Leeuwin's Margaret River Riesling makes UK debut

A cold, wet and windy spring in 2005 was followed by the coolest summer on record, and Leeuwin recorded its latest harvest dates ever.

A small crop and the cool conditions resulted in intensely flavoured, concentrated grapes, which were picked parcel by parcel once physiological flavour ripeness was reached.

Fruit for Leeuwin Estate's Art Series Riesling comes from thirty-year old vines planted on a series of low, rolling slopes in the Margaret River. The Riesling blocks are planted on free-draining deep gravelly sandy clay loams and Karri loam, on cool, south facing slopes at an altitude of around 68 metres.

"We keep the Riesling canopies large and leafy in order to protect the fruit from the summer sun, so prolonging the ripening period and enabling the acid to be retained," says David Winstanley, Leeuwin's viticulturalist.

"Our best Riesling grapes come from sites with deep soil, as the roots can penetrate well, and particularly leafy canopies are produced," says Winstanley.

The grapes were machine picked at night and immediately pressed. The juice was cold settled for 7-10 days and the gross lees were then racked off. Fermentation took place in stainless steel tanks at 10-12C. After fermentation the wine was fined, cold stabilised and bottled.

"Blocks 2 and 3 consistently make the grade for the Art Series Riesling. The wines from these blocks show pronounced lime, citrus and blossom characters, and have a wonderful acid backbone," comments Leeuwin's winemaker, Paul Atwood.

"The 2006 Art Series Riesling is an intense wine with classic lemon and lime notes on the nose and palate which also has the mineral edge that is evident in great vintages," he continued.

The Leeuwin Estate wines are imported into the UK by Domaine Direct. The 2006 Leeuwin Estate Art Series Riesling retails at 11.99-13.99.

Source: Leeuwin Estate

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