TASTING NOTE
The nose is delicate, poised and precise, with scents of meadow flowers, peach blossom,
lemon zest, crushed chalk and bath salts. The slightest hint of sweetness opens up a satintextured palate, which drives straight and long with ripe, juicy acidity. The soaring finish is
dry, mineral-clean and beautifully balanced, resonating with floral, herbal and woodsy
echoes and chalky grip. This is a wine of exceptional elegance where fruit intensity,
natural acidity and well-judged residual sugar (it has about 20g/L) give tension and
harmony reminiscent of our favourite German Rieslings. It has substance and a sense of
mature complexity even in youth, all the while retaining an effortlessness and salivating
moreishness.
Only a tiny quantity, 110 dozen is made in exceptional vintages from our oldest
Geisenheim clone Riesling vines. This clone is renowned for retaining high acidity levels
throughout the growing season, and our organic practices have increased its capacity to
give delicious ripe fruit characters with good levels of natural acidity.
2023 VINTAGE
A very wet winter gave us good soil moisture as we headed into a dry start to summer.
We had no rain between mid-November and mid-January, when we got a good dose to
freshen the vines. The weather cooled off significantly afterwards, allowing for plenty of
calm hangtime that resulted in trademark line and intensity in a relatively delicate year.
With bunch sizes and volumes back to normal cropping levels we saw ripening slowly
evolve and build some wonderful fruit flavour and concentration resulting in a very
exciting release.
VINEYARD
This wine was made from 100% Riesling grown in the Isolation Ridge vineyard at
Frankland Estate. Geisenheim Clone Riesling vines planted in 1988 on undulating northern
and eastern facing slopes with duplex soils of ironstone gravel over a clay sub-soil. The
vineyard is situated 256 meters above sea level. The cool nights and long slow ripening
periods typical of the Frankland River region allow maximum flavour development while
maintaining the distinctive vibrant acidity for which Rieslings from this region are
renowned.
VINIFICATION
Handpicked when ripe in the early morning a few days before our Isolation Ridge
Vineyard Riesling is pressed as whole bunches for fermentation in a combination of 1000-
litre French oak ‘foudre’ (40% of the blend) and stainless-steel tank (60%) over four
weeks. Towards the end of fermentation, when the ideal balance of sugar, fruit weight
and acidity had been achieved, the wine was chilled to arrest fermentation. The wine is
retained on lees in barrel for nine months, where additional complexity and texture are
