in 1984. The wines are very modern and flavorful in style. The Pike’s Riesling comes from a small estate-owned vineyard and is very characteristic of the Clare Valley - crisp and lively when young, but with good aging potential.
Pipers Brook
Bridport Road, Pipers Brook, Tasmania
Phone (03) 6382-7527
Fax (03) 6382-7226
Superbly crafted wines from Andrew Pirie, one of the true pioneers of New World Riesling. See the September/October 2001 issue of the Riesling Report electronic magazine for the complete story.
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