Canberra Riesling can be a very fine thing.

Intensity of flavour here is excellent. As is the flow of the wine. As is the finish.

It’s super

There’s a suggestion of fruit sweetness to the mid palate here and it helps to kick it all up a gear.

It’s limey and slatey and red apple-y, and it does that delicate-but-intense thing. It’s super.

Light yellow hue, with a gently toasty bees-waxy aroma, underneath is lemon pith.

delicate and delicious

The palate is restrained and taut, delicate and undeveloped, with a phenolic textural element and a tickle of sweetness rendering it more accessible.

Juicy and firm, at the same moment. A lovely array of citrus flavours. This is delicate and delicious and deserves a little cellar time. It will only improve further with age.

Clonakilla’s fame rests largely on outstanding shiraz-based red wines, some of Australia’s very best, but the estate’s riesling is superb too. The 2019 has just arrived and it’s a worthy example.

Pale and silvery-straw in colour, it has a pungent nose reminiscent of blossom, citrus fruits, green apples, spice and steel.

a thrilling line of acidity and a haunting, fragrant aftertaste

It tastes zesty yet relatively ripe and rich, and although quite dry overall, its intense flavours hint at a little fruit sweetness.

It finishes with a thrilling line of acidity and a haunting, fragrant aftertaste. Past experience tells us that these wines age very well, developing into classics of the Australian new wave.