When Robert Hill Smith, proprietor of Yalumba, joined forces with Clare winemaker extraordinaire, Jeffrey Grosset, to create a new Eden Valley Riesling it was clear that this would be no ordinary wine.
Born of occasional musings between Robert Hill Smith and Jeffrey Grosset, the essence of this project is two of Australia's best known Riesling makers working together to elevate the status of both Riesling and the Eden Valley. The project also offered a forum in which both winemakers could share ideas, debate and discuss.
Three Eden Valley vineyard blocks were carefully selected for this project, chosen for their potential to deliver consistent fruit most in keeping with the unique characters of Eden Valley and the jointly agreed wine style/philosophy. Aged between 20-60 years old, the viticultural parameters for each vineyard focused on pruning regimes, leaf retention and nutrition in order to further improve the fruit quality from each block.
Two subtly different methods were agreed upon to achieve our desired outcome, then the grapes from each vineyard were “pedantically divided” by selectively hand picking alternate rows into yellow and blue buckets on the same day. The two separate parcels were then crushed at different locations and the finished components and combinations jointly assessed post-vintage to determine the final blend.
The 2006 mesh has excellent flavour intensity and structure. Green and vibrant in appearance, the aroma is fresh lemon and lime juice with a hint of spice. The palate is powerful, lively and generous, with intense citrus fruit flavours. The wine finishes clean and dry with refreshing natural acidity.
