2006 MadFish Riesling Tasting Notes

The 2005/2006 growing season was a remarkably cool one. Maximum temperatures only rarely got as high as 30C and in general the nights were relatively warm. This meant that the diurnal range (the difference between the maximum and minimum temperature for a twenty four hour period) was very low. This small diurnal range throughout the year lead to very even ripening conditions for Riesling fruit.

The cool conditions through the year allowed the fruit to develop very fine citrus and mineral flavours that Great Southern Riesling is famous for. Additionally the lower temperatures meant that the fruit stayed on the vine for about a week to two and a half weeks longer than is normal leading to greater concentration of flavour in the fruit.

As the fruit neared maturity there were a few sporadic rain events but these caused no damage to the fruit. However forecasting indicated that a major rain event was on the horizon and so the decision to pick was made a little earlier than was anticipated.

The fruit was picked at an average baume of 11.5, half a baume lower than is normally aimed for, but because of the cool conditions for the year and also because the fruit had hung on the vine for longer than is normal fruit flavour was outstanding, despite the lower than average sugar ripeness.

The fruit upon arrival at the winery was immediately processed to ensure the highest quality juice with little phenolic character. At pressing the juices showed strong citrus flavours with lime and lemon dominating. Wonderful floral aromatics were also quite dominant in most juice batches giving fantastic potential for a more generous style of Riesling.
All batches were kept separate and were cool fermented in stainless steel tanks to maintain fruit flavours without cluttering the wine with secondary features. Extensive blending trials of the free run batches were carried out to produce a wine that is more full and generous than is normal in a Great Southern Riesling, resulting in a wine that is perfect for early consumption but still capable of aging in the bottle.

The wine is pale straw in colour with green hues. The nose is wonderfully aromatic showing limes, passion fruit and floral characters while the palate is clean and refreshing with citrus and bath salts to backup the riper fruit flavours. The finish is clean and quite mineral like with a lovely zing of acid down the palate.

This wine will drink wonderfully from a very young age, but like all good Rieslings it will develop intriguing secondary characters as it ages, allowing for toasty flavours to compliment the primary fruit. Given correct storage this wine will reward cellaring for at least seven years.