This is the first vintage of Spinifex’s flagship Rostein Riesling, released after six years in bottle. Spinifex’s two-acre Rostein vineyard is home to two parcels of seriously old Riesling, one planted in 1945 and the other in 1957. These parcels produce minuscule yields—a paltry 0.8 tonnes per acre is the norm—resulting in wines of atypical power.
The fruit comes predominantly from the 1945 parcel—some of Australia’s oldest Riesling vines—facing east at almost 500 metres. The dry-grown vines sit on sandy loam over quartz and gravel soils. After fermentation, the wine aged on lees for 11 months in 1,000-litre neutral oak and went through partial malolactic conversion. It was bottled after a further 14 months. 2017 was a cool, lean, citrus-driven year in the Eden Valley, so Pete decided to hold the wine back for a few years, allowing the fruit to flesh out and the acidity to mellow and integrate.
This unique, textured, layered bottle-aged wine has mouthwatering intensity and length. Some lovely developing characters add complexity to more classic refreshing notes of citrus, florals, lime, cream and honey. Then there’s a smoky wisp and saline tang on the long, grippy close. Class.