Upton Run Reserve Single Vineyard Riesling 2008, Strathbogie Ranges, Australia

Light gold with a green hue, this Riesling from Upton Run vineyard is still juicy and limy after 13 years. There is a unique intertwine of tightness and softness and strong petrolic and mineral character typical of rare and older Rieslings. Quite long, direct, lightly toasty. This 100 per cent Riesling was aged in bottle for eight years before release. Fowles Wines always ferments their wines to zero grams of sugar per litre to taste edgingly dry and zippy. Excellent value. Tasty; full-spectrum nose and palate; from a single vineyard; excellent rootstock pedigree; already 13 years of age and still with fruit.

The vines are on decomposed granite, interspersed with massive granite outcrops. The soil consists of sandy clay loam, overlying granite and Callabonna clay bedrock. The ancient earth is shallow in nutrients and free-draining, essential for producing low yielding crops with tremendous flavour intensity. The original vines are from Geisenheim Institute in Germany and come from a pedigree renowned for producing some of the best Rieslings in the world.

It scored 95 Points from a veteran merchant and specialist in Australian wines.

“Now THAT is how you do aged Riesling", exclaimed two members of our tasting panel when this absolute beauty came along! Lots of delightfully oily lanolin, mouth-filling lemon brioche and tight lime zest, with delicacy to burn. Neatly toasty and effortlessly long; a stunning wine and excellent advertisement for how great this cool-climate site is for Riesling.”

95 Points, Dan Murphy