2003 MadFish Late Harvest Riesling Tasting Notes

The 2003 growing season was unusually dry, with the lack of rain extending through to late March. The summer was also warm with several days in March reaching an uncharacteristic 40ºC in the Great Southern. This combination resulted in an incredibly compact vintage with 99% of the whites harvested, at optimum ripeness, by the end of March. The lack of summer rain produced fruit that was also completely disease free.

The fruit was given a very gentle crush - just sufficient to burst the individual berries. The resultant "free-run", being the finest quality juice, free from the "grippy", bitter phenolics associated with the skins, was kept separate from the "pressings". This wine was selected from batches of riper Riesling harvested later in the season. The ferment was kept very cool and halted when the sugar levels were in balance with the higher acid levels inherent in this variety.

The wine is a pale straw colour with lively, steely green tinges. The nose is a fragrant blend of lavender, limes, apples and tropical passionfruit.
The initial impressions on the palate are of a seamless structure, riper passionfruit flavours and floral honey are a feature of the delicious mid-palate with a lingering zesty finish of minerally, citrus acids.

The refreshing citrus and ripe tropical flavours create a wine that is particularly appealing in its youth.