“…. A wine of great depth, beauty and harmony, it has rich, oily peach, apricot and honey flavours, abundant sweetness, good acid spine and an enduring finish.”
The early summer was extremely hot and initially it seemed as though it might be too much for this cool climate variety. Fortunately, February was atypically cool, slowing down the grapes’ maturation. There followed a long, dry autumn which allowed the riesling to ripen perfectly. The fine weather continued and we left the grapes from which this wine was made, hanging on the vines until winter. Dewy mornings followed by warm days allowed clean, noble botrytis to develop, which shrivelled the grapes to give extra concentration and added its own special flavour. It was late in June, after the shortest day that we hand selected the bunches which had shrivelled enough to give the desired concentration. On five occasions, each of which was separated by five to seven days.
Following harvest the grapes were gently pressed and the clarified juice underwent slow fermentation at a cool temperature to help retain the natural fruitiness. As soon as fermentation was completed it was removed from its yeast lees to maximise varietal purity and freshness.
The wine has a vibrant, multicoloured palette of aromas and flavours, reminiscent of ripe figs, paw paw, lychees, passionfruit and mandarin. A strong element of comb honey and beeswax comes from the botrytis. The after-taste leaves impressions of lemons and limes, while the whole palate is infused with impressions of Turkish musk and tropical spices. Although it is rich, mouth filling and luscious, it has a spine of natural mouth-tingling acidity and tangy minerality, which give elegance and perfect balance. The wine seems to develop and expand on the palate, giving a complex interplay of impressions which linger well after swallowing.
While ready to drink on release it should, with careful cellaring, evolve and unfold a further rich array of nuances and complexities over the next five or six years and live for a decade or more.
“…. A wine of great depth, beauty and harmony, it has rich, oily peach, apricot and honey flavours, abundant sweetness, good acid spine and an enduring finish.”
“This is totally delicious …. It's creamy and velvety with refreshing acidity, finishing persistent and gratifying.”
“… Very intense, exotic wine … Delicious now but no rush.”
“ ... An exciting and delicious wine …”
“… This Noble Riesling shows impressive arrays of flavour, strength and balance, lending an incredibly moreish, pleasing finish ...”
“The 2017 Riesling Encore Noble does botrytis the way it's supposed to be done … “
“… The wine is just so delicious ….”
“… Lusciously sweet, full-bodied wine with vivid acidity which balances out the palate. Rather concentrated and complex wine with fascinating fragrance and aromatics.”
Trophy Sweet wine of the year WINESTATE, Australia
“… A very elegant wine …. finely balanced and lasting”
“ There is an impressive concentration of sugar and flavor in this botrytis riesling. Lime and peach fruits, as well as marmalade and dried apricots. Luscious and balanced”
“ … The freshness here is an utter delight, a lip-smacking edge to the gorgeously long close creates a superb sense of balance”
“ … It’s wonderfully sweet and rich … the balance is superb and the finish lasts into next week. Wow!”
“ … The taut focused palate is very well balanced, with a fine line of acidity …. Excellent”
“Concentrated, luscious, … bush honey, pineapple, ginger and ripe peach … very lengthy finish”
“ … concentrated core of ripe exotic fruit … delicious rich and near-unctuous concentrated Noble Riesling …. “
“ … This really is a delicious dessert wine.”
“...sweet and decadent to taste and light-medium bodied, lusciously rich flavours of ripe, exotic tropical fruits and citrus fruits are melded with honey, marmalade, crystallised fruits and a little toffee. …. This is a rich and luscious botrytis-affected sweet Riesling with layers of exotic fruits, marmalade and lifted florals, and a soft, near unctuous mouthfeel. ….”.
“… exquisitely balanced with a delicious silkiness on the palate. Great complexity and an absolute delight.” .
“ …. rich, sweet and unctuous, … a wonderful backbone of refreshing acid and a finish that just goes on and on.”
“ …. layers of flavour, lively acidity, and a sweet, lasting finish.” .
“. . impressive purity and a lingering finish that refuses to quit . ."
“…Very rich and opulent, this is nectar-like with an unctuous and rounded mouthfeel. Decadent flavours of citrus fruits, marmalade, honey and toffee unfold in gentle waves, and the wine coats the palate. The fruit and botrytis show great presence and intensity. Lifted floral and VA elements cut the richness with fine, underlying acidity lending drive. The wine flows seamlessly to a soft, lush, very long, lingering finish. This is a rich and unctuous botrytised Riesling.
TOP TIP Golden in colour and honeyed on the nose this is classical dessert wine. The concentrated fruit in the palate shows lemon, citrus and a nudge of marmalade. Unctuous and everlasting. Yum.
This was the panel’s favourite wine in the New Release tasting. It just strikes that perfect balance between fruit sweetness and acidity making it the perfect dessert wine. Yum!
“… has a profoundly scented nose of acacia honey, apricot preserves and orange marmalade with touches of frangipani and dried mango. Fully sweet, rich and viscous, it gives a satisfying tropical fruit and honey layers with a good line of enlivening acid and a long finish.”
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